Scott Adams
Last night I watched Michael Phelps win his 24th Olympic gold medal. He won his first gold medal 12 years ago in the 2004 Athens games. Think about how different things are for him a dozen years later in Rio. He’s 31 years old, his competitors are different, he has different teammates, and the landscape of the games are completely different (Sounds a lot like healthcare distribution the last 12 years). Yet over the last three Olympic Games he has trained, learned, and adapted to whatever challenges he has faced.
Think about how much our industry has changed over the past 12 years. Have you been able to train, learn, and adapt to the market we have today?
The September edition of Repertoire is our annual Excellence in Sales issue. Each year our readers nominate the rep they think should be crowned the distribution or manufacturer sales rep of the year. This year, Chris Huppert from Midmark was named the manufacturer rep, and Mike Ludwig from Henry Schein was named the distributor rep of the year.
Both of these reps have been able to train, learn, and adapt to the environment we live in today. They both realized you must be willing to face the challenge in front of you and adapt to the need of today’s client.
“The first time you meet Chris, you realize how engaging he is,” says Matt Bourne, vice president, medical sales, Midmark. “He is very focused on what you are saying. He’s always in the moment.” When calling on the customer today you have to listen to their needs and then sell them on the outcome your product or service will deliver to solve their problem. This is completely different from the features-and-benefits selling we did 12 years ago.
Mike is no different in that he has overcome many of the same changes Chris has in the market place. “He studies what customers are facing, takes the time to learn their challenges, listens to them, and then brings in the proper experts, consultants or manufacturer reps who can help that customer respond to those challenges.” – Henry Schein Medical Vice President and General Manager Brad Connett.
Both of these reps can teach us some valuable lessons. My challenge for you in this issue is to take the time to read their stories and then take some time yourself to train, learn, and adapt to the things that challenge your business today.
In October Repertoire will be launching a six-part series on MACRA this is a great place to start learning about the issues facing your customers. Be watching the dail-eNews for more details.
Dedicated to the Med-Surg Industry
Scott Adams
Publisher