One sales consultant’s military background as a medic laid a natural groundwork for a career in medical products sales.
By Laura Thill
The years he spent with the military, training medics on advanced life saving techniques before they deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, followed by his work monitoring patients in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, have left Matt Birney very people-wise – likely a large factor leading to his eventual transition from a lab career to sales. Yet, in recalling his early days as a medical products rep, the LABSCO senior diagnostic sales consultant laughs: “I would ask my manager, ‘Am I doing the right thing?’ And, he would say, ‘Of course you are!’ But, when that first commission check came, I didn’t even know what it was for!”
Today, Birney’s 15 years of combined lab and sales experience have done much to improve his confidence. “When I joined LABSCO seven years ago, my strong lab background was a big help,” he says. “Still, we cover over 30,000 products, and my first year was overwhelming.” He found that by organizing products around categories, it made it somewhat easier to “get a handle on them and know what they were and which ones to lead with.” That said, considering how constantly medical technology and products change, it can be challenging for even the most seasoned sales consultants to stay current and keep their customers informed, he adds.
Add to that the Affordable Care Act, and sales reps have had a very full plate for the last several years, he continues. “Understanding how the Affordable Care Act has impacted our customers – and how we can address that – has been a major change for [sales reps],” he says. “We really have had to look at [the industry] differently. Today, we can’t simply sell our products and walk away. We really need to help our customers understand the impact each product has on patient care and patient outcomes. We really need to guide our customers through the sales process.”
Becoming a leader
Like many college-bound students, after high school, Birney saw the National Guard as a great opportunity. “My parents couldn’t afford to send me to college,” he explains, noting the military offers some great educational benefits. When he joined the National Guard at 17, he had visions of becoming a highway patrolman. As it turned out, “there was a bonus associated with becoming a medic,” he says. “One choice can change your direction for the rest of your life.” Indeed, for the next 22 years, he stayed on as a medic and, eventually, a trainer and Acting First Sergeant. By the time he retired, he had achieved a Master Sergeant title.
His years in the National Guard account for “some of the most fun” Birney has had. They were also an eye opener. While he was fortunate to remain stateside, he did see a number of friends “who went through a lot” in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he continues to have deep respect for them, he says.
In addition, for seven weeks he worked with a medical team in New Orleans, La., monitoring people who had been injured or become ill during Hurricane Katrina. “We worked [alongside] the Navy, FEMA teams, the Red Cross and [various] government agencies,” he recalls. “Our job was to track patients as they progressed through the hospital and military systems.”
In Katrina’s wake, “there were packs of wild dogs running around,” Birney says. “In some instances, starving animals were left behind in homes with deceased owners.” There was an account of a shark – likely an escapee from the local aquarium – swimming down a street, and stories of college students and others who stayed behind to loot the homes of evacuees. “The looters had to be locked up in chained tennis courts,” he says. “It was very sad and disturbing to see how people react to disasters.” And, the military does a great job of learning from its mistakes, he adds.
Those seven weeks were very difficult – especially for his wife, says Birney. “We had just moved to a new city, and my wife, Staci, was on her own with our then 3-year-old son, Gentry (now 12), and 2-year-old daughter, Kendall (now 11).” Since then, his family has grown to include another son, eight-year-old Marshall. He is grateful, however, that the company he worked for at the time – Olympus – was extremely supportive and continued to pay his salary throughout the seven weeks he served. LABSCO has been equally supportive, he adds. “When I was sent to Armenia for a week to train soldiers before they went to Afghanistan, as well as any other time the military pulled me away, LABSCO totally supported me,” he says.
“Working with the military definitely taught me to be a leader,” says Birney. “You really learn how to read people from these experiences, just by looking into their eyes and seeing what direction they are headed in.
“My military training also set me up to be a better salesperson,” he continues. “I absolutely think you need to establish a great relationship with your customers. After all, they are the ones that make it or break it for you. There are multiple vendors, and in the end, the customer will go with the individual with whom he or she has the closest and most trusting relationship. This is just as important within your own company. You need to maintain good relationships with the people you work with every day.” That said, his customers and coworkers are some of his best friends, he says.
“Being able to work part-time in the National Guard for so many years kept me fresh, and I feel very blessed,” Birney says. He retired four years ago, following 22 years of service.
Today, in addition to keeping up with family activities and continuing his sales work at LABSCO, Birney assists his parents with their Scottish Highlander beef and horse farm in Central Kansas. “We own a few horses and always have a small herd of Scottish Highlander cattle on hand,” he says. “The farm keeps us busy, stacking and baling hay in the summer and feeding cattle in the winter.” And, as it turns out, his medical products accounts are some of his biggest beef customers as well!