Sales Pro
Lee Crane (r) with Alabama friends West Hamm and Blake Hall.
Unhappy customers have one thing in common: They have long memories. It’s a lesson Lee Crane learned years ago as a golf pro, and one he keeps in mind today as a territory manager for MedPro Associates, the national contracted sales firm specializing in the healthcare industry.
Crane lives in Houston and services South Texas and Louisiana, but it’s still Sweet Home Alabama for him. “Most of my family – both immediate and extended – still live in Tuscaloosa and Montgomery,” he says.
His father, Greg Crane, an accomplished musician, has been a worship pastor (that is, he provides music at church services) for 30-plus years. His mother, Melanie, plays the piano. And his brother, Nick, 11 months older than Lee, is also musically inclined.
Though Lee enjoys listening to music, he never developed an interest in playing it. But he did develop an interest in golf.
“I played golf a couple of times a year with my dad,” he recalls. “I think that seeing him enjoy his time on the course with his friends was what started it for me.” Riding in the golf cart was pretty cool too.
Hooked on golf
“I started to pursue golf more and more in high school. I would go to the course and goof off with friends. At that point I was hooked on the game. I was terrible, but I loved it! And I think that was the driving force behind it.”
In fact, golf stirred in young Crane an instinct that would serve him well on the links and later, in the physician’s office – a competitive spirit.
“Growing up, I always thought I was a pretty good athlete,” he says. “Then I was humbled by golf, and I knew it was something I wanted to be better at. I think the competitor in me doesn’t like being bad at anything, and I was willing to put the work in to get better. Golf is a challenge, even today. If you want to be good at it, you have to work at it. It’s the same thing with sales; if you’re not constantly learning and adapting, you’ll be stuck in the mud.”
In high school, Crane applied for a summer job at the Tuscaloosa course as a cart boy, and he picked the driving range daily. During the summer after graduation, he played every day before or after work, and became “a pretty decent player.” The Pro asked the young golfer for help with some of the golf tournaments, and soon named him assistant professional. Half a year later, the Pro left. After passing his playing ability test for the PGA of America, Crane became the Head Golf Professional. He was 21. As a golf pro, he was responsible for teaching, merchandising, golf outings and other day-to-day operations.
When his father took a job at First Baptist Church in St. Petersburg, Florida, Crane decided to look for work in Florida. Through a family friend, he got an opportunity to interview with golf industry legend Jay Overton, who was Pro at Innisbrook in Tampa. Crane was hired as one of 15 Golf Professionals on staff. In 2009, he was promoted to Head Golf Professional at the Copperhead course, where he got to host his first PGA Tour event.
Overton was a demanding boss, recalls Crane. “He would say, ‘If you’re five minutes early, you’re 10 minutes late.’ But I wouldn’t go back and change any of it.”
The switch
“We had a great group of members at Innisbrook,” says Crane. Among them were Billy Harris (now CEO of Ventyv) and Scott Adams (now publisher of Repertoire). “Billy would always say he would love to see myself and a few other golf pros at Innisbrook get into sales. At first, I hesitated, because I had never been in sales.
“Billy gave me lots of advice,” he continues. “One thing that still sticks with me today is, ‘Do what you say when you say you are going to do it.’ It sounds simple, but I try to keep that in mind every day.”
In 2010, he joined MedPro Associates, and he soon realized that the skills he developed as a golf pro would suit him well in medical sales.
“When I was at Innisbrook, customer service was always important, and I still keep that in mind to this day. Sales is customer service. An unhappy customer will remember the bad far longer than they remember the good.
“I learned at an early age that when people come to play golf at a nice course, they’re there for the right experience,” he continues. Accommodating golfers’ preferences was part of the customer service experience. “I learned that the way you carry yourself, the way you represent what you have, speaks volumes about you.”
Crane is grateful he landed with MedPro. “I have the best management a rep could ask for. Under the guidance of Bill Sparks, Manny Losada and the management team, MedPro has developed a culture that lets me be successful. They have allowed a guy like me to come in; they provide me with incredible manufacturers to represent; and they support us with whatever we need to be successful in the field.”
Three things to keep in mind
Lee Crane, MedPro Associates, believes that working hard and building relationships have been key to his success in medical sales.
His top three lessons learned:
- Answer the phone and return emails. “Distributor reps have a lot of options out there, and when you get an opportunity, you never want to waste it.”
- Know your products; help your customers identify what they want and really need; offer solutions. “A happy customer will remember you for helping find the solution they need, rather than just selling them something that may not be what they need.”
- Work with the rep who brings you the lead. “I have the privilege of working with quite a few distributors in different markets, and it can be difficult managing some of the situations that come about because of the multiple distributors one customer may have associated with their account.”
In times of trouble
Taking care of customers is a driving force for Lee Crane, territory manager, MedPro Associates. Taking care of hurricane victims? That too.
“I moved to Houston about eight years ago, and this was the first hurricane I had to live through,” says Crane, speaking of Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall in Texas on Aug. 25, 2017.
“When Harvey first developed, I thought, ‘We will probably get heavy rain,’” says Crane. In fact, South Houston, where Crane lives, got 47 inches. “I didn’t have any damage to my house, but less than two miles away, there was complete devastation. It was heartbreaking. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I wanted to help.”
In response, Crane and a friend, Russell Lala, brought together 10, 15 sometimes 20 people a day to cook and deliver meals for those who had suffered in the hurricane. They ended up serving more than 200 families in League City and Dickinson, and raising over $10,000.
“We couldn’t have done any of this without the folks in our community pulling together, donating their time, food and money to the people who needed it more than ever,” says Crane. “As word got out that we were feeding the community, it was so incredibly awesome to see people join together without even knowing one another, with a common goal of helping our community, who just lost everything.
“I can remember several times as we were outside cooking, cars pulling up and asking what we were doing. They would either ask to help deliver, or they would donate cash or food, without asking where or who it was going to. At a time where there was so much work to be done, having our community pull together was an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life.
“There is still a lot of work to be done. But if there is one thing I have learned about living in Texas, it is the sense of community and pride here. I have no doubt that the city of Houston will be back and better than ever.”