Peter Green
MedTech/MedCare
Representing Health o meter
Repertoire: What are the two or three most important things you can do for your distributor rep partners to enhance their sales?
Peter Green: My distributor reps are the bloodline to my success, and because of that, I make sure that I keep them up to date on a number of different facets that help them drive more value to their customers. Being a manufacturer rep for a number of different companies, I make sure that my distribution reps are aware of the innovation and the latest and greatest of medical devices, and how that can help their customers in today’s health system world.
Promotions are great, and I keep that information in front of them, but the real value I try to bring my reps is solution selling, not transactional selling. The relationship is a two-way street: When they bring me an opportunity, it is my job to make them look as good as possible in that situation. That can come in a variety of ways – speaking at high levels on MACRA versus fee-for-service, customer field support, organically helping them upsell in every situation possible. My job, at the end of the day, is to make the person who called me about the opportunity look as good as possible in front of their customer – no more, no less.
Repertoire: Name two or three ways distributor reps can help you add value to their accounts and increase sales.
Green: I constantly work with my reps to get in front of the key mobilizers within their accounts. Every customer is different; in some cases it may be a clinical nurse, in other situations it could be the GPO or even IT or project manager. I am constantly challenging my reps – as they challenge me – as to who are the key mobilizers. Understanding this allows us to be the most efficient in every call and to help increase our chances of closing business together. Iron sharpens iron: The more we challenge each other as far as information upfront, the greater the closing percentage and chance of selling more product. I just ask my reps to get me in front of every opportunity, large or small, and I will do whatever I can to help build on that opportunity. Also when the rep can extrapolate on the customer’s pain points, the better I can position the right product to help alleviate that pain point and make the rep look as good as possible.
Repertoire: What is the biggest change you anticipate in medical product sales in the next five years?
Green: Today’s market is much different than it was two years ago – even one year ago. I see that only getting more challenging. With that being said, it means a ton of new opportunity for everyone if they are willing to embrace the changes and work through them. Understanding MACRA and HEDIS is essential – how that affects a doctor as fee-for-service becomes a thing of the past. The reps who have a handle on solution selling and how to get to the key mobilizers will win in the end. There is more business available today, if you look in the right places. I look at every health system, IDN, accountable care organization and hospital as its own puzzle. Each is a little different, though they might look the same at first. Once you understand how and where the pieces go within each, you’ll find it becomes much easier to sell in that space.
Repertoire: What do you like/dislike about ride-days with distributor reps?
Green: I am – and have always been – a fan of ride-days, but only if they are orchestrated in the right manner. I think of a ride-day with a rep the same as I see riding with a manager, director or manufacturer partner. There has to be pre-call discussion or planning. In today’s world, some reps might have 45 sites that fall under one system. In the past, we would have tried to hit as many of those offices as possible. But it might make sense to maybe hit Biomed, Infection Control or a specific department to show how a product could benefit the entire system. This can only be done with pre-call planning instead of just jumping in the car and going.
Repertoire: Do you think distributor reps should embrace ride days?
Green: I don’t want to speak for anyone but me. I will only do a ride-day if there is a lot of work done on the front end so that we can be as efficient as possible and hit the ground running. The successful reps that I work with believe in them and use them when it makes sense. I have always been a believer in “strength in numbers,” so when done right, I think they are a major value-add for both the manufacturer and distributor rep.