Face-to-Face Business
By the time you read this Publisher’s Letter, most of the national sales meetings will be in the books, with the exception on maybe IMCO’s, because it’s this month. For most of us, this was the first time we were all back together in 2-3 years. It feels good, doesn’t it? Face-to-face business is what makes our industry such a relationship business.
Hopefully you not only got to see friends and colleagues, but you were also able to learn from your suppliers and peers during these meetings. The summer months tend to slow business down for those of us in medical sales, which makes it a great time to step back and zero in on your selling skills and product knowledge. Even though times have changed, we do still sell products and services to our clients. The ability to bring new and existing opportunities to your end-users, which help their practices and patients, is what sets you apart as a rep and justifies the margin you write.
My challenge to you as a professional salesperson is to stop for a minute and write down three things you want to work on during the summer months to improve yourself as a salesperson. It may be taking a sales course or going in to RepConnect and watching one 2-Minute drill a day for 30 consecutive days. It may be listening to a podcast series on selling today or each of the last 10 Repertoire podcasts sponsored by the suppliers who support you. Whatever you choose, do it knowing you’re making yourself better for those you care about the most – your family, your clients, and yes, even yourself. I hope you take the summer challenge and look back on it as the time you invested in yourself, and you see the fruits of that labor in the following months when we head back into selling season.
As I close this Publisher’s Letter, I would like to thank Shannon Bream for taking the time out of her busy schedule to let us interview her on my podcast and for this cover story. I’ve known Shannon personally since we were in college, and I can attest that she is the real deal and genuinely one of the kindest, most honest personalities in 24-hour news. I hope you enjoy this read, and if you have time, listen to my podcast with her on Repertoiremag.com.
Have a wonderful summer.
Dedicated to the industry,
R. Scott Adams
