Cardinal Health’s Nate Spates Jr. on the importance of fostering customer trust, life-work balance, and more.
By Jenna Hughes
Nate Spates Jr. had always been curious about a career in sales.
His father-in-law suggested Spates’ demeanor and interpersonal skills would make him a great fit with a company within the medical sales sector.
Turns out he was right. In the summer of 2021, Spates joined Cardinal Health as a Non-Acute Territory Sales Representative for Memphis and the surrounding area. As Spates has quickly learned during his time in the industry, listening is key to not only client relationships, but for all relationships. Being accessible for customers, especially in a demanding marketplace, not only assists with selling, but garners trust between customers and sales reps.
“Before you jump to problem solving and finding resolutions, it’s important to let customers share their concerns or vent frustrations,” Spates said. “This is one of the best opportunities to connect with them.”
Trust between sales reps and businesses is vital to success, as without trust, there is unlikely to be sales progress.
On the topic of customer trust, Spates said “letting your customers share their feelings shows that they’re comfortable enough with you to tell you how they’re feeling. I see it as a badge of honor when a customer trusts me enough to tell me how they’re feeling – and they’re giving me the opportunity to help resolve the issue.”
Learning from experience
Spates began his role with Cardinal Health on the heels of the pandemic. Dealing with supply chain disruptions and material shortages taught him that it’s in a sales reps’ best interest to come prepared to customer meetings with suggestions for product alternatives.
Indeed, supply shortages are among the many obstacles that medical sales reps continue to face. Knowing how to overcome this, and researching and communicating with customers about their specific needs, can help sales reps meet their customers’ expectations.
For advice and guidance, Spates seeks advice from individuals who have worked in medical sales for over 20+ years, as they have seen an era or two come and go in the industry. He says, “I’m curious about their staying power, what their relationships with their customers are like, customers they won over time and customers they’ve lost. This gives me a good picture of the rep/client relationship, which I believe is the most integral part of this role.”
Life-work balance
The industry is rapidly changing, and physicians in the industry are apprehensive, with many wondering what the “next big thing” will be to change the world of healthcare.
“Physicians and physician offices can exhaust a lot of bandwidth spending time preparing for anything that might go wrong – time which they could be using towards growing their medical practices,” said Spates. “This is a challenge, since there is no real way to pinpoint the next big issue or where it could be coming from.”
Strong leaders that guide sales teams are important to the success of the organization and to help employees avoid unnecessary stress over unknown factors.
Support from leadership is critical for today’s field rep. Cardinal Health’s corporate structure allows for ample employee support and many upward mobility opportunities, Spates said. “It doesn’t matter what position someone is in the company – at Cardinal Health I feel comfortable reaching out to anyone,” he said. “Culture is very important to any company, and it must be genuine. I take the word ‘culture’ very seriously and I am proud to say that I work for a company that has a great culture.”
As for looking forward in terms of his career, Spates said he would like to be able to affect the most change for Cardinal Health while maintaining a life-work balance. “I deliberately put life before work and try not to put timelines on my career,” he said. “If I focus on being the best version of myself daily, the right doors will open at the right time, and I will be prepared to walk through them.”