Dukal’s Gloria Lind believes a united sales team can accomplish even the most audacious goals.
By Jenna Hughes
Gloria Lind realized early on in her career that to succeed in the medical sales industry, an individual needed to have grit, determination, and the ability to operate through discomfort. This realization came after working with a large national account that had strong opinions and grand expectations.
“I learned quickly that within sales, you may be uncomfortable before you get comfortable with a client,” said Lind, now the director of sales for Dukal. Lind works in the Western U.S. Region, managing and leading a sales team that covers 19 states.
To gain the trust of her customers, Lind has learned to build relationships by way of researching her audience and actively listening to them during appointments.
“Early on as a sales rep, I asked a great deal of questions and requested data and information that I might not normally be comfortable asking for. It was at that moment I knew I also had to give customers my candid opinion,” said Lind. “I realized that it is more than okay to circle back with customers if you do not have the answer at that exact moment.”
Growing a profitable sales territory requires clear direction toward a desired goal. Lind experienced that aspect of the job firsthand in her transition from sales rep to a leadership role. “At the producer (sales rep) level you are an individual contributor, in the trenches, and working directly with your own accounts to build relationships and achieve a set individual goal. From the onset, the jump from producer to leader was more like a leap,” said Lind. “Making the move requires a shift in mind-set. I no longer focused on my own performance or accounts that I once worked with directly. While you cherish your past account relationships you are now passing the account baton. Instead, I am laser focused on the performance of my team and all customers.”
Learning from experience
Lind’s approach to her current leadership role has in part been drawn from her experience as vice president of sales and marketing at a smaller company. Dukal acquired Lind’s company eight years into her tenure there but encouraged her to stay. “When I transitioned roles, both companies I worked for shared a lot of the same customers and market space,” said Lind. “In a much larger company, there’s more people, there’s more protocols, different systems, but the sales and management aspect of the role was the same, allowing me to grow further in my career.”
To address managing a wide variety of individuals and personalities, Lind believes in approaching leadership with the same qualities as an aspiring salesperson – listening intently, being confident, and getting outside of your comfort zone. In leadership, she has also placed emphasis on the qualities of being decisive, humble, accountable, and communicating clearly.
“Motivating and clearly communicating expectations, clear sales objectives, strategic plans, and goals for the inside and outside sales team is front and center,” said Lind. “When you manage a team, leading by example and instilling the company’s culture, purpose and beliefs is continuous.”
Often, sales teams that are most successful have a respect for each other, mutually support each other, and work for the success of everyone, not just themselves.
“That there is no ‘I’ in ‘TEAM’ holds true. My role is about the human factor now more than ever. I am responsible for individuals and a united group to accomplish goals,” said Lind. “As a leader, you now are the mentor, coach, the go-to person, relationship manager and presumed lightbulb. The ability to lead, delegate, communicate effectively and create cohesion with an effective team is rewarding.”
Strong teams
When hiring new team members, Lind values candidates that have talent, technical skills, those who can build lasting relationships, and those that work well within a team. As a leader, Lind wants sales reps who have high energy, leadership potential, approachability, and the ability to stay organized.
“Team dynamics are core to the overall success of leading and developing high performing individuals. You must lead by example,” said Lind. “Trust and respect are the glue that holds relationships within the team together. But you also must set measurable goals, have structure and clarity, define roles and responsibilities, and afford the team continuous learning and improvement whether it comes from internal or external training.”
As a sales team collaborating with its customers, Dukal’s new, accessible platform InSight™ Supply Chain Solutions have been a game changer, according to Lind.
“Dukal is changing the industry standard, putting an end to the antiquated allocation processes and inventory disruptions with complete visibility of your products’ progress from production to delivery to ensure customers have what they need, when they need it,” said Lind.
Through the new platform, customers can feel secure and confident with the status of inventory assessment and allocation. The Insight Supply Chain Solution has worldwide monitoring, proactive collaboration, automated collaboration and reporting, and product tracking down to the item level. This allows Dukal’s customers to feel confident that they can provide the best patient care with reliable medical products.
New perspectives
Today’s workforce is a blend of several generations, from Baby Boomers to Gen Z. Everyone brings something different to the table, whether it’s a work style, their mindset, or their skillset, Lind said. Indeed, today’s reps have a nice blend of generational thinking. “I think we can all learn something from each other.”
For sales reps that are aspiring to an eventual role in leadership, Lind stresses the importance of having a career mentor or trusted advisor.
“A career mentor is anyone who takes an interest in you and your career, and anyone who provides guidance, advice, feedback, and support. This is priceless to a sales reps’ early career trajectory,” said Lind.
She also encourages new entrants to the industry to ask themselves what they desire from their career and what they value personally and professionally.
The U.S. healthcare supply chain is forever changing, Lind said. She encourages younger reps to learn as much as they can about the industry, know what keeps their customers up at night, what the experts are saying about the future, the indicators, and shifts. “Follow leaders in the industry, attend healthcare industry shows and meetings,” she said. “Network as much as possible.”
When starting out in sales, it is important to give yourself realistic goals and timelines, identify and start with the desired result, Lind said. “Highlight your strengths and work on your weaknesses. Be okay with asking for help. If you make a mistake, it is only a mistake if you learn nothing from it.”