7 Ways a MedTech Marketer can Add Immense Value to Sales Teams

Most Med-Tech companies rely highly on direct sales channel and the success of an organization immensely depends on how effectively sales teams can function. For years, I have successfully commercialized medical devices in all-sized organizations. In my journey, I have realized that a downstream MedTech Marketer should highly focus on enhancing the experience of sales reps and managers.?

A Product/Marketing Manager is pulled in multiple directions stretching the bandwidth thin and can be guided with efficient prioritization. One of the sources of guidance could be a company’s mission statement. For instance, if a company’s mission is to improve clinical outcomes, a Product Manager can provide thought leadership by evaluating and prioritizing what projects or products can improve the company portfolio’s clinical outcomes.

A more simplistic direction could come from thinking about the core purpose of a company. As defined in the famous book—The Goal written by Eliyahu M. Goldratt, the goal of a company is really to make money! This may not be considered the core purpose of your company (for example if it is non-profit), but it will resonate with most for-profit organizations. No other department can help you achieve this goal faster than Sales Team.?

Following are some of the ways that could help you add immense value to your sales force:??????????????????????

1.???Build credibility

Your most refined currency is credibility; if you have it, you are solvent; if you don't, you are bankrupt. Building credibility requires cultivating a set of very particular traits. Here are some ways you could build great credibility with your sales force:

(i)??????Know Your Product: This seems obvious, but you do need to have an in-depth knowledge of your product portfolio to capture many subtle and not-so-subtle aspects of portfolio strategy.?Profound knowledge of your product is also required to develop the products’ value proposition. A good head start could be achieved by attending all Sales Representative trainings. By doing this, you will build on your product and market knowledge and be in the shoes of your customers (your sales team is your customer). Your comprehensive knowledge of products will also serve your sales team better with a more aligned product sales strategy.

(ii)????Build a System to Respond to Sales Representative Questions: Irrespective of whether you are a single contributor or a member of a team, it is often difficult to respond to the questions coming from your Sales Representatives in a timely fashion. You must devise a formal or informal process to respond to Sales Representatives in reasonable time durations. It is also essential to understand why these field questions arrive, despite good team training. Good tools should always be in place to ensure that Sales reps are supported effectively, saving them time and frustration.

(iii)????Always Meet or Exceed Expectations: Set your response time expectations to sales teams. Generally, a 24 to 48 hour response time is a reasonable timeframe depending on the business needs. But there are many times when urgent responses will be needed. In one of my last companies, I recall getting calls from sales reps in the field when a patient was on the operating table, operating-room staff was waiting and the sales rep needed an answer on the functioning of a device right away. It is ideal to avoid such situations, but these will still happen. If you are receiving too many “urgent” calls from your Sales Team, it implies that you need to fix either your training material or your marketing collateral or that the expectations have not been set right.

(iv)????Know Your Industry: As stated by Sun Tzu, “Know thy enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated.” Strive to become an industry expert. As a marketer, you are in a unique position to learn the competitive landscape and study your competitors’ products. This industry knowledge will ensure that your marketing strategy is more holistic and not “inward” oriented. “Being in the know” will provide you with an edge in creating programs to genuinely enhance sales techniques.?

(v)????Build Clinical Knowledge: Although in most MedTech organizations, clinical aspects might not be your direct responsibility, MedTech companies selling highly clinical-oriented products (like oncology, surgical devices or implants) need to incorporate clinical benefits to marketing messages. It is critical to build enough knowledge of clinical benefits sought after by your end-customers. Of course it is essential to work collaboratively with clinical teams to develop programs, tools, and products that will help you meet those needs.

How Do You Know That You Are Doing it Right?

You have established credibility as a MedTech Marketer if:

(i)????Your sales team sees you as a product expert in the product portfolio lineup, and you are the go-to expert to respond to specific sales questions.

(ii)??You have an efficient system of responding to sales questions in an established timeframe.

(iii)???You have trained the staff well enough and reduced the volume of urgent calls that distract you from your core work

(iv)???Your Sales team and your leadership team see you as an industry expert, and you get opportunities to demonstrate your industry knowledge in internal and external events.?

2.??????Build a system to generate & follow-up leads

This is as common as salt in a soup in most industries, but a good lead generation process is often seen missing in many established Med-Tech organizations. This could stem from the fact that such companies often focus on direct sales channel and it is expected that your sales reps will ‘know’ their accounts and any upcoming opportunities. However, times have changed, and immense tools and methodologies are available to generate and track leads. Moreover, these tools can help save immense time of sales reps and make them more efficient in their work. What are you doing in your job that generates significant leads for your sales force? Does your organization have a well-accepted process to generate as well as follow up leads? I have seen a large company in which some leads appeared from the corporate website and conferences, but it was practically impossible to know if any follow-ups were done at all. This meant that immense money spent on these conferences, did not necessarily generate any business, and if it did, it was impossible to measure it. Generating credible leads for Sales Representatives will save immense time for Sales Teams which in return will bring great value to your organization.

How Do You Know That You Are Doing it Right?

(i)????You are following a lead generation process and have the ability to share a monthly dashboard with your sales leaders.

(ii)??You have a trackable system to follow-up leads.

(iii)?You have a straightforward process to show the sales funnel, tying it directly to the return of marketing dollars.????

3.??????Create Goal-oriented and exciting Marketing programs

Are you consistently creating marketing programs that help excite sales reps and generate interest among your customer base? If not, you might be leaving “marketing” in the hands of Sales Representatives. As a Marketer, you should create goal-oriented promotional programs like social media campaigns, special sales promos, sales blitzes, sales rep internal competitions, etc. Obviously, these programs are aimed at engaging customers, but eventually, well-executed programs also create a great sense of support and confidence among sales teams.

How Do You Know That You Are Doing it Right?

(i)??????You often create “marketing-led” programs that can be tied to revenues.

(ii)????You can measure the success of these programs that help you build a solid business case for future marketing investments.

(iii)???You have regular reports on digital and non-digital programs and the ability to measure success.????????????????

4.??????Create great Tools to Help Sales Reps Sell

Do sales reps have enough sales tools to sell well? These tools could include side by side comparison charts, brochures, videos, webinar calendars, pricing tools, etc. You also need to improve and review the tools on a regular basis to ensure that these are up-to-date with changing business landscape, customer demographics. Remember, when it comes to sales tools and aids —“Less is more!”

How Do You Know That You Are Doing it Right?

(i)??????You can track which tools are used by sales reps as well as by customers.

(ii)????You have a system to review as well as improve existing marketing material regularly.

(iii)???You have a process to collect feedback from sales teams on what works for them and which new tools could further help them.????????????

5.??????Collaborate with the Sales Training team

A good MedTech Marketer plays a significant role in ensuring that his/her sales team is well trained. ?It is critical that core marketing messages are well-incorporated in sales training programs.?It is of no use to create great attractive marketing strategies while the basic connection with core customers is lacking. For most established products training is often left to the training department. This is fine as long as we are sure that the core messages are being delivered to customers on a consistent basis. Marketers play an even more important role during new product launches for which exciting “train the trainer” programs are needed. These programs often need collaboration with other departments like – clinical & service teams.

How Do You Know That You Are Doing it Right?

(i)??????Marketing messages are well incorporated in training.

(ii)????You are well aligned with the training department with respect to new product launches.

(iii)???You see the key marketing messages being conveyed in the field during your field visits.

6.??????Be Present In The Field

Currently, it is so easy to become a “desktop marketer” and lose touch with the ground realities of business. This could quickly reduce your role from a “marketing lead” to a passive “sales support lead”. It is critical for Marketers to speak to customers and collect Voice of Customer (VoC) on a regular basis. This will bring real quality and substance to the marketing and business strategies that you will create. In any management board presentation, nothing is more powerful than saying “the KOL Dr. X said Y” as opposed to “I think Y”.

How Do You Know That You Are Doing it Right?

(i)????You are active in the field with Sales Representatives and Managers and visit customers on a regular basis.

(ii)??You can bring VoC insights/feedbacks from your field visits to the business and strategic planning processes.

(iii)??You have a good understanding of your top customers and what they buy and more importantly why.

7.??????Engage Sales Representatives In The Planning Processes

Most sales reps will appreciate if they are involved and engaged in strategic planning and product launch process in some shape or form. Some organizations miss this piece and end up giving just a sales quota without Sales Representatives clearly understanding the intent and strategy. Engaging the sales leaders in product forecasting is also essential to ensure consistent alignment and avoid ‘blame-game' in case of product back-orders or dead stocks. Some ideas to engage Sales Representatives could include - setting up Sales Representatives’ Advisory Boards, Sales & Marketing Joint Meetings, and Voice of Rep (VoR) programs through internal surveys, interviews, etc.

How Do You Know That You Are Doing it Right?

1)??????You have a collaborative process of sales as well as inventory forecasting with the sales organization.

2)??????Inputs are often sought from the sales team before launching any critical marketing program

3)??????Sales organization has a good sense of top strategies and tactics for the short as well as medium term.?

A MedTech marketer’s role is multi-faceted and involves many more activities than the ones stated above. A great deal of diligence is needed to ensure that the role not only adds a tangible value to the organization but also elevates the status of marketing in the process. A good alignment with your leaders early on will go a long way in ensuring a fulfilling job. Also, consistently helping your sales organization become successful is already more than half the job done.

Author: Avinash Sohal has over 15 years of downstream Marketing Management experience with MedTech organizations like Johnson & Johnson, Covidien and Medtronic. He has also helped launch many start-ups while leading their marketing strategies. Avinash is currently in a Marketing role with Arjo in Ontario, Canada.