Inside the Mind of a Medtech Sales Professional - Advice to my Future Sales Leaders.

Hi LinkedIn, this is my first blog post and something I've been thinking about for a little while. It's coming up to one year in my role as NHS Sales lead for Surgery Hero, and it's my first role working within a start up and selling SaaS (Software as a Solution). There have been lots of highs, a few lows and it goes without saying many challenges. I thought it would be nice to share some advice to anyone looking to get into this field and also those currently building their career here alongside me.

Lets get started ...

• Sell something you truly believe in. My first point - you must work with a product and team that you honestly believe in. You're working for around 40 hours per week every single week - for most of your life, you completely owe it to yourself to sell something you feel passionate about, excited about and something you truly believe in. I know this can be a luxury, as sometimes you have to take whatever role you can get, but if you ever get the chance to work with a product you genuinely feel excited about - please for the benefit of your future happiness and success grab it with both hands (and feet!!).

• Don't put too much weight on other peoples opinions. After all, that's all they are - opinions. At numerous points during my career I have been told 'Oh I wouldn't move there' 'That's too much of a risk' 'I think you're making a mistake' 'Have you really thought that through?'... the list goes on. Sometimes, this is coming from a place of genuine care and wisdom, but a lot of the time these kinds of comments are just fears that your peers are projecting on to you. My advice would be to remain polite, consider who is giving this advice- do they have a career journey you'd like to mimic or not? And then finally, do exactly what you planned to do anyway with the confidence that you and you alone know what's best for yourself.

• Trust your gut. I can't really explain this one as its a little bit wishy washy but it's something I've always practiced myself and it hasn't failed me yet (fingers crossed!). I think your gut feeling is there for a reason, whether its a feeling about a career move or a client you get a good/bad feeling about. Trust that feeling. I'm not saying take it as absolute truth, as of course you should work around evidence rather than gut feeling alone, I just think its worth taking some time to explore this instinctive reaction before deciding what to do with it.

• Truly and deeply believe in yourself. This is a big one. Don't talk yourself down, don't use phrases like 'I'm only insert job role here' - you aren't only anything. You're incredible, you deliver results and you're a valued member of the team. Back yourself completely and utterly. This doesn't mean be overly confident or assume things will always go to plan, I can say that they most definitely will not, but by beliving in yourself those inevitable low moments in your career will never have the ability to knock you down too intensely. On this note, confidence breeds confidence. If you believe in yourself then others are much more likely to believe in you too. It's infectious!

• Put yourself out there. If you get the opportunity to do anything new in your career, especially if it's outside of your comfort zone - become a Nike superfan and JUST DO IT. Whether it's a sales call that feels much more advanced than your previous calls, travelling to a new country alone to promote your work, presenting in front of 500 clinicians who feel a lot smarter and more qualified than you - just do it. At the end of the day, qualifications and experience aside, we're all just humans trying to find our way in our careers. Nobody thinks 'yay!' seconds before public speaking, nor does anyone attend a conference alone without that fear of 'what if I spend the whole time wandering around like Billy No Mates' - but to truly excel and succeed with these things you have to be there in the first place.

• Find your own way. If you're new to your role / product and haven't quite got to grips with how to best promote it, I think shadowing those that have had success in the past is a great place to start. If you're at a start up where there isn't anyone to shadow then researching successful sales professionals, reaching out to individuals on LinkedIn for advice can be a great confidence boost- I did this. However, you must find your own way. You have to sell in a way that feels natural to you and comes across as authentic. We can all smell a dodgy sales pitch from a mile away and nobody wants to be sold to in a robotic way- save that for 10 years time when we might have some AI competition! Find your way - perfect it and watch how enjoyable work becomes.

• Remain true to your core values. This is my final point as I believe its the most important of all. Above all else, remain true to yourself and your core values. There is likely to be many times where you may feel pressured to sell a certain way, say certain things or do things which quite frankly just don't feel like you. Fight this (professionally) and do things in a way that sit right with you. This can be hard when your first starting out as there can be pressure from those with more experience (and most likely managers) to act a certain way, push back on certain things, not take no for an answer. Don't risk your core values just to make someone else happy, as at the end of the day you represent yourself first and foremost. Always act in a manner that you are proud of and feels authentic to you.

And with that, we have come to the end of my list. I hope this provided some interesting insight into the mind of a sales professional or at the very least given you something new to read over your afternoon brew. Either way thank you for taking the time to read this and I wish you a week of success and fulfillment.

Take Care, Chloe.