Solving the Sales vs. Training Dilemma

Imagine a sales representative from a Fortune 500 medical device company has just landed a sale for a new line of ICU products at a major metropolitan hospital. Instead of scheduling the next few weeks to educate medical staff on how to use the new products, the rep turns the vital, yet time consuming task over to a third party clinical education consultant. Freed from the confines of spending the hours required to train nurses and other end-users during both day and night shifts, the enterprising individual partners with a trusted brand representative and is able to move forward to spearhead the next sale.

More than seven years of experience in sales and sales management for Covidien influenced my philosophy on the fundamental role of the medical device sales force. Along with my sales management colleague, Tim Gleeson, we realized that giving sales representatives a solution and decreasing the responsibility of training and education makes perfect business sense.

Mounting Pressure
Above making sure the client was comfortable in using the new product, it was even more critical that the medical device was being used properly. Typically, the education process encompasses up to 50% of a sales representative’s time. After closing a deal, medical device sales reps and managers often must switch hats and become the training/education arm of the company as opposed to focusing on the next sale.

Giving sales representatives a solution and decreasing the responsibility of training and education makes perfect business sense.

This responsibility of training adds more pressure to the sales force already squeezed by skyrocketing costs in the medical device/diagnostic industry in the wake of growing competition, the healthcare bill, the device tax bill, FDA regulations, and ever-shrinking hospital budgets. While these outside forces squeeze margins, there is another factor affecting a company’s bottom-line. Medical device sales teams are being directed to increase sales in larger territories. This predicament raises a significant need for companies to maintain a high level of product training and education, while enabling a sales force to concentrate solely on business development – especially when a spike in sales volume is needed.

In Search of a Solution
The medical device industry has tried a variety of sales models that include hiring full-time nurses, junior sales associates, clinical educators, as well as building out an internal 1099 per diem team to conduct training on an as-needed basis. These approaches have not produced optimum results. Throughout the trials and testing to solve the problem, it was clear that the strategic blend between clinical expertise and brand representation was lacking.

The journey of solving the sales vs. training dilemma raises many questions. What will help the sales force succeed as productivity demands increase? What will it take to decrease SGA and continue to have education and training play a role in marketing differentiation?

TOP: A turnkey solution that provides a network of peer-to-peer clinical educators will free up the sales force to focus entirely on driving business. BOTTOM: Partnering with qualified clinicians to train personnel on medical device products is available and will save time and money.

A turnkey solution that provides a network of peer-to-peer clinical educators will free up the sales force to focus entirely on driving business. These flexible teams of clinical educators are able to be rapidly deployed when needed. Consisting of medical professionals dedicated to educating end-users on new medical devices, disposable products, diagnostic functions, and protocols, the teams are naturally qualified to work in hospital and clinical lab environments.

The clinical educators serve an invaluable role during trials, new product launches, conversions, installs, maintenance, and recalls. This new concept helped medical device companies to ensure patient safety, while reducing time and the hard costs of product education. Savings of up to 55% of medical device manufacturers’ fixed costs related to training were achieved because all HR, expenses, tax, insurance, and risk are managed by an outside organization.

This new avenue of medical device education occurs on-site, or is available through an 800 phone-line and video chat support. While hospital, clinic, or medical office personnel appreciate the education from fellow medical professionals, the manufacturers’ sales reps and managers enjoy the increase in selling time and fostering business relationships. Medical device giants such as Smith & Nephew, Hollister, Edwards Lifesciences, Smith Medical, Navilyst Medical, Baxter, Vidacare, and Covidien have already embraced this new concept in ensuring quality and efficient education of their products.

Moving forward, there needs to be change. Partnering with qualified clinicians to train personnel on medical device products is available and will save time and money.

Novasyte LLC
Newport Beach, CA
www.novasyte.com