Solving Common Challenges Faced by Medical Product Sales Teams

We thought the supply chain was getting back to normal. It isn’t. In fact, the crisis keeps taking new forms, like a game of whack-a-mole in which we fill one hole and then another problem quickly pops up.
 
How are medical device and healthcare product sales professionals expected to stay motivated and fired up, when pipelines grow longer, there’s a lack of definitive timelines and customers grow weary?
 
Every industry has its own unique challenges but here are three that most sales teams have in common, with potential solutions:

Challenge 1: Accurate Forecasting

We can plan but we can no longer predict. The erratic supply chain from sourcing to production to deliveries has disrupted every phase, blurring forecast analytics. If we can’t get supplies, we can’t build or deliver products so there is nothing for customers to buy and use. It’s a simple equation without a simple solution.
 
Old, outdated, predictive data recorded pre-pandemic may be able to help with “what if” scenarios, but they have become meaningless and unreliable for our current reality.

Solution
 
Create clear wins for your team. During a storm, most people try to wait it out, and the best leaders know they need to change wins to something that can be more controlled.
 
If your teams follow a 10-step process from prospecting to close – create incentives for achieving the first 4 or 5 and again at 7 or 8 to keep morale high. For your teams to stay engaged and eager, celebrate getting people to the different steps, with full knowledge that when the sun comes out and confidence in the market goes up again, those who went to step 4 or 5 will move forward with us.

Challenge 2: Increased Costs

Even if your sourcing of supplies is being met and production is moving forward with deliveries running on-time – costs are likely much higher than previous orders and even soaring due to conditions across the overall economy.
 
As a result, your sales teams can expect reductions in their upselling tickets because there won’t be extra money in the customers budget once they have paid the higher price for the main product or service. Without these extra commissions generated from company or manufacturer incentives for customer add-ons like enhanced features, additional accessories, or warranty service plans, sales professionals are looking at lower revenues.
 
Solution
 
Everyone loves “the extras” in a deal so not only are our teams disappointed but our customers are frustrated too. No one wants to pay more for less which is why our sales teams need to remind customers about the value of their purchase (versus just focusing on the lowest price).
 
But this is also the time managers need to redefine commission models. Seeing less in our commission checks is never easy, so we need to create ways for our teams to communicate the relevance and value of the upsells making it clear to customers how they are worthy of the additional fees.

Challenge 3: Consumer Expectations

We are all reading the same headlines, but no one wants to believe it will impact them. Some long-time customers may mistakenly believe that if their order is fulfilled first, that will shorten their timeline but with most products made in volume and not one at a time, that is highly unlikely.
 
And, in the case of service offerings that require trained and skilled workers, delays are occurring due to the worker shortage, making it much harder to keep up with demand. For these reasons, medical manufacturing reps and product sales professionals are being hit with lighter and less frequent commission checks along with the anxiety that ongoing delays will put their customer relationships at risk for future transactions.
 
Solution
 
Medical product manufacturers and their partners need to remind sales teams that this is a defining time in which they will either hit ceilings or plant seeds, they cannot do both.
 
Listen to customers and help them solve short-term problems while you wait together to complete the long-term goals. This won’t be easy if the pipeline is taking on a never-ending feel, and their commission check is lagging along with it.
 
Get creative and adjust your pay-out structure to match changes in the supply chain. If sales teams were paid after the install or delivery, change that so they get a percentage of the sale in the deposit phase.
 
Quite simply, business can’t go on as usual when something very unusual is going on. Every medical and healthcare product sales leader must recognize this and adjust accordingly to keep morale and performance high. The time is now!
 

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Kathleen Black is founder & CEO of Kathleen Black Coaching & Consulting, Inc., a two-time bestselling author, global motivational speaker, and one of theworld’s leading performance strategists guiding iconic brands and professionals, across all industries including medical and healthcare, through her unique approach of empowered leadership and expert mindset-training to add billions of additional sales volume annually to their bottom lines. She can be reached at admin@kathleenspeaks.com.