Anyone who hopes to achieve success in the medical device sales industry cannot afford to ignore the revolutionary effect that relatively recent technological advances have had on the sales process.
Inefficiencies that were commonplace as recently as five years ago have become business killers. Just as physicians have been compelled to adapt to changing health care laws, those in the medical device industry have had to adjust the way they provide products and services or risk losing out to more nimble, tech-savvy competitors. For example, the new sunshine laws at the federal and state level are preventing access to physicians, making sales teams jobs that much harder.
To help with that adjustment, here are the three primary areas where recent advancements in communications technology can be used to improve your company’s medical device sales processes.
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1) Workflow and business process automation
Proper use of available technology begins with automation of your company’s workflow and business processes. This comes down to reducing inefficiencies and limiting the possibility of error. Sounds good, right? What medical device sales department wouldn’t want to save itself and its clients precious time by, for example, streamlining the approval process for a negotiated product discount?
This can be accomplished by using a CRM system that allows you to eliminate the emails, conversations, phone calls and endless back and forth that characterizes the old-style approval process. A process that once might have taken weeks might now only require days or even a few hours, thanks to automated notifications, electronic editing and instant approval capabilities for managers. All changes are recorded and saved as separate documents, so participants at every level of the approval process can see at a glance what edits were made and when. By integrating workflow automation with the business process automation of a CRM system, the benefits of improved efficiency are experienced throughout the organization.
2) Social media and collaboration capabilities
The advent of social media introduces an entirely new, technology-driven platform for medical device sales reps to interact with physicians. The “sample jockey” sales model might have had its day, but that day has passed thanks to online communication modes such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and blogs. In the physician-specific social media realm, sites such as the Sermo and Doc2Doc websites are where you’ll find a large, active community of physicians and specialists who exchange an incredible amount of information day and night.
What does this mean for the medical device sales industry? First, social media eliminates potential issues with access to physicians at hospitals and other medical facilities. A technologically savvy sales rep will go where the customers are – and that is online. Second, knowing that there is a vibrant conversation going on in the social realm is not useful unless you are able to participate. That means monitoring Twitter and other social platforms with a CRM system that tells you when someone has sought information about a product or service you provide. An automated alert provides the lead, and the medical device sales rep follows up by reaching out to the physician using the same means of communication he or she already has proven comfortable with and adept at using. But that’s just the start.
Once the connection has been made, further collaboration must be encouraged. This means providing a private portal online. Here, the prospective client might find a product or service brochure, as well as a means to ask further questions. If those questions extend into the “off-label” realm, it creates the opportunity to involve a medical science liaison or other members of the sales team who legally can provide answers that are not under the purview of the sales rep. The bottom line with social media and online collaboration: it’s about building relationships with the physicians who are instrumental in the medical device purchasing decisions.
3) Mobile access
Technological advances in mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, allow you to cultivate new relationships with physicians who contribute significantly to decisions regarding purchases of medical devices. These relationships can be developed and nurtured with instant feedback independent of a laptop computer. According to the 2012 “What Physicians Want!” survey, 82 percent of respondents would like to see more medical device sales reps use tablets when interacting with their practices. This is particularly important for physicians who find themselves increasingly squeezed for time as patient outcomes are given increasingly more scrutiny. With the advent of Internet access on smartphones and tablets, a modern CRM system puts it all at your fingertips for instant sharing — clinical studies, data sheets, brochures and more.
Incorporating new forms of technology into the medical device sales process is not merely a luxury. If you can’t provide instant feedback, social collaboration and fast answers, your physician clients will find someone who can.
