Pharma Reps-Change Or You Might Become Expendable.
I work with a fair number of pharma reps–and I must tell you–there are changes you’ll have to make in order to be of value to your clients.
Here’s an idea: Instead of moving into the sales process operating from a place of “how do I get the Doc to prescribe my drug?” – move into the relationship from a place of, “what can I do in order to help the Doc solve a problem?” Do you see the difference? You should. Because you bring value the second way. Doing it the old way–how do I get him to prescribe?–you set yourself up for lies and reluctance. And you bring no value. Plus, you’re like every other pharma rep that shows up. That’s not in your best interest.
The Doc’s Problems
Think about how tough it is to be in the medical profession today: Regulations, annoying/slow insurance companies, staff issues, long hours, less money….and all the other stuff that comes with the profession. Then he has you to deal with–and all others like you. Why don’t you step back and think about how you can solve his problems by you doing what you do.
First make a list of the problems, then next to that, list out how you can help him. I don’t expect you to help in all of these areas, but maybe you could help him by being more of a resource for him and his patients. Maybe you could help him by providing some training for his staff in a certain disease state area. You are creative–so you come up with how to help him solve problems.
Then, the next time you show up, tell him what you’re up to. Tell him that your intent for the new year is to be more of a problem-finder and solver than you have in the past. See what happens.
Too Much Certainty Kills Curiosity – and Costs You Money!
Last month I was giving a sales training seminar, and one of the participants voiced his opinion on how he does something in the sales process. He was actually saying all the right things, but the “way” he said it turned other people in the room off a little.
I got to thinking about what he said and was curious about why that had such an effect on people, I determined that certainty kills curiosity.
Whenever I hear someone say, “This is how I do it and it’s always worked,” they almost certainly have killed themselves off from being curious about other ways to do it better. You’ve heard the saying, “only fools are positive.” To me, that is exactly what happens when you are so sure of yourself that you are not open to other ways to improve your results.
As you think about your sales approach to prospects and clients, be careful that you don’t “have all of the answers and don’t need more input,” because you may be cutting yourself off from one easy tactic that can monumentally affect your business.
Calling On The CEO. I Know I Need To. But How?
A study recently conducted by www.siriusdecisions.com in conjunction with the H.H. Gregg School of Sales at Ball State University, revealed (not surprisingly) that sales people, when calling on CEOs, are ill prepared.
And the CEOs don’t like it.
The report says 82% of the CEOs experience sales people who have not done their homework.
So Now What?
Good information. But if you’re a sales professional who “should be” calling on higher level contacts, exactly how do you do your research? The report didn’t talk about that, (most reports don’t tell you how to solve the problem) but I will.
Here are a few ideas:
- Web Research. I suggest you go to the company website but don’t just take what they say. Remember, a website is a brochure. Not too many websites talk about the pain the company is experiencing–and that, after all, is what you’re looking for. You can get a “lay of the land” of the businesses they’re in–and some of their objectives.
- Blog Research. What I’m doing more and more is going to blog.google.com and search there. Search on terms like “trends in the industry” or “company by name,” or even the contact himself/herself. You can get a lot of good information that way. And much of it is unfiltered by the company.
- Zoominfo.com This is a great site to learn more about the person you’re calling on–where he went to school–where she last worked–how he came up through the ranks. It gives you a sense of who this person is and how they have experienced the world. All great stuff if you’re going to be having a conversation with them.
The Bottom Line
Be careful that you don’t do so much research that you fail to ask questions because you think you know it all. I’ve seen that happen. Nothing is more annoying (not even an unprepared sales person) than one who thinks they have the answers before they ask the questions.
Get serious about your pursuit of the CEO’s pain and dreams. Then you can position your solution in a way that is meaningful for him.
Are You Looking At Your Team As An Asset?
Here is the definition of an asset: “An asset is a resource controlled by the enterprise as a result of past events and from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the enterprise.”
Your Sales Force Could Be a Killer Asset
We have been teaching for years that your sales force is a killer-asset, a super-asset of sorts because it creates wealth for the organization.
As with any asset, it can provide mediocre returns, profound returns-or returns anywhere in between. I prefer to think about your sales asset (sales team) as a machine that prints money. Think about the three ingredients of such a machine:
- It must be maintained. Let your car go 40,000 miles without a tune-up, and you’re in for big trouble. Why? Because there is a level of maintenance that helps the car run smoothly. Same for your sales team. Are you working to grow your team so they can perform at a higher pace? Is it running smoothly? Are you constantly working with them to improve their skills in approach? In finding the client’s pain? In controlling the process? In getting the truth?
- It needs to be measured. Think of a machine on a factory floor. It gets inputs and delivers output. How do you know what’s possible for your sales force if it’s not measured. But don’t just measure the output (sales). Instead be clear about the ‘inputs.’ After all, that’s the only thing you can control.
- You need to test new ways. What if you altered the machine in a way that allowed it to throw off 50% more than it was. Maybe you souped it up–or modified the governor–or did something that you weren’t even sure how it would benefit you. An asset should never be left alone. Don’t leave your sales asset alone either. Play with it. Toy with it. (Don’t toy with people – just with the processes).
What you can learn from this is to begin looking at your sales team (and all supporting tasks) as an asset that can deliver multiples of what it’s delivering now. Begin making a list of the things you see that could be improved.
Then sit down and review these with your VP sales and review the team one by one. When you start looking at things this way, you’ll be amazed at the possibilities this creates.
What Happens When There Is No Bright Light?
[Editors Note: I’m guilty of this next topic. So, before it starts to sound like a sermon, I want you to know that I struggle with this very issue.]Last week, a neighbor came over and was lamenting that his daughter was having trouble getting in to the college of her choice. He said, “All her friends got in, but her letter hasn’t come yet.” Next, I asked him the question that showed me the real problem. “What does she want to study?”
“Well,” he said, “she really doesn’t know yet. She just wants to go to XX University.” What? Doesn’t know yet? No inclination of what juices her?So she’s upset that she can’t spend $160,000 of your money going somewhere where all her friends are going.
Makes no sense. Yet it happens everyday. In fact it happens in another phase of adolescence – when there is temptation to take the wrong path (drugs/alcohol/deviant behavior).
I’m going to give it a name – and an explanation why it happens to all of us – adults, too. There is NO BRIGHT LIGHT.
The concept of NO BRIGHT LIGHT means there is no long term vision for what one wants their life to look like/feel like. When you have no long range goal – or vision – you get quite distracted by life’s choices. And when you make a wrong choice, it can screw you up (especially in the case of a young person in a tempting world).
A BRIGHT LIGHT is a vision for the future – a way you’d like your life to be – a place you’d like to live – a cause/profession that brings meaning to your days.
In business (sales), a BRIGHT LIGHT is what you’d like your customer base to look like. What you’d like your income to look like. What you’d like to accomplish in your business.
Brian Tracy talks about this when he says 80% of companies he sees have no long range vision. How can you get the troops behind a goal if it’s not clearly defined? You can’t. And when you’re tempted to sell to someone that doesn’t quite match what you expect your client vision to look like, then ask yourself why you’re doing it.
Feeling Down? Think Zerbin Singleton.
I was wat
ching the Navy-Notre Dame football game last week and heard an unbelievable story about the Navy running back, Zerbin Singleton. His story brought tears to my eyes – tears of grace and hopefulness.
The short version is that his mom was incarcerated for drug abuse and other things when he was young. After making the rounds of being raised by Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents, his father came back into his life.
But shortly thereafter, his dad committed suicide. He was in high school at the time.
Pretty severe hand he was dealt, huh? So how does a young man turn that turbulence and heartache into success? Well, he did. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in his high school class. After being turned down at Navy, he attended college in GA – but he never lost his dream of playing football at the Naval Academy.
Somewhere along the way, I’m sure he had counsel who said, “Hey, consider yourself lucky. Think of where you are – versus where you could be. Think of the odds you’ve beaten to even be in college.”
But that wasn’t enough for him.
After his freshman year, he went back at Navy again. This time he got in. And now he’s majoring in Aerospace Engineering at the Academy – and playing college football.
So the next time you complain a little because things didn’t go your way – or you begin to feel sorry for yourself at the hand you were dealt, think about PVT Singleton. I know I will. He had no options. He HAD to make it happen. He didn’t have parents to nurture him – to coddle him – or to bail him out.
He is the poster boy for PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY. Like Nietsche says, “That which doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger.”
The $50 Million Deal
We often hear that our “way” of training and coaching is “great, as long as you’re not going after big deals.” We’ve never bought into that. Yes, it’s harder to detach from the outcome of bigger deals, but changing the way that you think is effective on any deal—$1 or $1,000,000.
We recently had a client land a $50,000,000 deal!
If you’re reading this, you know who you are. For the rest of you, it wouldn’t be cool to “out” our client, so you’ll have to keep guessing!
I wanted to share with you 3 of the fundamental principles that we’ve worked on with them. Please don’t get me wrong, we are not taking credit for the deal – they get that all to themselves. However, I do think they would agree that our work with them helped lay the foundation for a win.
Principle #1: Identifying and Communicating Your Value
• What is value? It is the relief that your prospect feels when you can find and solve a pain they have. Or, the excitement they feel when they recognize the possibility you can help them create with your product/service.
• What it is not. Value is never platitudes, claims or opinions. The more you claim and opine in your statement, the less believable it will be, and the more your prospect will tune out everything else you say.
• It is as if there is a conversation going on inside the prospect’s mind and your expression of your value meets him where he is.
• In creating your value statement, you should make two lists—one of the conscious pains that you help people solve. And the second of the unconscious pains you fix. The secret in this is that the true differential value you bring is in the discovery and solving of the unconscious pains.
Principle #2: Detachment
• What is detachment? The ability to emotionally divest yourself from an outcome that you can’t fully control anyway. We learned from an early age that there was a WIN and a LOSS—a winner and a loser. And we didn’t want to be the loser, so we became attached to the outcome of winning.
• What it is not. There is a difference between detached and “disengaged.” Disengaged is when you don’t care or your mind is distracted. Sometimes people use disengaged as a way to hide their true attachment. They will say things like “do what you want to do,” or “I don’t really care what you do.” Don’t be disengaged. You are attached to the process and detached from the outcomes. But if you become disengaged, you cross the line.
• What happens when you become attached to the outcome?
1. You are unable to take risks
2. You are unable to do the right thing for your prospect or client
3. You sell yourself short, trivializing your value in the process
4. You default to using someone else’s process even though yours has been proven effective• How do you get out of it? Simple. Change thought. Thinking must change from “how will this effect me?” to “how can I contribute to the well being of another (prospect/client)?” Have you heard the saying, “when you’re depressed, go help someone else”? It’s true. So one way to “get out of yourself” is to help someone else. In sales, that usually means the prospect.
Principle #3: Clear Future / Presentation of Solution
• What is a “clear future”? You need to understand the decision making process of your prospect. How does the decision get made? Who makes the decision in their company? Are you talking to them? Can you live with that process of getting to them? When you get really good at managing your process, you will be the only one laying down the decision process – not them.
• Presentation. Present to the pain. If it’s a written presentation, then a review of the pain is in order at the top of the document. If it’s a spoken, delivered presentation, then a review of the pain should happen first. This is not the time to talk to them (your prospect) about all of the other great things you can do for them. DO NOT take your eye off of the ball, and by all means, don’t force them to take THEIR eye off of it either.