Resource Articles for Medical Device Sales, Pharmaceutical Sales, Contract Sales, Independent Consultants, and Healthcare Providers.
Tips for Building a Sales Team Pandemic Days or other Challenging Times (Dec 2021) The pandemic has caused numerous challenges for companies seeking to hire employees. Many job opportunities are available but for numerous reasons, people have not been overly anxious to accept employment, whether contract, 1099, or direct salary. There are many lessons that can be taken from knowing some of the successful changes instituted by various big brand companies for companies of all sizes to consider.
Medical Device and Pharmaceutical Sales Reps Successfully Transition to Virtual Sales Meetings during the Pandemic (Dec 2021) Virtual and Remote Sales in Medical sales is a growing trend. As we know, medical sales professionals are known for going from hospital to hospital, to physician office to physician office. In addition, medical sales reps routinely visit numerous other healthcare-related call points for face-to-face meetings and sales presentations on a daily basis. Over the years in their sales capacity, they have established numerous relationships. They have emailed, texted, and provided sales and educational material directly to many of their relationships. The transition to remote and virtual communications with their healthcare provider relationships wasn’t as challenging as one might think.
Hiring Medical Sales Executives Listed as Number One Hardest-to-Fill Small Business Jobs in America (May 2019): A report from one of the largest job boards in the world (Indeed) listed Medical Sales Executives as their number one hardest-to-fill small business jobs in America. The need for medical sales executives by small businesses and startup companies has been increasingly growing. In addition, and, at its highest level, there have been increasing challenges to hiring medical sales representatives for small businesses. MedCepts is an industry leader for providing niche jobs offered by small businesses and start-up companies in the medical and healthcare sector. Our network of Medical Sales Professionals is extensive. Equally important, we specialize in hiring and recruiting medical sales executives.
Growth Trend of Independent Consultants (April 2016, Updated 10/2017, March 2019): The trend of creative alignment of multiple jobs through a variety of employers in a niche industry resulting in creating numerous streams of income continues to rise. The US $50 Billion Consulting Market is Expected to Grow Faster in 2016 – Eighty-Three Percent Growth by 2018 is Expected for Consulting Services such as Management, Distribution, Personnel, and Marketing….
Advantages of Being an Independent Manufacturer Sales Rep or Independent Consultant: For many, the advantages of becoming an independent far outweigh the disadvantages. Unlike an employee who works for an employer, independent reps, independent contractors or independent consultants often work for a number of different clients, companies and / or product lines that require their special expertise and established relationships. Independent sales reps and independent consultants are self-employed entrepreneurs and most are very GOOD at what they do or they couldn’t be independent, without that comfort zone of a base salary. Independent agents must be self-starters, highly motivated, good at marketing yourself, marketing YOUR business, AND excellent at closing!
Income Earnings for Independent Sales Reps & Distributors: Over 5,000 independent medical sales representatives, distributors and team leaders (managers) of independent rep groups participated in our Annual Income Earned Survey. Respondents anonymously shared data regarding their average commission percentages, total commission income, their years of sales experience, type and number of products they represented including additional specific information of the manufacturers’ lines they carry and more.
Value of Pharmaceutical Rep Per Physician Visit: Manufacturers, Pharmaceutical Companies (Hiring Companies): Have you ever calculated the cost per visit for your sales reps? – Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Sales Reps: What is your dollar value PER physician visit? We surveyed over 1,000 medical sales reps and we’ve taken the results of only the pharma or pharma specialty “Field Reps” and here are the results we found…
Building a High Impact Sales Force with Independent Sales Representatives – An Investment You Can’t Afford Not to Make – Recruiting and retaining the best sales people could be the competitive tipping point that helps your business to succeed. Finding and keeping good sales people is fundamental in the medical sales industry. According to the US DePaul Centre for Sales Leadership, DePaul University, Chicago (for salary based sales reps) the average sales staff turnover per annum is 12 to 18% – with 24% of firms reporting turnover higher than 20%. Some specialty sales areas {and for some companies} these figures can soar as high as 100%.
Commission Compensation for Independent Reps: Three of the most common questions involved with the hiring of commission only Independent Manufacturer sales representatives relates to compensation. Eleven (11) Considerations to be made when negotiating compensation for sales reps
Commission Structure Variables: There are many different types of commissions and many different ways commissions can be calculated. Setting commission compensation can be tricky. To create a compensation package that’s fair to both parties, consider what it is you are actually paying for, what expectations there are for the sales reps, how much time is invested by both parties and are the rewards fair and equitable to both parties? Are both parties, equally, putting a “little skin in the game?” Important Factors to Consider when structuring Commission compensation for Independent Sales Representatives…
Contract Sales Organization – Team Building with independent and contract sales reps: A Contract sales organization can reduce fixed costs, adds flexibility for pharma, device, and diagnostic contract sales and service offerings.
Pull Marketing in the Medical Device, Pharmaceutical, and Healthcare Industry: Push Marketing refers to a marketing strategy in which you are pushing information towards your potential customer. Pull Marketing refers to a marketing strategy when you have clients coming to you to ask about your product or service. Medical Sales Reps: Imagine a day without cold calling and simply calling on those expressing interest in more information about a product you represent. Healthcare Providers: Imagine a day without reps disrupting your schedule and simply calling when you express interest in more information about a product.
Selling To Hospitals: Over the years selling for most industries has changed relatively little compared to how selling to healthcare organizations has changed. Ask any professional salesperson, with 15-20 years experience, of their perspective related to selling medical supplies, medical devices, Capital equipment, pharmaceuticals and other health care related products and services into hospitals. The bottom line, it is virtually an entirely different job than it was 20 years ago. (Or is it?)
Start Ups or Big Brand Sales: Independent 1099 Medical Device Reps prefer Start-Up Companies over Big Brand Companies – A sample survey was conducted by targeting multiple divisions of our medical sales rep network with 5,751 total qualifying respondents. MedCepts continuously seeks to offer new insight to the latest trends within the medical sales industry. We feel there is no better way to gain insight, collect answers to questions and obtain opinions of medical sales reps than to go directly to sales reps for this insight.
Discussion on Providing Demonstration Units, Free Sample Units and free marketing material to your independent sales team: To Charge or Not to Charge Independent Manufacturer Sales reps for samples and marketing material? A discussion for small businesses and start-up medical product manufacturers, suppliers, inventors and service suppliers in the medical and healthcare industry.
Tips for Setting Sales Quotas (April 2019): Setting sales quotas or sales goals can be challenging for many companies. It is critical to establish realistic and obtainable quotas. Furthermore, setting proper quotas will certainly provide the company with a competitive edge.
Analytics of Social Media – LinkedIn Company Page: LinkedIn provides tools for those establishing a company showcase page. In addition, they offer widgets to put on your website to lead your website visitors to LinkedIn. Question is: Should you be sending your website visitors away from your business site to LinkedIn or should you be looking for tools to send visitors from LinkedIn to YOU?!
Employee or Independent Reps – IRS Resources: For many individuals, self-employment as an independent sales rep, independent contractor or independent consultant can be a rewarding and an extremely satisfying career option. It can be critically important to keep up to date relative to regulations but it also beneficial to understand and identify the extent of your role. There is a significant difference when it comes to IRS tax regulations.
FDA Resources: The MedCepts Medical Sales & Marketing Network is a diversified network of individual consultants and companies with experience from the “New Idea to Concept” and Distribution. List of quick reference FDA resources are listed.
Global Medical Manufacturer Sales Network:
Growth of Outsourcing Medical and Healthcare related products and services: A focus of our network is to provide support for sourcing and outsourcing processes of the healthcare industry and thus to facilitate the search for suitable contractors for specific services. MedCepts networks with niche specialists and consultants for all life cycles for medical / healthcare related products and services.
Healthcare Marketing Directories: Our proprietary network directories (of members, partners, affiliates, mentors, healthcare providers…) at MedCepts are extensive. Our proprietary databases include the Business Name, Provider name, Specialty, Category, Business Location address, Mailing Address, Specific Contacts – leaders and decision makers for various departments, Direct Mail, Email, fax numbers, and more.
How to calculate consulting fees when setting up your consulting business:
How to Charge Consulting Fees: Understanding how to Charge Consulting Fees for independent consultants in medical sales, research, development, clinical and more can be important when establishing a new consulting firm.
Is the Product Hot or Not: Perspective of a Sales Rep: What makes a great product to promote? A Philosophical View from an Independent Medical Sales Rep’s position – Is the Product Hot or Not? What product line(s) does an independent sales representative or medical product distributor choose to promote?
Job board market space for the medical and healthcare industry: (Nov 2017) MedCepts has been building and assisting others to build job sites for well over a decade and a half. (15 years!) We feel we know this space like no other company in the medical and healthcare industry. We have been around long enough to see some of the major job / career sites develop from infancy.
Marketing and Sales Force Planning in Product Development Stages: Exploratory research with sales and marketing professionals prior to product development – Building a sales team, aligning manufacturer sales representatives, direct salary sales reps, sales managers, lead generators and consultants in early product development stages as part of Exploratory research early on is a critical element to success. Sales Team management and marketing support during life cycle stages can also provide a strong impact on sales results.
MedCepts News and Reviews: A few of our news and press releases.
Medical Product Group Purchasing: Establishing synergistic relationships for successful market penetration and perpetual sales through utilization of Group Purchasing and Group Buying Organizations, Government Contracts, National, Regional or Local Contracts for Medical Product Promotion.
Medical Products Distribution:
Medical Sales Representatives:
Mobile-Geddon: What impact will it have? : Google’s latest algorithm release for mobile ready websites is expected to change the way websites are ranked in search results, when users search for information from their phones.
Most Influential Sales Recruitment Firms: Most Influential Sales Recruitment Firms across America – MedCepts recruiting division ranks #2 of 6,000 Recruitment Firms in USA
Non-circumvent Clause: What is it, should you consider discussion with your legal adviser to add this clause?
Pioneering a New Medical Product: Pioneering a new medical product, healthcare related service or pharmaceutical product can often be a very exciting and extremely rewarding opportunity for the independent medical sales rep and medical product distributors.
Pull Marketing in the Medical Device, Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Industry: Medical Product Manufacturers – Push – Pull Marketing Strategies – Marketing to physicians, hospitals and ancillary healthcare providers.
Sales Agreements for Independent Reps and Distributors: When preparing a sales agreement for Independent sales reps and medical product distributors, it is important to understand the needs and expectations of all parties relative to the terms placed in any sales or distribution agreement.
Sales Force with Manufacturer Reps:
Sales Presentations: Whether a company has or plans to present introductions with a large sales team selling multiple products, or a smaller sales team selling an individual product, keeping control of the sales presentations people are using is a difficult task.
Selling To Hospitals: Over the years selling for most industries has changed relatively little compared to how selling to healthcare organizations has changed. Ask any professional salesperson, with 15-20 years experience, of their perspective related to selling medical supplies, medical devices, Capital equipment, pharmaceuticals and other health care related products and services into hospitals. The bottom line, it is virtually an entirely different job than it was 20 years ago. (Or is it?)
Selling to Physicians, Hospitals, surgery centers, pharmacies and other healthcare providers: Where do you start and How do you sell to Physicians, Hospitals, surgery centers, pharmacies and other healthcare providers?
Small Business CEO: Chief EVERYTHING Officer: The small business CEO typically fits the role of a creative, multi-tasking maniac, rainmaking, spirited individual! The successful professional in this capacity is one that delegates and outsources tasks as needed. Five Responsibilities often outsourced.
Tips for Email Marketing in the Medical and Healthcare Industry: (December 2015) Top 10 Tips for successful email marketing in the medical and healthcare industry. Statistics for email campaigns and results you can expect.
Selling to Dentists: Tips for selling to Dentists, from a dentist’s perspective, for the novice medical sales professional attempting to break into medical sales.
Medical Sales Independent Rep and Distributor Liaison – Alternative to Costly Litigation – Mediation MedCepts as a Liaison. Even for the best-of-the-best, you may find yourself in a position of frustration with another party and feeling as though the only resolution is contacting an attorney. Mediation is a method of dispute resolution that is an alternative to costly litigation procedures. The outcome of Mediation often allows conflicted parties to arrive at a resolution that is mutually acceptable.
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