Q: What should we look for when hiring a new salesperson?
A: “A big question is do we hire a clinical person and teach them sales or vice versa? Generally, we lean toward someone with previous sales training and sales experience; the pharmaceutical industry is an example of companies profiting from the use of well-trained healthcare sales professionals.”
A: “They need to be a good fit for your community; match your salesperson to market culture.” A: “They need to be highly motivated, to love doing sales and they need to be team players. Always hire positive, happy, optimistic people. ”
A: “Relationship sales are crucial; we are not selling tires, we are selling a relationship.”
A: “A good salesperson has a strong competitive streak.”
Q: What sales and marketing training or educational materials are available?
A: “Frank’s book is the best. I keep it on my desk; it’s like my bible.”
A: “A five-hour USB drive/DVD filmed at Frank’s last training program just came out.”
A: “We read VISIONS. It usually covers sales and marketing topics.”
A: “Frank and Dan Dunlop are going to be doing a half-day program at next fall’s national conference.”
Q: What is the best way to structure a sales incentive program?
A: “Pay it quarterly. It should be based on gross sales, don’t put a cap on potential compensation.”
A: “Client retention is important and often ignored.”
A: “We concentrate on our top 100 revenue generators.”
A: “There are three different silos: new clients, upselling to our existing client base and minimizing current client attrition.”
Q: As things move to population management, what new sales strategies may emerge?
A: “When it comes to population health, respect the thoughts of your markets. Let employers take the lead in what they are looking for . . .”
Q: How do we make sure we don’t have salespeople selling what we can’t deliver?
A: “Salespeople need to be educated in what occupational health is all about.”
A: “Evaluation is crucial here; learn when and where you fall short and clean it up immediately.”
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