9 Reasons Why Cross-Selling Programs Fail

The Story of Cross-Selling Gone Wrong A couple of years ago, we were working with a company in the medical device industry that had acquired two smaller device manufacturers.  Nothing new or unusual about that; it is all part of on-going consolidation in the healthcare sector.  What was troublesome was their efforts at building an […]

Never Negotiate B2B Contracts “On Your Feet!”

In our everyday life, we negotiate “on the run” frequently. Your spouse says, “I won’t be able to pick up the kids from school today. I was hoping you could.” And you say, “That’s fine…but can you pick up the dry cleaning?” Relationships require frequent re-negotiations of schedules, plans and duties to adapt to changing […]

During A Joint Sales Call, Are You A Potted Plant?

Before we started a recent training program on Sales Call Planning and Execution we asked the participants to tell us what they would like to achieve from the training. There was one question that arose from several of the participants. It was as follows: “How do you avoid having people from your organization go on […]

Why Most MedTech ROI Tools Don’t Work!

In the consulting portion of our business we are often shown an exciting new ROI model that has been developed by a medical equipment manufacturer to enhance their ability to close more deals. Its purpose is to show C-Suite level executives why they should purchase their product by quantifying the financial benefits. Each ROI model […]

Negotiating the Complex Sale: What Hospital Procurement Knows About You!

If you sell to hospitals, it is imperative that you understand there is a new normal in hospital strategic procurement. We will use this as a generic term to also include hospital supply chain management, materials management and purchasing. Each of these terms are often bantered about and while they are not synonyms for each […]

How Marketing Can Help Sales Win With Cost Crusaders!

You know who we are talking about. The Cost Crusaders are Strategic Procurement, Purchasing, Materials Management or Supply Chain depending upon the organization. While many of these professionals also focus on value there is a significant portion that are blinded simply by their desire for the lowest cost and they are relentless in this pursuit. […]

Selling to the Executive Suite: Unlocking the Executive Mindset

There is an abundance of excellent articles on selling to the C-suite or the executive management team. It’s strong evidence of the continued professional growth of our global sales community. You can find data-driven supportive research documents, testimonials and interviews, books and case studies. It’s a topic that creates a high degree of interest in […]

Are You The Ideal Sales Representative?

Over lunch during a recent sales training seminar we were asked a question that normally arises in discussions with sales executives or HR managers: “From both of your experiences in managing sales teams and consulting on sales productivity, what are the attributes that embody the Ideal Sales Representative?” Here is how we responded. The best […]

Check List for Handling Discount Demands

Recently we were asked by a client to develop a brief but interactive negotiation workshop that provided insight into handling the objection “your price is too high…we need a lower price.” In preparation for the session we developed a detailed case study that outlined the exact business scenario that their sales force was experiencing daily. […]

MedTech Sales Strategy: The Top 10 Competitive Tactics Used Against You!

Every deal has competition. In some, it is the pressure to “do nothing” and maintain the current status quo. On other occasions, it’s to use internal resources instead of investing in external solutions. In many situations it is a direct alternative to your product, service or solution. Competition is about winning and winning requires a […]