Sales Training
Everyday I speak with medical sales representatives who are products of their corporate training programs. I’m impressed with how adeptly they’ve memorized product specs and can recite features like a scripted actor.
Unfortunately, they often seem like the sales equivalent of a one-trick pony. And in today’s healthcare ecosystem, one-trick ponies get sent to the glue factory.
The reality? Healthcare providers (HCPs) can Google your product specs. What they can’t Google is a fully competent and trusted product advisor who understands their world and challenges, and brings solutions that matter.
In the golden age of Hollywood movies, a triple threat was a performer with dancing, singing and acting skills. Triple threats also exist in the world of healthcare sales. This rare breed of sales professionals personifies the following three skills:
Relationship skills: Contrary to popular belief, those awkward beings in scrubs and white coats are humans. They respond to authentic connection, not rehearsed pitches. Medical sales professionals need to master the art of building a genuine rapport with HCPs who have approximately 7.3 minutes of free time per day.
This means training your team to listen actively, communicate effectively and read a room faster than doctors dodge sales reps camped out in the hallway since 6 a.m.
Technical skills: Product knowledge matters, obviously, but what separates the pros from the wannabes is their ability to speak the clinical language of their customers. Can your reps discuss relevant procedures without sounding like they’re reading from a script? Do they understand the physiology behind the pathology their product addresses?
If not, they’re just walking catalogs looking for anyone who’ll listen.
Selling skills: This isn’t about closing techniques from 1987. Modern medical sales require an understanding of healthcare economics, value-based care models and hospital purchasing labyrinths. Sales representatives need to position solutions that address actual problems, not features looking for problems to solve.
An HCP should never need to ask, “How does this help my patients?” The sales conversation should always be highly personalized and relevant.
Here’s how to make this work:
Scenario-based learning: Create realistic scenarios where representatives must navigate complex clinical situations. Don’t make it too easy. Your reps should sweat a little in training, so they don’t bleed in the field.
Specialty deep dives: Have reps immerse themselves in the daily realities of their specific customer specialty. Beyond reading clinical journals, they should understand the department’s workflow challenges, reimbursement pressures and success metrics.
Nothing builds credibility like being able to discuss the latest treatment algorithm change or regulatory headache affecting their specialty. When a doctor realizes a rep knows why they’re frustrated with the new hospital policy before mentioning it, that rep creates an ally, not just a customer.
Triple threat assessment: Debrief workshop scenarios for how well participants aligned with the triple threat categories. Were each of the three categories considered in the approach to addressing a goal or a challenge? Have reps evaluate their responses: Did they leverage clinical knowledge, demonstrate an understanding of the customer’s workflow challenges AND position a value-based solution?
The gaps revealed in these debriefs often highlight which of the three competencies needs strengthening for each rep. These moments of self-awareness are far more potent than any trainer feedback — reps can’t argue with their own performance gaps.
Getting started: The territory reality check: Want to elevate your training program but not sure where to start? Host a “roadblock roundtable” where reps can openly share what they believe is blocking their success in the field. No theoretical obstacles — just the real barriers they face daily.
Have them identify their top three challenges, then collaborate on practical solutions. Maybe it’s that impossible hospital committee process, the competitor buying lunch twice a week or that one gatekeeper with a vendetta against sales reps. Structure your training to address these specific challenges with actionable strategies, not generic best practices.
The beauty of this approach? Your content immediately becomes relevant because it solves the problems your team has identified. Plus, the veterans in the room often have workarounds that no training manual would ever include.
Success isn’t just closing a sale — it’s becoming the first person an HCP calls when facing a challenge. It’s having your calls answered while your competitors go to voicemail. It’s creating business-driven partnerships, not transactions.
In a field where everyone is fighting for the same few minutes of HCP attention, the “triple threat” rep has earned the right to command that attention almost at will — and they’ll have you to thank.
Mace Horoff is president of Medical Sales Academy. Email him at mace@medicalsalestraining.com or connect through https://www.linkedin.com/in/macehoroff/.
