The focus of Part I in this series was  the “best” way to break into the medical device industry. My suggested approach was simple: think of yourself as a product with features and benefits, and learn how to sell yourself. Great! Now that you are ready to sell yourself (and your value proposition), here’s the next step: 

Go back to basic sales techniques.  (know your target audience)

Another common mistake I see is sales professionals targeting companies that are not a good fit, and getting discouraged when they don’t get a call back for an interview.

This is where the professional athletes come into our story. Most athletes start playing sports at an early age. He or she usually experiments with many different sports before gravitating towards the “one” that is their personal “best fit.”. Once an athlete commits to excelling in a sport, he devotes huge amounts of time, practice and other resources to master it.

By the time he reaches the major leagues he may have been playing the same game for 10 years or more, before being considered a “professional.”

What if selling was a game? 

If a professional baseball player wanted to switch sports, how easy would it be? What if he was an all-star pitcher? Could he walk onto a basketball court with a professional team and start playing center that evening? Does he have the skill set, athletic ability, and experience of other players who have been playing for many years?

Understandably, it would be quite challenging to go from pitching a baseball to hitting the net from the top of the key overnight.  But during a job transition, many sales professionals struggle to shift their sales game, and get discouraged in the process.

Why is this important?

You want to find a company that will benefit the most from your skills, and allow you to use the qualities that make you successful: your sales skills, background, experience, achievements, training, education and so on.

Taking the time from the start to choose a target medical device company (or niche specialty) will reduce frustration and give you a goal during your transition. This step alone will significantly increase your chances for success.

In part – 3, I will share why it is vital to create a plan that works for you. 

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

–          Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Sell with Purpose and Passion,

Steve

p.s. Watch video of an impressive up-and-coming young lady in the world of basketball, here: http://14allcoaching.com/sales-champion.