By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA
As a field rep, don’t you wish the practices were in desperate need of the services you offered? That way every practice would be interested when you let them know about the great care and product offerings at your facility! Now, back to reality, this market is challenging, competition is brutal and it is an audience that does not easily change. Often the rep who gets more conversations will earn the referral. It’s not always about better product, better access, or better communication at the organization. The field staff’s personality and the ability to connect and establish the right dialogue plays a huge role in this.
Think about your field personality. What’s working? Are there personal elements that need a little attention? Here are four personality traits that I have observed as instrumental in establishing the direction of the meetings. Take a minute to asses yours.
1. Demonstrate warmth
This one is evident when I do ride-alongs with physician relations staff. It’s not real objective but it is real obvious. It starts with the smile, the greeting, eye contact and genuine listening and interest. Different personalities will exude this warmth in different ways. For some it is through energy and personal connection, for others it is remembering the little things, others will find ways to make sure they speak with everyone in the practice. Assess your personality and how you are demonstrating a warm, engaging and interested demeanor. It gets noticed right away so it is really important.
2. Gentle confidence
Would that prospective office manager/doctor trust you to get them the vital information they need to make a referral? We often focus on the products and service capabilities and think about our confidence in the deliverable – but there is more to it. We need to have confidence in our own skills. A turn off is the overly confident- it’s really hard to get physician’s to tolerate this one. The other end of the spectrum is a lack of confidence. This one often results in getting issues to fix, but not being seen as a resource. Consider ways to demonstrate that gentle confident demeanor on your next call.
3. Professional, but not staged
Your relationship personality needs to be authentic. Too stiff is uncomfortable for others and so is too friendly. There is a fine line as your true personality might need some reining in, but consider ways to demonstrate your lighter side when the time is right. In some long term relationships it does get easy to move from professional to social. Make sure to manage your tendencies if this might be your inclination.
4. Passion and interest
When I teach sales training, we often talk about credibility tools and high on the list is passion and interest. Prospects and existing clients want to see your passion for the offerings and your interest in them. This attribute shows when you are asking more informed questions to learn about their views. It shows when you remember a past comment and link it into the current conversation.
This all begs the question, “Is there a right personality for sales?” What do you think… share your thoughts in the comments and let me know.