Everyone is always complaining about how disappointed they are in the number of patches that have been used and the number of centres that are now using the product. Do any of you work as medical device sales reps?
The reality is you need to be in the operating room every day of the week working with surgeons to ensure that he/she uses your product over a competitor product. Medical device companies have sales reps talking about new and well established products day in day out. Its a brutal market place to work in not to mention all the bureaucratic red tape that your need to navigate.
Some people on this site believe you can go in once to sell the product and your job is done. Most companies have a full time sales rep dedicated to a territory. The sales rep calls on the same customers regularly building relationships which eventually translate into increased sales. Without strong relationships in the hospital you can't even get into the operating room to talk to the surgeon.
I see people constantly posting about what a surgeon has said in a conference somewhere in the world that is positive and therefore everyone is going to start using the patch unfortunately it is more complicated that.
Medical device reps can be on package between $100,000 and $300,000. It is not easy to change a surgeons habits. If you think you can go in and talk to a surgeon once and he is going to use your product over another product he has been using for years you are kidding yourself. It can take years of calling on key surgeon before he/she switches from a competitor product to your product.
If you have ever been into an operating room in a sales capacity to advise a surgeon on how to use a product you will understand how stressful an environment it really is and why people get paid good money to do the job!
If you want monkeys to run the business then pay them peanuts!
AHZ Price at posting:
6.4¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)