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    Go Naked: The Credible Expert: How to Stand Out In Medical Sales, Create More Opportunities, And Grow Your Business
    Go Naked: The Credible Expert: How to Stand Out In Medical Sales, Create More Opportunities, And Grow Your Business
    Go Naked: The Credible Expert: How to Stand Out In Medical Sales, Create More Opportunities, And Grow Your Business
    Ebook211 pages3 hours

    Go Naked: The Credible Expert: How to Stand Out In Medical Sales, Create More Opportunities, And Grow Your Business

    By Michael Smith

    ()

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    About this ebook

    The selling environment and role of the sales professional have changed.

    Forever.

    Gone are the days when the organisation, the product, or the solutions provided the greatest opportunity for differentiation. Today is no longer about features and benefits, need-satisfaction, or solution selling; it’s about the role that the sales professional plays as the single biggest point of differentiation.

    The Credible Expert provides you, the sales professional, with the second installment of the GO NAKED series, this time with an even more thought-provoking and practical perspective on how to stand out, create more opportunities, and grow your business.

    It breaks down the steps required for securing opportunities and making sales so that – irrespective of your experience – you will be able to select the right customers, deliver compelling messages, learn how to create personal value and significance, and develop thought-provoking and change-enabling discussions. Everything is geared towards one thing: making you the most successful salesperson possible.

    Based on the inherent belief that it’s the salesperson that makes the biggest difference in delivering successful outcomes, this book will provide you with a step-by-step guide to becoming the Credible Expert in your market. By following its methodology, you will stand out, create more opportunities, and deliver business success.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBennion Kearny
    Release dateDec 5, 2016
    ISBN9781911121237
    Go Naked: The Credible Expert: How to Stand Out In Medical Sales, Create More Opportunities, And Grow Your Business
    Author

    Michael Smith

    Professor Michael B. Smith received an A.A. from Ferrum College in 1967 and a BS in chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1969. After working for 3 years at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. in New- port News VA as an analytical chemist, he entered graduate school at Purdue University. He received a PhD in Organic Chemistry in 1977. He spent 1 year as a faculty research associate at the Arizona State University with Professor G. Robert Pettit, working on the isolation of cytotoxic principles from plants and sponges. He spent a second year of postdoctoral work with Professor Sidney M. Hecht at the Massachusetts Insti- tute of Technology, working on the synthesis of bleomycin A2.? Smith began his academic career at the University of Connecticut in 1979, where he is currently professor of chemistry.?In addition to this research, he is the author of the fifth, sixth, and seventh editions of March’s Advanced Organic Chemistry. He is also the author of an undergraduate textbook in organic chemistry titled Organic Chemistry. An Acid-Base Approach, now in its second edition. He is the editor of the Compendium of Organic Synthetic Methods, Volumes 6–13. He is the author of Organic Chemistry: Two Semesters, in its second edition, which is an outline of undergraduate organic chemistry to be used as a study guide for the first organic course. He has authored a research monograph titled Synthesis of Non-alpha Amino Acids, in its second edition.

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      Book preview

      Go Naked - Michael Smith

      GO NAKED: THE CREDIBLE EXPERT

      How to Stand Out in Medical Sales, Create More Opportunities, and Grow Your Business

      *

      Michael Smith

      *

      [Smashwords Edition]

      *

      An imprint of Bennion Kearny

      *

      Published in 2016 by Dark River, an imprint of Bennion Kearny Limited.

      ISBN: 978-1-911121-23-7

      Copyright © Michael Smith

      GO NAKED® is a Registered Trademark of Developed Edge Ltd.

      All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

      This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that it which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

      Dark River has endeavoured to provide trademark information about all the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Dark River cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

      Published by Dark River, an imprint of Bennion Kearny Limited, 6 Woodside, Churnet View Road, Oakamoor, Staffordshire, ST10 3AE

      www.BennionKearny.com

      Table of Contents

      TITLE PAGE

      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      DEDICATION

      PROLOGUE

      INTRODUCTION

      PART 1 – HOW YOU ACT, INTERACT, AND THINK

      HOW YOU ACT – THE CHANGE

      CHOICES AND TOLERANCE

      INFORMATION AND TIME

      WHERE TO FOCUS FIRST?

      A FOUNDATION FOR CHANGE

      KEY MESSAGES

      HOW YOU INTERACT – THE RISE OF HUMAN FACTORS

      HOW IT BEGAN

      COMMUNICATION

      PERSONAL LEADERSHIP

      DECISION-MAKING

      APPLICATION IN OUR MODERN COMMERCIAL WORLD

      KEY MESSAGES

      HOW YOU THINK – THE MINDSET OF AN OWNER

      AN OWNER’S MINDSET

      THE RISE OF THE INTRAPRENEUR

      SEEKING AND CREATING OPPORTUNITIES

      YOUR OWN HIGH-PERFORMANCE CULTURE

      KEY MESSAGES

      PART 2 – DRIVING THE CUSTOMER CONVERSATION

      SELECTING THE RIGHT CUSTOMERS

      A SHIFT FROM THE ONE-DIMENSIONAL APPROACH

      QUANTITY, QUALITY, DIRECTION

      STAKEHOLDER MAPPING

      KEY MESSAGES

      DELIVERING COMPELLING MESSAGES

      PICTURE THE SCENE

      WHAT, HOW, AND WHY

      CUSTOMERS AS ADVOCATES

      ADAPTING YOUR APPROACH

      VISUAL, AUDITORY, KINESTHETIC (VAK)

      BEHAVIORAL STYLES

      KEY MESSAGES

      IDENTIFYING CRITICAL ISSUES

      WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT

      STANDING OUT FROM THE CROWD

      THE VALUE WITHIN

      KEY MESSAGES

      PROVOKING THOUGHT AND DISCUSSION

      CURRENT AND FUTURE STATES

      THE FOUR LENSES

      YOUR ROLE AS A COACH

      TWO CONVERSATIONS

      THE FOUR DRIVERS OF CUSTOMER CHANGE

      KEY MESSAGES

      SHARING EXPERIENCE INSIGHTS

      THE IMPORTANCE OF CERTAINTY

      PICTURING THE FUTURE

      FACILITATING THROUGH EXPERIENCE INSIGHTS

      KEY MESSAGES

      DEMONSTRATING YOUR UNIQUE OFFERING

      KEEP THE PRODUCT IN THE BAG

      DRIVING THE CUSTOMER CONVERSATION

      STACKING THE VALUE

      THE THREE PRODUCT LEVELS

      KEY MESSAGES

      PART 3 – BECOMING THE CREDIBLE EXPERT

      CREATING VALUE AND SIGNIFICANCE

      THE ONLY WAY

      THE NECESSITY OF VALUE

      IT’S NOT ABOUT THE PRODUCT

      TEACH, COACH, FACILITATE

      VALUE AND SIGNIFICANCE

      THE OLD DAYS ARE GONE

      KEY MESSAGES

      BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

      ‘WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO YOU?’ IS NOW DEAD

      TEN BETTER WAYS

      THE FINAL CHAPTER

      TO POSITION YOURSELF AS THE CREDIBLE EXPERT

      TO FIND A BETTER WAY, KNOW THAT

      REFERENCES

      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      A friend of mine wrote me an email recently. In it he said, ‘how did you find the time to write another book?’ The answer of course is that I made a choice. I decided to do it. Got started. Held myself to account and involved the right people.

      That last step however is the defining step.

      Involving the right people.

      I am incredibly fortunate to have many wonderful, generous and supportive people around me and I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge them. Without them, this project wouldn’t have gotten started and wouldn’t have been completed.

      The open, inclusive and trusting people who gave us our early opportunities when we set out with just a philosophy and an idea. John Aiken, Carl Riley, Jon Dawson, Tony and Robert Keily, and Mark Oldroyd.

      The supportive people who have provided help in wide ranging ways. Andy Gilbert, Darren Garwood, Michelle Lally, Paul Budd, Nick McCoy, Sandeep Kumar, Richard Armeson, Jake Timothy, Scott Baker, Sarah Overend, George Anderson, Richard Tuson, Mike Branagan-Harris, Anne Rhodes, Lucy McCarraher, and Daniel Priestley and the Dent/KPI team of entrepreneurs and mentors. Daniel is an incredible entrepreneur and I would recommend his courses to anyone interested.

      Special thanks goes to Diane Irvine, someone I met initially as a young, inexperienced sales person on one of her courses and who has helped and inspired me in many ways since then, particularly in the last two years.

      Thanks also to everyone who helped to review the manuscript of this book at different times and at different levels of completeness, who wrote testimonials, who offered ideas and insights and who contributed towards its completion. Richard Thomas, Colin Smith, Susan Holland, Diane Irvine, Stephen Kemp, Becky Blackwell, Ceire Rochford, Isaiah Hankel, Jonathan Penny, Matt Seago, Jon Daswon, Niall Barry and Andrew Rowlatt. Particular thanks to James Lumsden-Cook and the team at Bennion Kearny for their responsiveness and professionalism in bringing these ideas to life.

      Thanks to all my old colleagues at Vygon, DePuy and Align Technology, many of whom I stay in touch with and who continue to make me feel part of an extended team, and Raphael Pascaud who remains the most talented business leader I’ve had the pleasure of working for and who provides me with direction and insight without even realising.

      To my current team who help me to think with greater possibilities and create increased opportunities – Mark Davies, Lynsey Ross and Nikki Webber. In addition, Brigitte Bell whom I first met 16 years ago, who married one of my best friends and now is a huge part of what we do – including all of the illustrations in this book. Also, thanks to Jag Shoker, the best coach in the world.

      Finally, thanks to my wonderful wife and business partner – my soul mate on this rollercoaster of a journey called life. Andrea is my biggest critic and biggest supporter and the ideas in here are as much hers as they are mine. She gives me everything for which I’ll always be grateful, including my three beautiful children Henry, Charles and Alexandra. I love you all.

      Thank you to everyone who gives me the opportunity to do what I do. I am incredibly grateful.

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Michael graduated from the University of Leeds after completing a BSc in Medical Biochemistry. After taking up a sales role in a medical device company, he quickly established a successful career in the industry, which saw him appointed to numerous sales and marketing management roles across three multi-national companies, most recently as Director of Sales for Europe.

      In 2010, Michael was awarded an MBA with distinction from the University of Warwick where his final dissertation focused on strategies for market entry. In 2012, Michael completed his Professional Certificate in Coaching at Henley Business School.

      In 2012 Michael co-founded Developed Edge, a training and development organisation that works specifically with medical companies to help them identify the best way to sell to their customers and then create customised and competency based training programmes.

      In 2014 Michael published his first book, GO NAKED Revealing The Secrets Of Successful Selling which went on to become a number one best-seller. Since then he has also published over 100 articles, e-books and reports. He also works as a Coach, Speaker and Advisor.

      You can connect with him directly via:

      Email: michael@gonakedselling.com

      Twitter: @smith_michaelj

      Facebook: www.facebook.com/gonakedselling

      You can also read his weekly blog at www.gonakedselling.com

      DEDICATION

      Dedicated to all those people who get up in the morning to work hard to serve their customers and their organisation, who pride themselves on the value they create, who think in terms of possibilities, and who strive to create opportunities and to pursue a better way.

      PROLOGUE

      The journey around London’s South Circular Road is a challenging one at the best of times. But in early morning rush hour traffic, the journey from Beckenham to St. Thomas’ Hospital – that is less than ten miles and should only take around 45 minutes – can take closer to two hours.

      In order to reduce the time associated with commuting in London, I would tend to leave home at 6am and arrive into St. Thomas’ for around 6.45am. This gave me ample opportunity to sit down with a coffee and some breakfast and complete the administrative tasks associated with being a sales professional working for a medical device company in 2003.

      Everything was in triplicate – one copy for me, one for my boss, and a copy for the office. Although laptops and mobile phones were now commonplace, we were a little behind the times. Paperwork that was a requirement of the role was exactly that – paperwork. Expense claims, daily call reports, weekly and monthly journey plans, call analysis, sample requests – everything was written by hand on carbonated paper and posted at the end of the day.

      At that time, the minimum expectation was that we completed 12 calls per day. 12 face-to-face appointments with customers within a single account. That meant a minimum of eight hours in the hospital but often and due to the traffic, this became a ten and 12-hour day. 

      The products we carried were a range of single use anaesthetic, critical care, and general medical products. From theatre disposables to cannulae and intravenous extensions lines, we had a broad portfolio. That was the company’s strategy. Go wide.

      I’d been fortunate to find a job straight from university but, quite honestly, had fallen into sales. I’d originally wanted to join the police force and for one reason and another, that hadn’t materialised, and so I was left, in my final year at university, not knowing what I would do with my time when the social and academic vacuum of life away from the University of Leeds became a reality.

      Receiving an email from the University’s career’s forum, I’d seen one with a subject that read, ‘inexperience essential’.

      That was definitely for me.

      Other than part-time student jobs and a three-year degree course in medical biochemistry, I had no vocational experience to speak of.

      The promotional email was for a recruitment agency that specialised in graduate sales jobs. The relatively lower cost of the graduate’s employment combined with their drive and determination to escape student debt made them an attractive proposition for companies looking to expand their sales team and their business.

      Covering the length and breadth of the UK, from manufacturing to IT, to finance and the medical industry, they served a broad spectrum of clients. I passed their assessment, met their selection criteria and, due to my degree type, was sent for an interview with a medical company.

      That was some 12 months ago and now, sitting here in St. Thomas’ Hospital, I reflected on the apparently ordered randomness of life that had

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