Need Some Job Advice Info

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Permalink Reply by Scott Mahnken on January 17, 2010 at 10:20am

Dave,

You will find that selling Lab services is a very different world. It sounds like you found a great company - thus they might make it worth considering a career change.
I'll offer you a few tips. I work as consultant in the industry and if you choose to make the move - for a small fee I'll provide you with proven sales strategy. I just trained a sales rep in the midwest that made a similar transition - happy to provide a reference / testimony.

#1 Be prepared for the objection "But we already have a lab"
#2 Make sure that the lab company you join has an oustanding website
#3 Be prepared to cold call much more than you have in the past
#4 You will need to develop a strategy when entering new offices (I have a proven model)
#5 Price - quality and turnaround time are VIP

Scott Mahnken
732 674 0303
mahnken713@aol.com

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Permalink Reply by Samuel Mudd on January 24, 2010 at 8:30pm

Scott,

Any chance you would share your proven model for entering new offices? It would be greatly apprecitated.


Sam Mudd

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Permalink Reply by Kara Black BS, CDT on January 19, 2010 at 5:00pm

Personally I wouldn't jump that fence. I have never done "lab" sales but if benefits and compensation are your determiners, then you are better off where you are. There are fewer larger labs out there and those are the only ones that might be able to pay you enough to make it worth the long hours and road time. One lab sales job that I interviewed for was for a southeastern territory with 30k base and 10 percent of sales for each new account for a period of 2 years. I would hate to have to deal with getting past the girl gatekeepers at the doctors' offices for that kind of money. At least in selling products to lab owners, they are glad to see a living person come to visit. I always thought Pharma sales were top rung.

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Permalink Reply by David Sm on January 19, 2010 at 9:40pm

thanks for your advice. my job in pharma is good accept i am bored out of my mind. it is a very unrewarding career at this point. there been so many layoffs and changes that it is not the same job. my total comp this year with the car will be about 115,000. the lab sales job is not that far off

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Stefanou D.M.D. on January 21, 2010 at 2:25pm

Dave, I am a dentist who is also a dental sales trainer who runs a workshop entitled "How to Sell to Dentists". The other replies have offered good advice. While I understand you are bored in the pharma industry and it seems that going over to dental sales would seem to be a "logical and natural" move, there are definitely some major considerations here, some of which were mentioned. First off, you'd have to find a stabile lab company that really gets it and is offering a solid package that is comparable or potentially higher than what you are getting now. But...even if you find that....outside the 'financial' side of this, you need to realize that pharma/medical sales success does not necessarily translate into dental sales success. They are entirely different animals...trust me! I can't tell you how many companies from medical come into dental thinking they'll light it up fast, and they find out quickly it is alot more challenging than they thought. And, it is also true that within dental sales, dental LAB sales is very difficult. Having said all that "negative" stuff, being a former practicing dentist for many years and now on the training side, this is a GREAT industry with some great companies, with innovative products and services, and a career here can have a huge UPSIDE. One of the keys for you is simply this...if you are coming over to dental,right up front, learn more about what makes dentists tick...whether it's switching to a new lab or buying a $75,000 laser, they don't buy just because you have a great product or because your price is lower, or that you are just "good at sales"...it's not that logical! So take some time initially to understand the differences between how dentists and physicians practice and, more importantly, THINK! Tony

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