FROM THE PRESIDENT – Greg Adamson
Our motivation crystalizes our mission and purpose
The 2024 LTEN Annual Conference extolled us to Level Up. For attendees and non-attendees alike, we should ask, “What does this mean for me?”
As a network, LTEN members come from many different branches of life sciences —medical device, big pharma, small pharma, diagnostics, biotech and everything in between. Despite the different disciplines, it would be a safe bet that most of our readers have two big tenets that shape their employment and function:
- The safe and effective use of __________ products and
- Selling more of _____________.
These two tenets crystalize our purpose and mission. When all team members are rowing the boat toward this common purpose, the ride is actually very enjoyable.
Finding Your Why
When watching television or working online, I often see advertisements for pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Every time I see one, I think of our LTEN members.
What type of training did they provide their sales force to know this product or to understand the patients intended for it? How to dose or use the product and how to teach the end user to effectively manage it?
I know that’s not the intention of the commercial, but it is the lens through which I view our collective products and employees. It’s the “why” for the “why level up” question.
Leveling Up in Action
Many sales training departments conduct interviews for open positions. It’s at those moments that we take a minute to look at our job descriptions; sometimes they can grow a little stale or even outdated.
I am sure every company has a different process to update or refresh job descriptions. A couple basic topics that always standout to me include “knowledge of U.S./Canadian healthcare” and “knowledge of how a hospital or clinic operates.” I’ve trained new hires for many years, and I’ve found one of the biggest hurdles a new hire must face is understanding those two topics, especially if they are coming from college or a non-healthcare background.
We work in a complicated environment (or ecosystem). Teaching others how to navigate the environment is an important step.
Our new hires cannot sell without first understanding how the hospital, clinic or health system works. Wow! What a big job for them and for us.
Big, but manageable and trainable. Especially with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and other tools, I am convinced we are up to the task and will continue to help revolutionize healthcare by preparing competent territory managers and clinical specialists.
Up You Go
The choice is yours now – leveling up when required, at the moment of need, or continually leveling up, keeping sharp the skills needed today, with an eye on tomorrow.
I think I know my LTEN friends well enough to know which way most of you are going. I’ll see you on the journey.
I encourage you to continue to use your LTEN network along the way. You can both learn and share best practices; the challenges we each face are not as unique as we may have first thought.
In the meantime, I wish you the best of what is left of your summer. Have fun and keep leveling up!
Greg Adamson is president of the LTEN Board of Directors and executive director, sales training, for Olympus Americas. You can reach out to Greg via email at greg.adamson@olympus.com or through www.linkedin.com/in/greg-adamson-9b85ba7/.
