It's no cinch selling equipment. You've got to deal with government regulations and physicians' fear of them. You've got to stay on your toes with clinical and technology changes. You need to follow up, then follow up some more. But the bottom line is, if you're losing sales, check out the mirror before blaming anybody else.

Customers say that the No. 1 reason reps walk into their offices and see equipment they didn't sell is that the customer sees the rep as their supply guy, said Anita Sirianni in her presentation 'The Secrets to Selling Equipment' at HIDA 99. Sirianni (who writes the 'Xs and Os for Sales Pros in Repertoire) had spoken to dozens of customers and top-performing reps prior to making her presentation.

'So I asked them, 'How can we get you to see [reps] differently?' Their answer: 'Act in ways that the staff and doctor value.''

Be An Expert

It's hard to be valued if you don't know what you're talking about. That's why reps need to learn as much as they can about the equipment they sell and the practices they're trying to sell it to.

Tip No. 1: Hang out with the people who know most about the equipment you sell -- the manufacturers. Pursue partnerships with them. 'I recognize you represent many different products and technologies,' said Sirianni. 'The reps' job is to identify who you want to align yourself with, support, and sell with.'

Take another look at your manufacturers as if you were seeing them for the first time, advised Sirianni. Take them to lunch and pick their brains about what they know and what they can bring to the party for you.

Reps resist co-traveling [with manufacturers] because in the past, some manufacturers have gotten too aggressive with the customer, and that's not the rep's style. 'I'd suggest that before you [co-travel], you talk about the game plan. You need to drive that,' she said to the distributors. 'Give the manufacturer a chance. If they violate it, make some decisions about other partners.'

Know Your Customers

Knowing products is essential, but it's not enough.

'The more you know everything about every product in every practice, the more value you will bring to every one,' said Sirianni. The H. R. Chally Physicians' Office World Class Sales Survey (see the June, July and August 1999 issues of Repertoire) showed that customers value their reps on the basis of how well those reps understand the customer's business. 'Unless they have a feeling that you understand their business, they'll look at you as the supply guy,' said Sirianni.

Knowing your customer means raising your radar about what's going on in the practice. 'The biggest reason many practices and patients do not benefit by the technology reps sell is that reps miss the opportunities that are obvious and present in the offices they call on,' she said. So, reps need to raise their radars three ways:

• Identify key clues in the practice environment. Is the equipment old? What's the profile of the patients at the practice?

• Identify situational clues. Are patients complaining about having to go to a lab for a test? Is the office staff having to place calls to service reps for equipment repairs?

• Identify conditional variables. Is a major repair coming up?

• 'Conduct quarterly or semi-annual business reviews with your customers,' advised Sirianni. 'It's not a new concept, but how many people are doing it?'

Ask Questions

Ask effective questions and customers will perceive you to be an expert. And, if you ask the right questions, you will be an expert.

Start with the basics: 'What products are you currently using?' Then ask, 'What do you like about your current technology? Is it meeting your current needs and expectations?'

Write down the answers. It'll keep you focused and will signal to the customer that you're truly interested in their business. Be mindful that reps have an uphill climb when it comes to asking questions, simply because they have asked so many manipulative ones in the past. ('If I showed you a piece of equipment that could save you $400,000, would you want to look at it?') Keep at it, though, and you'll break down that barrier.

Be There!

Selling equipment is like growing a garden, said Sirianni. If someone else is picking the flowers that you planted, it could be because you failed to nurture the seeds.

'It's your job to nurture that account, to identify the hot buttons,' she says. 'And it's your job to protect those accounts.' 'When I talked to physician office decision-makers, I asked them, 'What can reps do to improve equipment selling?'' she said. 'One of their top questions was, 'Where are they when the manufacturer's rep is doing the demo?''

Be there, she said. Your customers are holding you responsible for the follow-up service. If you're not there for the demo, what kind of message are you giving the customer?

If successful reps understand anything, it's the importance of continuous daily improvement. According to Sirianni, one rep told her, 'The more I know, the more of a tool I am to that practice. The more I know, the more I can use my knowledge to retain the business.'

Sounds like a plan.