During the last six months rumors have been swirling on the Street that a few companies have been implementing strategies to position themselves for an attempt at an IPO. The first company that comes to mind is Globus. The Street is reporting that over the past six to nine months Globus has been cleaning house of its independent distribution model and hiring direct reps. Not a surprise, considering that the Street really frowns upon independent distribution models for the obvious reasons, control and compensation. In addition, before an IPO can occur, the banksters usually like this model in place. But the question must be asked; Is Globus such a hot commodity, and TSB means commodity? From a revenue standpoint, yes. From a technology standpoint, isn't this another "me too" company that has been genetically engineered to resemble its soul sister Synthes? I mean let's be truthful, its not like Globus came up with original ideas when the powers to be started the company, which led to breaking one of the ten commandments, "thou shalt not steal?" So the questions that must be asked of our bloggers, is how does another "me too" company grow its revenue as quickly as Globus did, and, do you see this company going public anytime soon?
The next company is Amedica. TSB knows that many of you are tired of hearing about this company. Yet, publicity can be a double edged sword, if you can't live up to the hype. We all have seen a little hype come out of this industry. By raising $30 million and acquiring US Spine, TSB finds it hard to believe that the shopping spree is over. Let's look at the integration of both of these companies. Seperately, both were nothing more than a carnival act, with a couple of carnival barkers. Even with this acquisition, there are still gaps in this portfolio. Neither company had its own cervical plate. The Tether cervical plate is seven year old technology designed by Theken and owned by Integra. In addition, there is no interspinous process device. At best, this acquisition makes Amedica a "C" Level player. So TSB can see a stock and cash deal in the making for some lucky company . So the next question to our bloggers is; who will be that lucky company, and does anyone foresee this being announced at NASS, and is the game plan to take this company public in eighteen months. You know want TSB says, SiN in spine may turn out to be their mortal sin.
The last company is Lanx. Since last December, this company has been cleaning house of both regional manglers and independent distributors. Why? Because as in the aforementioned paragraph on Globus, the banksters do not like specific models that allow for people to make a lot of money, unless it is themselves. ROI is the most important aspect of any investment, so maybe, just maybe, the banksters will leave the rest of you some crumbs for your hard work. In addition, with the amount of activity that Lance "Hot Pants" DeNardin has been generating (firing great managers to bring in his Medtronic friends) it seems that the wild wild west exists at the Medtronic of the Rockies. So the question to our readers is; Does this company has the firepower to go public.
Now, what y'all wanna do? Wanna be ballers, shot callers?
Brawlers who be dippin' in the Benz with spoilers
On the low from the Jake in the Taurus
Tryin' to get my hands on some Grants, like Horace
Yeah livin' the raw deal, three course meals Spaghetti, fettucini and veal
But still, everythings real in the field
And what you can't have now, leave in your will
But don't know me for tryin' to bury, Seven zeroes in Rio Dijanery
Ain't nobody's hero, but I wanna be heard, On you hot 9-7 everyday, that's my word
Swimmin' in women, wit they own condominiums, Five plus five who drives milleneums,
IT"S ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS...........................
Globus would be the clear front runner in the conversation - let the good times roll!
ReplyDeleteFinally a decent lyric
ReplyDeleteHey Opie, stick to blogging, not rapping.
ReplyDeleteI pray to GOD everyday its Lanx. Just my two cent
ReplyDeleteJust one question. How could Globus survive a properly executed due diligence?
ReplyDeleteGlobus has been telling their surgeons for the last 3 years they are set to go public. Every other quarter, the reps (often new) are bragging about their big payouts coming. They have no game changing product line, either, aside from different colored instrument handles.
ReplyDeleteLanx doesn't have the market share to justify going public and Amedica, they're set for an acquisition. Doubtful they will ever go public.
TSB - original lyric critic here from a previous post. Great choice! I love it! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteThere is not an ounce of integrity at Globus management! No way they could pass due diligence. Too many bought surgeons!
ReplyDeleteGlobus is where they are by buying off docs, pure and simple. (does anyone think a foul mouthed fat slob like Rob Walden got rich by "doing it the hard way"?) obvious is that minus several of its early DPs (primarily in the Southeast), the company is dead in most other markets, especially west of the Mississippi. let em go public...the few rich will get richer (financially--lets hope God sends them to the right floor morally) and the rest will be stuck holding the banana when the bottom falls out.
ReplyDeleteIMO, this is the most important question in this post, and deserves some unpacking:
ReplyDelete"So the questions that must be asked of our bloggers, is how does another "me too" company grow its revenue as quickly as Globus did?"
Hot Pants DeNardin. Pretty funny stuff. That guy is a weak leader. Great golfer though!
ReplyDeleteGlobus has nothing new or original, management and sales is sub-moral at best. How did they grow it as quickly as they did? Tell me why their sales team is replaced year after year, or why the surgeons using Globus are usually involved with some consulting or design agreement. I'd love it if Globus could step up to the plate and name one product THEY developed and why it is unique. This could be fun, time again for that fun game of "Name the Device Globus Copied"
ReplyDeleteFirst device copy: Pangea!
ReplyDeleteSubtle redesign and a better name ("Protex" is vague, but much better than being named after a theoretical uni-continent), but still more complicated than it should have been.
i thought it was Gondwondaland?
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Globus comments, since when is innovation a moral obligation? It's a perfectly fine business model to be a "me too" company and beat your competitor on service and price. In fact, in a capitalistic world it's a necessary part of the process. If a "bluebox" suddenly popped up next to the "redbox" at the market, would you wait in line for the red one, just because they were the innovator? Just because Lowe's ripped off Home Depot's business model and parked a whole bunch of stores right next to theirs, will you not shop there if their price is lower? Sure it's great to be the innovator, and IP protection and early profits are the fruits of your R&D labors. But let's not discount the contributions the non-innovators are making to the marketplaces of the world.
ReplyDeleteWish 'em luck with the IPO if that's their plan. Be nice to have a pure-play spine company with substantial revenue from a diversified product platform, not just a single technology.
Anonymous 12:00,
ReplyDeleteGood point. Sometimes the business model can be the "innovation"...
12:00 - Agreed, no problem with taking someone's business model and trying to improve it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, stealing someone's designs and then using them is another thing, i.e. Globus. Not a rumor. FACT.
Let me build on Anon. 12:49...
ReplyDeleteHowever, stealing someone's designs, using them and PAYING surgeons to use them with "stock options" is another thing, i.e. Globus. Not a rumor. FACT.
Hopefully, many have learned that when you dance with the devil you get burned.
ReplyDeletein my old neighborhood, John Gotti would have paid a visit to David Paul and broke his hands. I guess Wyss had no balls. Thats' what happens when you hide behind your jillions, on top of that his litigation only made Paul smug claiming that he thought he would of taken a bigger hit in court.
ReplyDeleteI am curious kind of market cap a me-too company like globus gets. closer to an Alphatec, while they are hoping more like nuvasive. I think a lot of folks are gonna be disappointed with this one.
ReplyDeletethe early guys,( paul, kienzle, tovey, murphy) will all do well. they split the stock 12 for 1. the late comers wont get the payday they thought.
ReplyDeleteIf the due diligence is done properly, I don't see how it can happen. The majority of the bigger customers are only using it because of the connections to the stock warrants and consulting programs. (Probably both in concert is the way I heard how it goes.) Once the IPO would complete, if it came out at a reasonable amount, the docs would all "ooh, ha, take the money and run." Be serious, do you think they would continue using the products? Maybe for a short period of time until the regional and mid level guys all left and went to another start up and convinced them to do the same in another pasture. Is it that hard to see? What happens to the stock then?
ReplyDeleteATEC is rocking it at $2.21 a share. Go get'em boys!!!
Lanx needs to sell. Bottomline
ReplyDeleteLet's do the math, shall we...Globus raised in excess of $175M+ through an E round...in order for the IPO to be worth the institutional investors, they would need to go out for a strike price that would set the company at around a 5-7x raise amount or about a $1B market cap...if this IPO is an effort to shake the trees for a buyer, the acquirer would have to spend at least a $1-1.5B to acquire, not unreasonable from a revenue/multiple but the other element that is looked at when going public is 'does the management have the talent to run a public company'...when large companies get put on notice with an S1 filing, that is one of the questions that comes to the table....otherwise they let them go through the process and potentially pick them up cheaper on the back end due to lack of confidence from institutional buyers (see Amedica's previous IPO flops) .so the obvious question is, if Globus files an IPO, getting a market cap in the $1B range, are we to believe they are about as valuable as Nuvasive?
ReplyDeleteGlobus has one weakness, 99% of the surgeons using their products are paid consultants. When the government gets around to cleaning this mess up....Globus is an easy starting point.
ReplyDeleteGuys you want to see a change, start sending your factual stories of Globus to the below address. Why? Globus is giving us all a bad name, sure there are others but this is out of hand:
ReplyDeleteThe Honorable Charles E. Grassley
United States Senate
Committee on Finance
Washington, DC. 20510-6200
202-224-6020
Haha. Thanks for obliging me with the sean combs lyrics and a well-deserved skewering of Globus!
ReplyDeleteLanx good IP I hear? East Coast medicine from new direct reps of Lanx! Why not Synthes to go public? Old man needs money! Life is short!
ReplyDeleteWhy would the old man need money? He is money? He has an empire! Family will own forever! Get a clue!
ReplyDeleteWyss does not need money. I believe he has been rated one of the top ten richest men in Switzerland. If word on the street is accurate, Wyss isn't even an American citizen. His biggest dilemma is who to sell to, because one day his health will begin to deteriorate, and he will then have to make some final decisions. TSB sees Harvard and Sierra Club benefitting from his lifelong success. The only reason Wyss has never taken SUSA public is because he would have to make public his true wealth, and you know the Swiss tightly guarded and close to the vest when it comes to their wealth.
ReplyDeleteTSB I asked this on an older post, I did not see you answer, apologize if I missed it.. apologize for posting it on IPO post..
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think of a perc. posterior cervical facet screw? (ISpine)
TSB likes the simplicity of the Perpos Facet Fusion Kit. I believe like any other company that lacks a comprehensive portfolio, unless this is performed as a stand alone procedure, you are not the only rep in the OR. With that said, compared to the US Spine Facet Gun this can truly be a minimally invasive procedure. If I was running I-Spine, TSB would dedicate a tremendous amount of capital to an exceptional surgeon training program. Using the lag screw principle enhances the fixation, and the ability to inject bone grafting material is a plus. The only drawback that I foresee is the cost of the product per procedure. Supposedly, TSB has heard that the ASP is an estimated $6,000 per procedure, if that's the case, you are going to be pushing a boulder up the hill in this cost cutting healthcare environment. The other question that you must be able to answer is, how does this improve outcomes, and how do you substantiate its efficacy over other technologies. JMHO. Hope this answers your question.
ReplyDeletenoon 9/27 brought up competing on service and price. I'd love some insight here. Let's assume no one undercuts the fixed pricing we are seeing at the hospitals. That leaves service as the last differentiator for the me-too companies. So what servicing is provided that is better? What more is there than having reps in the OR, making sure the sets are available, making sure everything goes smoothly, and listening to complaints or suggestions?
ReplyDeleteCup Size
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with 10:00 am, service after the sale. The PIMP game is strong in the spine biz. Known a few docs that base their implant selection on who they can snake. The oldest profession.... spine sales.
ReplyDeleteWhy wasn't Wyss prosecuted for the Norian fiasco?
ReplyDeleteNot sure what the earlier poster was talking about when it was inferred the Globus guys (RWalden particularly) are not hard working. They have dominated my territory for years, their docs are very loyal and their success has little to do with the benjamins....
ReplyDeleteLets be honest with POD's on every corner and shady "business" men who have no business in spine, sending mailers to my surgeons telling them they can put 400k in their own pockets, this industry is screwed. When is someone going to step in take down these fly by night shady spine companies and send the patty wagon to pick up these surgeons who want to get "FAT" in pretty jump suits. I got in this business cause I had a passion for implant sales and never find myself bored in the OR. Now I have trouble sleeping at night knowing that the poor patient has no clue how much shady business goes behind the scenes. Lets all wake up beat the competition cause your the better sales rep and provide a worthwhile service and products.
ReplyDelete"Globus has one weakness, 99% of the surgeons using their products are paid consultants. When the government gets around to cleaning this mess up....Globus is an easy starting point."
ReplyDeleteMaybe this and all other Anti-Globus comments need to be put into context.
Most of the well known respectable surgeons/opinion leaders receive financial assistance to carry out research in this ever evolving field of surgery, without which, research could not be undertaken and furthered.
If you really wanted to know if Globus alone is enhancing the research in this field by offering bursaries then you might want to take a look at the disclosure index at the upcomimg NASS meeting.
( http://www.nassannualmeeting.org/Documents/am10_finalprogram.pdf ) - page 123 onwards
Sufficient evidence to prove the many companies offering financial incentives in aiding research.
MM - re: Facet Joint Screws with Lag Technique. These screws make no sense for a perc application. Can't get a fusion through cartilage, need to get bone on bone, and not eburnated arthritic bone on bone, but real bone on bone, or lag screw/fusion won't ever work, ever. So you need to open, at which point, facet screws don't make sense anymore...another dumb new "technology".
ReplyDelete@10:48: no one said Rob "get in my belly!" Walden isnt hard working...it takes a lot of energy to lug those trays, and even more to drive Dr Reuben from t#tty bar to t#tty bar. but if you think his success is from honest work, my name is Madoff and I have some valuable ATEC stock for ya.
ReplyDelete@3.03..is there a better example of leadership failure at globus than brett murphy? comes to the west coast, ousts some solid managers, and does...what, exactly? how many reps & managers have come and gone from his area, and yet the buck never stops with him? how much revenue is generated from the western area, vs Tovey and 4skin, er 4spine?
ReplyDeletedoes that Dr like all nude juice bars or bikini bars where he can get lit up on vodka and tonic. also does it all end up at a late night rub and tug? Just looking for pointers so we can all provide the same level of "service" this dude Rob provides
ReplyDeleteSynthes may not have a booth this year but they have still supported the NASS- Spine Education and Research Center at a healthy level.
ReplyDelete$250,000–$499,000
Synthes Spine
Zimmer Spine
Medtronic was in the $500K - 1 Mil range. Wow!
However??- Depuy took a pass on support. Maybe after paying royalties/consultancies, they were short on cash.?
Many individual Drs. supported the center also, very generous!
Bursaries? Is that the new name for bribes? Globus advancing research- what a joke. Unless you call knocking off other companies products research.
ReplyDeleteWhy is no one talking about Lanx? I mean you want to talk about a joke. Lance Denardine is getting rid of all the people that did the heavy lifting and replacing them with his Medtronic guys to provide the air cover he needs to cover the fact he knows nothing. He was getting progressively demoted at Medtronic, and that is hard, and a new home as a blood sucker. Rumor has it that Lanx is running at 40% expenses greater than the income from revenue. What is that SAP Lance going to do when another Aspen type product comes out, lets see if he can really lead or will he just go back to the board and ask for another reduction in sales forecast so that he can look like he knows what he is doing.
ReplyDeleteLanx/Lance both are a joke to this industry, what a shame they had something at one point.
9:09, one problem is that is what some guys think it's all about. Though you missed the part about getting your charge sheet signed, get your PO entered and collect the benjamins.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think pro golfers use the same caddies and pay them nice wages? Because they are not cheerleaders, they are team members and are helpful in their craft. They don't just make sure all the clubs are clean and in the bag and there are plenty of balls.
Our industries problem is a bunch of apples in our basket have been spoiled by greed as we all know. Both sides of the coin. A lot of our golfers are playing NIKE, Callaway, PING etc. But more and more of our golfers are playing with the clubs from the clearance rack at K-Mart; using caddies that don't know a lob wedge from a foot wedge; caddies that tell them how cool they are regardless of how poorly they play; these golfers are asking for and getting bogus endorsement deals, writing their scores in pencil and with help of the erasure coming up with scores they then brag about to others in form of white papers; some are lucky and they're getting paid royalties even though the clubs and balls their using are the only ones being used across the nation. My, and most heterosexual males, favorite caddy is the hot, big breasted one that wears sexy clothes, bends over slowly to pick up the clubs and then takes the balls and....you get the picture. Then there's the newer golfers that make their own clubs in their secret clubhouse, get their friends to use them and they all split the proceeds hoping one day that NIKE will come along and want to buy this "special" brand.
All in all while playing with people's livelihoods...
The loudmouth jerk in the wife beater t-shirt on the cell phone who plays with a different caddy every time while not repairing his divots and ballmarks will soon hopefully be escorted off the course and asked never to return.
Until that happens, the course will continue to deteriorate......
Somebody eventually has to repair the divots these guys are making. The true service orientated reps that "get it" will be there with the grounds keepers, begrudgingly keeping the course open for more of these fools to play on.
Very nice golf analogy, hopefully the dip shit got your point.
ReplyDeleteI've taken a scene/quotes from one of my favorite movies to illustrate how companies train their "consultants" now.
ReplyDelete-Now that you're going out into the world there's something you should know.
- You see that?
- Yeah.
-That's shit. And this is Shinola.
-Shit....Shinola.
-Son, you're gonna be all right.
I'm sure there are quite a few of you out there who don't know the movie. Catch up on your pop culture and sharpen your spine knowledge.
The Jerk
ReplyDeleteAgreed - Nice golf analogy! It would be nice to know how many people commenting on this blog about sales and salespeople and what they do or don't do have never in fact "carried the bag". Just because you are around a sales person doesn't mean you know what is totally involved in the job. As the old native saying goes - Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins and in this case, actually sold and worked in the OR for at least 2 years.
ReplyDeleteYoung Man Here
ReplyDeletePart of the problem is that everyone in the industry is full of shit! Follow up to a comment that I left on another topic suggested that I should not be in the biz for saying that "screw is a screw even if its an XLIF". Funny thing is that alot of the Docs dont know that fact.
This industry is ripe for Market Disruption! I think the discount market is at hand. I know that is a horrible thing to say. At this point in spine evolution. 1 and 2 level lumbar (the bread and butter) should be much less expensive. Everyone knows it! No one wants to admit it!
All of ortho is waiting for some "disruptive innovation", esp. TJA. Problem is that everyone is wedded to the company that they trained with, are comfortable with, consult for, etc etc, so very tough to break in to the market. Need the public to be accountable for implant cost, then market Hondas to them, and not Ferraris...when you don't bear the cost, you want a Ferrari (or a 360 fusion with BMP, or disc arthroplasty, or metal on metal hip, etc)
ReplyDeleteAs a spine REP for over a decade now with the same company (narrows it down) I believe we are very close to the GHETTO GOLFERS being kicked off the course for good. Too much wild west and not enough integrity on all sides of the field. This too shall pass.... those who are riding the legacy train will be in the clear. All of the equity share jumpers and double digit commission point chasers will be washed away with the filthy tide of me-too's and "look at this hand" companies.
ReplyDelete8:49, I have to ask: What makes you so sure this time of reckoning is at hand? I feel like I've heard good reps saying (hoping) this for years. We keep hoping that some justice will come, but it hasn't, and more companies continue to enter the marketplace, albeit slightly slower than a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes you so sure?
5:03, You and your fellow sales reps shouldn't get so defensive (MM, seriously... name calling?). The question is valid and being asked by someone not in sales. I would like to understand the servicing value proposition offered by a me-too company.
ReplyDeleteHow does a company provide better service to their surgeons? How do the me-too company's become team members, who in the company provides help in the craft? What is the help? What are the "services"?
Please note the perspective of the question is the company's, not just the sales rep's.
I'm not looking for your witty retorts, an actual answer will do. Thanks.
I have one other thing to add to 5:45's comments and questions, which I think are worth exploring, and that is this:
ReplyDeleteWe all know the universal truth that it's much harder to make more money and then lose it than to have never made it in the first place.
So if/when the supposed "clean up" happens and many of the illegitimate "consulting agreements" go away, what's to keep the companies and doctors from finding another way to make money from each other? Do you think docs making 100-500K a year on consultancies are just going to roll over and let things go back to the way they were before, especially in a time of declining reimbursement? I don't see it.
I think many of these companies and docs will find another way ... same story different verse. You know what Gekko said - "Money never sleeps."
Don't see how Globus can go public with Demski at the helm. He is way too much of a liability. Once the investors do their due diligence and find out the CFO had an affair with a sales rep, got her pregnant, kept her on payroll despite no sales, dumped wife and kids, they aill see he's a ticking time-bomb. Did I mention he's a bible-thumping evangelical born-again too? Nice. Heard the board is trying to get rid of him.
ReplyDelete5:59 - first of all what exactly are you talking about "(MM, seriously... name calling?)" ??
ReplyDeleteWith respect to your question regarding service: "Service" IS the value prop of companies that offer the exact same product as their competitors. What seems to be missing from the observation is the fact that most of the employees of these "me-too" companies came from the established Big 3 and understand the proper "service" a rep provides better than the freshmen who are now being run at the surgeons by Danek. Inspite of the earlier assertion that "loyalty is dead" don't completely undervalue the relationship between rep and doc. Importantly, where the old hands who work with Danek, et al, are still in the game, they kick the shite out the new guys all day long.
@5:59 I agree that it's a valid question, and I too was surprised that MM called you a name for it. Notably, the golf analogy poster didn't, but rather cleverly refuted any implication that disreputable behavior will win the day, although you weren't necessarily implying it.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, to your question specifically, notably some of the increased services that our industry have been providing (and charging for in the cost of the implants) include: capital costs for instruments and implants, reps performing many functions previously performed by circulating nurses or room turnover crews, and facilitating or simplifying purchasing or inventory management, etc. Unlike research support, consulting fees, dinners at meetings, etc, these services are geared at the new decision makers, the hospitals and their staffs. I think that is a pattern that is likely to continue. Expect more and more that to keep a doc happy, you need to keep a hospital happy. New innovations in service in that direction will likely go a long way going forward.
8:25, check MM's 5:17 succinct editorial for the name calling item. My feelings aren't hurt, I was just surprised to see that content from him/her (it).
ReplyDelete8:51, thanks. This is some of the info I was looking for. You're right I was definitely not implying that disreputable behavior was the key to good service. On the contrary, I am trying to understand what the "proper service", as 8:25 put it, is.
A lot of posts refer to the right level of service, the proper service, the fill-in-the-blank service that needs to be provided. I, maybe alone, wonder what this is. I can't help but think it's not only the service they receive from the rep, but also what the company offers.
Maybe there is a lack of appreciation for the idea that service is provided by more than the sales rep. The generalized posts about strong rep/surgeon relationships help me infer this.
I think the customer service personnel, engineers, clinical specialists, marketing personnel, etc. can have something to do with it too. Maybe not; and maybe that is a problem.
Sometimes TSB wonders what is it that some readers want out of sales people? To begin with, sales is the infantry, all guts no glory. Sales is not sitting in the Ivory Tower barking out orders, salespeople execute, they build relations and stability for a company in any territory. Continuity is key in any business. That's why this industry has the reputation that it does. Someone has to go out and sell the product. A mentor of TSB's taught me that you can have wonderful IP and great engineering, yet it takes someone to get the product out to the marketplace. I have never seen an engineer, customer service rep, or for that matter a CEO make a sales call, where they themselves close the deal, of course unless they are signing a consultant. Secondly, whom do you think trains and in-services not only the O.R. Staff but also the people in Central Services. Oops I forgot, why would you train anyone in CSR? Maybe this service has gone out the door because everyone is busy going nowhere. Medical people tend to be the worst time managers that TSB has ever met. Someone has to know how to clean, account for and take care of your instruments. Ever hear of shrinkage? Oh and by the way, does anyone even do that anymore? Third, Salespeople are an added plus in the O.R. since surgeons do not have the same scrub nurse for each case, unless they hire a PA. And even then, most surgeons and PA's don't know the nuances of the instruments because no one wants to take the time to learn them because they are too busy running in circles. A great rep learns his surgeons nuances and is always two to three steps ahead of a surgeon during his case. Ever see a surgeon decompress because things weren't going well? Maybe if education was a priority before sales even "me too" companies would do well. But then, if you are playing in a zero-sum market, it all comes down to the benjamins, so who cares?
ReplyDeleteJust like surgeons, sales people run their own business, pay for their own gas, tolls, vehicle maintenance, insurance, and even have to buy lunch just to get in to genuflect and kiss the surgeons ring for a measly two minutes of their time. And even then, 90% of the time they don't pay attention and they are rudely interrupted by the staff. "What do you mean there's no dessert." So regardless whether you're representing a legacy company or a start up, that's the story morning glory
I have been a rep for 6 plus years at one of the big 3.I have seen colleagues come and go. The grass isn't always greener. The way to win in this business is work hard, always have your phone on, give the best service to EVERYONE involved, and be a caddy. I use that golf analogy all the time. I don't make the shot, but I help determine what club, where the hazards are, think two shots ahead, and study the course(specific patient and case). It is also a reps responsibility to know each surgeon, their decision algorithm, and find new products or technology that will help that specific surgeon help their patients.
ReplyDeleteI feel reps and surgeons who have similar morals find each other. Reps who are hard workers, have high morals, and do the right things everyday usually end up working with surgeons that live their life the same way. Same with the alternative. The problem is that the immoral surgeons cut on 5 out of 10 patients instead of 1 out of 10. In the end(aka many years), this strategy will pay off. I also get frustrated with sleazy reps and surgeons, but I don’t understand the mud slinging on this site.
We do make great money, but I would have to say that our lifestyle and job satisfaction are not the best. This is a marathon not a sprint. I have also seen a ton of Kypho/Dfine type reps try to sell metal. They see that moving sets around before/after cases, getting called in the middle of the night, preplanning with surgeons, and covering every case is not all that it is cracked up to be. They would rather drive their Range Rovers, work 25 hrs a week, and play golf. Selling metal is a grind!!!
Good Selling everyone.
Re: Synthes, they are public on the VRX in Switzerland.
ReplyDelete1:44, very good post. I almost laughed out loud when I read 9:09 "What more is there than having reps in the OR, making sure the sets are available, making sure everything goes smoothly, and listening to complaints or suggestions?". Unbelieveable. With so many "me too" products, if you back out the financial incentives (appropriate or otherwise), what is left other than service by the rep. I don't try to sell my pedicle screw to a surgeon via features and benefits, I sell myself. I know that I can be of great value to them if I can find out what is important to them and I can do it in a way such that they and their staff likes to see me walk in the room. 9:09 probably has staff and surgeons scurrying in every direction to get away from him because he feels just having the sets ready is what we do. He is probably a pain in the ass showing the docs every me too widget in his bag because he doesn't know the surgeons nuances, beliefs, background and personal experiences to make a qualified sales call. I bet he can vomit features and benefits all day long though. Good luck 9:09, I wish you were in my territory.
ReplyDelete4:08, you're funny too. You give the same lame answer on servicing that all of the other reps have provided. We can conclude from all of these posts that reps all provide the same service and therefore service is not a differentiator.
ReplyDeleteFinding our what's important to a customer is a given. Nothing too shocking to hear that this is a service you provide. To hear that you think it is some type of "I'm awesome" characteristic because you provide it is laughable.
I'm getting 9:53s point. You reps don't really know what you are talking about when it comes to service. No one has been able to provide (on any thread) some clear explanation of what they do to service their surgeons. It's all just a bunch of fluff that you all spout. Maybe that's because your companies haven't told you talking heads what to say yet.
Go saddle up for another 20hr work week champ. Leave the heavy pulling for everyone else. You just keep on bitching about how there's no loyalty.
Btw, I'll get you a pedicle screw from Korea. I'll buy it for you off the web. Let's see you go get a doc to use it because you sold him on you.