The Secret to Mastering the Art of Cold Calling
Happy 1 Year to The Girls of Grit Podcast!
In this special anniversary episode, Cynthia and Anneliese celebrate a year of empowering women in the medical device industry by sharing invaluable tips and strategies for mastering cold calls.
What is Cold Calling? In medical device sales, cold calling is the proactive approach of contacting potential customers or clients who haven't expressed interest in your product or service beforehand.
They provide a practical guide to optimizing every cold call opportunity, ensuring you make the most out of each interaction. Breaking down the essentials for successful cold calling, the Girls of Grit emphasize the importance of preparation, understanding your audience, and setting clear goals. From knowing your products inside out to choosing the right approach for each unique situation, these simple steps are designed to boost your confidence and effectiveness in sales calls.
Listen to how a cold call turned into a golden opportunity, proving that with the right mindset and preparation, remarkable results are achievable.
Celebrate with us! As a thank you for being an amazing supporter, please get your free guide to mastering cold calling here:
5 Essential Tips for Cold Calling in Medical Device Sales
Know Your Audience: Tailor your approach based on whether you’re speaking with doctors, nurses, or office managers.
Perfect Your Self-Introduction: Make a strong first impression with a well-crafted self-introduction.
Master Your Product Knowledge: Understand the full range of your products and be prepared to discuss any of them.
Choose the Right Approach: Whether it’s an in-person meeting or an email, know how to effectively present yourself and your products.
Set Clear Goals: Always have a clear objective for your cold call and be prepared to pivot to larger goals if the opportunity arises.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
"Cold calling doesn't just mean you're calling on somebody you've never met before. You may have met the person, worked with them, or have done a fair amount of cases with them. It's the fact that you haven't seen them or worked with them in a while that makes that kind of a cold call." — Anneliese Rhodes
"By knowing your purpose, why you're going to talk to them, and knowing your audience, I think that you can end up having a really good cold call." — Anneliese Rhodes
"Maybe instead of saying it's going to go crappy, maybe it's going to end up going well. Maybe you are going to get a case at the end of this cold call. So I think changing your mindset with cold calls is a part of the sales process." — Anneliese Rhodes
"Cold calling still has to be strategic." — Cynthia Ficara
"Cold calling in medical devices or selling in medical devices isn't from A to Z all the way and one quick step. Sometimes it takes months to get to where you need to get to in medical devices." — Cynthia Ficara
"It's really important to know how you're going to approach the cold call and your mode of the way you're getting across your information and master that." — Cynthia Ficara
"Cold calling, any way you can make it warm." — Cynthia Ficara
"The better you know your audience, the better you can tailor your conversation." — Cynthia Ficara
"Cold calling is just part of rotating all through medical device sales, but it takes perseverance, resilience, and I believe genuine passion for helping others.” — Cynthia Ficara
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Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Celebrating a Year of Secrets in Medical Device Sales
Anneliese Rhodes: Hello everyone and welcome to Secrets in Medical Device Sales brought to you by the Girls of Grit. It is Lisa and Cindy here and we are doing something a little impromptu. So this marks the first anniversary of our podcast. One whole year, 52 episodes. We did it. Can't believe we did it, but we did. So yeah, in celebration, we are popping bottles.
If you guys are watching us on YouTube, you'll see us do it. If you're just listening in, we are legit opening up champagne bottles as we speak. Hopefully, Cindy or I don't pop the bottle thing in our eye, which is like my fear of all fears. So let's see this is in my house, my office.
Cynthia Ficara: To you Lisa, I am pouring this cold. Oh, it's all bubbly. And I see a little bit of it, it's almost like steam because it's hot outside and this is cold. And if any of you is out there listening, feel free to go pull up a bottle of cheers with us because the more the merrier. This is a champagne episode.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yes, it is a champagne episode. So cheers Cindy to our first year and all of our listeners. Thank you so much for tuning in to us and giving us all your feedback and writing to us. We have loved this year. Our guests have been amazing and we've learned a lot over this year. Haven't we, Cindy?
Cynthia Ficara: Yes. But you know, the whole thing with cheers, once you do cheers clink, you have to drink ready, I heard it's bad luck. Otherwise, it has been such an amazing year. You know what I think the funniest part is I think what's been fun for us is just how much every day, we just, not every day, but we change, we'll start with this.
We just really want to thank all of our listeners because some of the direction we've changed has been when you write to us and ask us for specific things to talk about or give us good feedback, and then we know where to go.
And so we're excited. So today, as you notice. If you're watching us, we are not wearing headphones today and what else do you notice Lisa about our picture?
Anneliese Rhodes: Well, we have the same background now and no mics. Cindy and I decided that since we can't always be together because she lives in Virginia and I live in Florida, we are going to share the office space together.
So it looks like we're together even though we're not, not always anyhow. Well, we are sharing champagne. I know it's so great, so we should do this on every episode, by the way.
Cynthia Ficara: Oh, I know. I like this yearly idea.
Anneliese Rhodes: The problem though is I'd probably drink up like half the bottle and then I wouldn't be making any sense.
Cynthia Ficara: I know. So, we will get on with it. We want to thank you all for joining us and celebrating this year with us. I’m excited because today's topic is cold calling. So now, you know, it's a big thing. Somebody might ask, what is cold calling? How do you do this?
How does this relate? It is something very common when you're a medical device and something that you need to be good at, right?
Cynthia Ficara: You're signing up to go to middle school again. Everybody go the first day of middle school, go find your locker, and figure it out. Nobody, but a few people get lost in the hallway.
That's cold calling now. It is if you let yourself feel that way, right? So we want to make sure after this little champagne half hour with us that you won't feel that way. You don't feel like middle school. You won't feel scared, right?
Anneliese Rhodes: Exactly. So she and I always love to give you guys a little bit of background.
We like to look things up and we like to do a little bit of data search before we just start going off on our tangents of stories. At least I know I do that often. So, Cindy, I'm going to let you read the definition of a cold call and then I think both of us are going to tell you guys what we kind of think cold calling means to both of us separately because the way I perceive cold calling can look a little different sometimes than Cindy, we'll give examples of that.
What is Cold Calling?
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah. I feel like it gives me the chills to think about cold calling. I mean, let's be honest, Cindy, nobody likes to cold call. No, whether you're picking up the phone and you're making a phone call, you're calling somebody for the first time ever.
And you have a sales job over the phone, like telesales or you're emailing them or you're texting them, even though you really shouldn't be texting them or you are in our world going a meeting with them for the very first time face to face. Nobody likes a cold call. And the truth is, before we even define it, I think one of the reasons why we don't like it is we're putting ourselves out there.
I mean, we're like opening ourselves up to be shut down. And then, you know what you're doing?
Cynthia Ficara: Absolutely. And so just to be in the very factual part of this conversation, cold calling is a sales technique, and it's where salespeople will call whether it's different customers or different businesses, but these people have no idea who you are, and they may or may not even have ever heard of you.
So it's where you go to reach out to potential customers, like Lisa said, by phone, and email, and you're generating leads to set up future appointments to ultimately make a sale. Cold calling is the very beginning, but it requires the hard part, where we talk about the fear and all that the sales-person wants to introduce themselves, and their product, and then see if they can pull that into a conversation that will explore future opportunities that ultimately may end up in a great relationship, and purchasing a product and working with the customer.
So, it's really exciting, but then when you think about that logistically. What does that look like in a medical device? And what are we talking about? How do we target, what do we do and how do we make this not a fearful part, but such an essential, great part of growing our business?
Anneliese Rhodes: Yes. As I'm sitting here thinking about it, Cindy, cold calling, why is it called cold calling? Well, it sure isn't warm because you're calling on feel good. It doesn't feel good. It's uncomfortable. You're completely putting yourself out there naked, right? I mean, you are naked and afraid. I mean, you're calling on doctors, nurse managers, office managers, purchasing and medical devices anyhow.
And these folks can be pretty intimidating. I mean, let's face it, you know, a massive doctor that you're trying to land, man, just the thought of that, and you've never even met him or her before. Just the thought of that is intimidating. So I think that cold calling gives everybody kind of that, Oh God, I have to cold call.
But the truth is, it is a part of our almost everyday lives in medical device sales and in sales in general, because if you're not doing cold calling at all. I truly think that I don't even know how you would get new sales. I mean, at some point you're cold calling even on customers that you may have already called on.
And that's why I wanted both Cindy and me to tell you, guys, a little bit separately, because to me, cold calling isn't just about calling on that doc I've never met, which I do a lot, you know, that's setting up lunches, having meetings with them and talking about the product, but sometimes cold calling for me is calling back on that surgeon that I haven't worked with in a couple of months or half a month or half a year or maybe it's been two years since I've done a case with them, which should never be the case, but let's face it, guys. Sometimes we get so busy in our little world of calling on our certain accounts and our certain doctors that we kind of let other doctors slide by, right?
And so now we got to circle back with those customers and say, yep, I've forgotten all about you, but I'm here to call on you again and to meet me. That's still cold calling because you're putting yourself back out there in that uncomfortable position of saying, yeah, I know I kind of forgot about you, but I do want to keep working with you.
I just got really busy or, you know, I just got overwhelmed or whatever it is. So cold calling doesn't just mean you're calling on somebody you've never met before, you may have met the person, you may have even worked with the person and you may have done a fair amount of cases with them. But it's the fact that you haven't seen them or worked with them in a while that makes that kind of a cold call backup.
Cynthia Ficara: I love that because that's like a chilled call. You know, you get a bitter cold when you know nobody, it's like, you're in Alaska, it's cold, you're in the tundra now you're getting to where it's just a little cold, but you bring up something really important and that is keeping things in motion. When sales are always moving, you're always looking for the next thing.
Sometimes things chill and they get cold. So I am really glad that you brought that perspective into this conversation because it still gives you that moment of the sales process, right? Maybe I know them or haven't done something like, where do I pick up? Do I start again? Is this a new account? We haven't had cases in six months. I need to reignite or warm up this cold-calling conversation. I think that's a huge thing to point out and I'm really glad you said that.
Shifting the Mindset: Embracing Confidence and Success in Cold Calling
Anneliese Rhodes: Well, it was really funny Cindy. So I was having a conversation with my brother the other day, and I'm sure none of you guys know this, but my brother is also in sales, in medical sales.
He's in orthopedic sales, which is different from what Cindy and I do, but it's kind of still the same thing. I mean, it's still a medical device. So he and I were talking about cold calling and he's like, Lis, I don't think I do a whole lot of cold calling anymore. You know, I just always work with the same doctors over and over again.
I'm like, yeah, good. What about when one of your doctors leaves or retires and you have to go get a new doctor? He's like, Oh, I haven't done cold calling in ages. He's like, I don't want to be handed a crap sandwich. He didn't say he said the bad word, but you know, I'm like, dude, you're right.
Nobody wants to be handed a crap sandwich. No one wants to walk into an office or an OR, not an OR setting, but in the hallway and you see a doctor and they give you a Heisman, like hey, great to see you. Bye bye. Gotta run. Man, that's like a crappy feeling. Nobody wants that but you know, sometimes I think if you change your mindset a little bit, Cindy, as you mentioned, know your purpose, know why you're going to talk to them, you know your audience, I think that you can end up having a really good cold call.
Even if you don't get the outcome that you're looking for, maybe not set your expectations so frigging high that you're going to get a case out of the cold call. That's probably not going to happen, even though the other day it happened to me, but that's like one in a billion, but the truth is, I think part of the reason why we hate the cold call isn't just because we're putting ourselves out there and we're calling on a new, never met before customer and that we're being so candid with them and naked with them, but that this whole idea of it being so uncomfortable and like painful and being handed a crap sandwich at the end of it, people don't want to do it.
But the truth is, if you change your mindset a little bit, and you're actually like, wait a minute, I have a good product to sell this position. I'm a good sales rep. You know, I've done my due diligence, I know my cases, I've worked with the partners, whatever that is that you are telling yourself, you know, number one, have confidence in yourself, but then number two, have confidence in the product that you're selling.
And maybe instead of saying it's going to go crappy, it's going to end up going well. Maybe you are going to get a case at the end of this cold call. So I think part of this whole conversation that we're having, Cindy, is changing your mindset with cold calls. It is part of the sales process.
You will have to make cold calls and the really good sales reps make really good cold calls.
Cynthia Ficara: And you know, let me ask you this, how many of you have been on an elevator and spoken to somebody? That's a cold call. How many of you have gone into a store and you want something, you don't know. You just literally ask somebody, or maybe you're trying to navigate your way through something.
You say who you are, and what you're looking for, that's all that is. So I almost wish it wasn't called cold calling because to your point, I think the name of it, labeling it makes it sound like this is so hard and it's going to be awful, it's going to feel bad. It's just that the ‘cold’ means new conversation, but how many times have we gotten new conversations that are very exciting and very good?
Even when you meet people, you're like, oh, my gosh, I'm so glad I said something because now I met this person. You know, it all helps with networking. You brought it up, you said something earlier about confidence. So cold calling is just a plan of a cold conversation, that with confidence, you can deliver great.
You're just planning it with customers. So many times we naturally do cold calling and we don't even realize it, but when you make it a monstrous thing, then it's like human nature's path of least resistance is easier, right? It's easier to jump into a warm tub than a cold tub. It's easier to have a conversation with people.
You know, it's like, I don't know if anybody watched that show years and years ago. The beginning song is that sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. Well, that's great because we all love that. But now after you cold call them, and if this goes well, think about it, there'll be somebody who will know your name and they'll be comfortable.
And you're just growing where you are. So you mentioned how sometimes you can just, it might be a good time and good conversation. So I'll tell you about one cold-calling situation I had once.
Strategic Approaches to Making Cold Calling Warm and Effective
I was at a hospital where I was brand new. We had zero business there and I was driving by it and had to be there for a different reason for a different product, but I walked up and just tried to find the service or the specialty that I'm in. I looked for their offices and I just walked in and asked the front desk high. I explained who I was and who I was with, that I was looking to set up a meeting with the surgeon regarding these products and she said, Oh, we have a brand new surgeon.
I don't even have a card yet, he came in five days ago. Okay, he was the chief of all of this division as well. And so she writes it down because he didn't even have a card yet. I emailed him a simple, again, cold call email introduction, but it was great that I was able to say, hello, Dr. so and so on.
I was at the hospital today and I got the name of the lady at the desk. I think it was like Mary. I said, Mary at the front desk gave me your contact information. I think I said that first in the email. Then I said, my name is, and I would like to meet you sometime for discussion, and he wrote back that day, very nicely. Oh, hello, Cynthia, exclamation point. Nice to meet you. I'd love to meet with you. When can we? And then we set it up and it was as simple as that, but you know, something to think about cold calling any way you can make it warm.
So for instance, by me saying Mary at the front desk gave me your information, not just like, Hey, I randomly Googled you and stopped you and found this email.
No, it's that I made a relevant step in the right direction to get your information. So even if it's like, if you work for a medical device company that has other branches of divisions, you may call one of your coworkers on that side and say, hey, do you know this doctor? May I have their information? And can I say, you gave it to me because sometimes when the doctor opens, Oh, Lisa Rhodes gave me, Oh, I know Lisa.
Okay. So who is this person? All that makes cold calling a little bit warmer. It's cold because I've never had a conversation with them before.
Anneliese Rhodes: You give a really good, I mean, you just covered so many things, Cindy. So I love that you use the name of Mary who gave you the card because that automatically gives you credit.
Like you're pulling on credibility already because you're name-dropping somebody that they know and that person was kind of important. So they feel a little bit more comfortable. And then you followed up with, you know, kind of the way that you approached it. I think what you did right there was perfect.
I think that when you come prepared for a cold call, even though it's a quote-unquote cold call in people's minds, they think it's like, I don't know, shooting darts out in the darkness and hoping that one sticks and hits the target. It's not like that at all. Cold calling still has to be strategic.
You still have to be very spot on with what you're looking to accomplish, even if that accomplishment or that goal is just as simple as I want to set up another meeting. I want to, you know, now get into your office to talk to you because maybe you only had that five-minute elevator pitch, like you just mentioned, and now you want to get into their office and talk to them for 30 minutes, you know, that in and of itself is a goal that you're looking for with cold calling. Cold calling doesn't always need to be, you're going in completely carte blanche and you're hoping for a grand finale of an event.
You're not. You're just trying to look to get to the next step. In your case, Cindy, you were looking to meet with that chief at some point in his office, and then we'll see where it goes, right? He may tell you, hey, Cindy, you know, your product sounds amazing, give me a couple of months to get into my position.
Let me start to figure out where I'm at and everything with the hospital. And then you and I will talk about getting it into the hospital committee. That's still a step in the right direction. That's still a win and it's still a cold call. So I think that sometimes we put these as I mentioned before, these grand expectations on a cold call when it doesn't really need to be anything more than, can I get that next meeting with you, or can we have lunch or dinner or whatever it is? It doesn't have to be grandiose. And I think that's really important that you're strategic with your cold calling.
Cynthia Ficara: Yep. Before we get into some very simple tips that we're going to give you all to arm yourself with when you go out to do your next cold call, I think it's really important that we kind of just recap what we had said prior about why this is so important. In medical device sales, you always have to be building more and building more.
I think I just wanted to say that again to emphasize that you're always targeting new people. You know, if you can't put all your eggs in one basket, because that's just really asking you to have the basket tip and fall, and that's it. And they're all going to crack. That's a good point.
Anneliese Rhodes: You just made a really good point that cold calling, especially in medical devices or selling in medical devices, isn't from A to Z all the way. One quick step, right? Sometimes it takes months to get to where you need to get to in medical devices, but that's why it's so awesome once you get in with those doctors and you are working with them in the OR and they are calling you late into the evening and on weekends for your input or whatever it is.
That's why medical devices are so cool to be in because you get to that position where you're a trusted advisor. Look at cold calling, I think, as your very first step in making your first impression and then you move from there, right? So your cold call needs to be just your first impression.
It needs to be strategic. It can't just be, hey, you know, I'm Lisa with so and so company and what are you up to today? That's not what you do. You have to be super strategic.
Cynthia Ficara: You are so right. How many times do people waste? There's a person that is popping in my head that I know could somehow get in front of the right people and waste, but, oh my gosh.
It was like, Oh my gosh. You're thinking this, these are golden moments. They're handing you this. It's like, here's the golden key. Open the gate, dah, dah, dah. And it's like, Hey, yeah. How are you? Oh, I'm fine, I'll see you later, bye. No, so this is why I think this conversation is so important. What we want to do, the whole point of this is you're going to finish this podcast and you're going to be able to say, I'm walking into this hospital.
Understanding Your Audience
These are the very simple things I need to be thinking about. So if I have an opportunity for a cold call or I'm purposely cold calling, this is what I need to know, so it's five simple things. Number one, what you need to know is to know your audience. So simply, are you calling on a doctor or a nurse? You could be calling on an office manager, you could be calling on the purchasing department, but you have to know who they are, who the person is, and do a little bit of research. It is so much better and easier to understand that. And you'd speak to purchasing differently than you speak to a doctor.
That's why targeting, knowing your audience, and what, and how you are going to speak to them is crucial for the conversation. You're not going to go on your first date and be like, Hey dude, yeah, man, how are you? If that's not how you talk, right? You're going to be like, hello, I am so and so.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah, because you're setting the stage for how this cold call is going to go, how this sales call is going to go, right?
So you better know your audience, do a little bit of research, even if it's just, it's Sally Jo from purchasing and she's been with the hospital for 20 years. Well, that's kind of important because usually when you're calling on somebody that's been there for 20 years, they pretty much know everybody and they know all the processes of getting products through either, you know, approvals or pricing or whatever it is that you're trying to accomplish with this cold call.
Doing a little bit of research with that is important. You don't need to know what their kid's names are. You don't need to know what their husband's name is, but you do need to know what their position is and maybe how long they've been there, especially if they're working for the hospital and the physician. Know a little bit about his background, especially if you're meeting him for the first time.
And like in Cindy's case, he was obviously coming from another area and he was new to the hospital.
Cynthia Ficara: One more thing about that is remember, use your resources, use your networking. If this isn't information, you can just Google, call people who know them, call an office manager, and ask.
So do a little bit more homework because the better you know your audience, the better you can tell your conversation. So number one was to know your audience.
Knowing Yourself and Your Products
Anneliese Rhodes: And that leads to number two, honestly, which is to know yourself. So you know who you are, don't be silly. Okay, great. I know myself. No, what we mean by that is not only that you're letting them know what your name is and making sure you're talking very clearly and you're saying it very well.
The company that you work for and what your purpose is, right? I mean, why are you there? You're not just there to shoot the bull. It's not like you just said, Cindy, let's waste this golden opportunity. Know what you are, who you are, and kind of what your underlying purpose is.
Cynthia Ficara: Absolutely. And when you think you may not think like this, like, how do you introduce yourself? Maybe you never really thought about it, but, clearly think about it, practice it and it's so much easier when you practice. So then number three is to know your products. So let's say you cover a multitude of products.
I mean, no, your product sounds kind of silly, right? Well, is it? Or is it because let's say you have like five products and four of them you do all the time, you're like, I'm going to go cold call this person, but the one year, the product that you're talking about, maybe you don't do that much with it or maybe you haven't.
I'll look this up in a while, pull up your resources, read the information, and have it all top of mind. Should there be a question now, granted, this is just a cold call. You may not even get into that, but you need to be able to succinctly define what it is, what it does, and how it will help them.
You know, this is sales and remember it's always what's in it for them. So if in your very short cold calling, maybe it's, hey, maybe you and I can have a conversation on how we help patients do X, Y, Z. That's simple.
Anneliese Rhodes: You know, you bring up a really good point. I was thinking about this quickly on knowing your products.
Sometimes let's just say you have like 20 products in your bag and you're like, Oh, this doctor is only interested in this one product, maybe not. They might be interested in more than just this one product that you're thinking about. So maybe make sure that you talk about a lot. And even if they don't use it directly, sometimes they'll help sell your product to another physician if it helps their process or their patients.
So that's a good thing. I realized that was a little more detail than you guys were probably looking for, but the truth is, don't ignore any of the things that you sell. You know, they're all equally important. Even if you think, well, this doctor's never going to use it because they're a cardiologist and this is an interventional radiologist product. Well, you never know. So just don't forget all of your products.
Mastering Your Approach: Tailoring Your Cold Call Strategy
So, the next thing is kind of know your approach, right? In medical devices, more than often, even though in your case, Cindy, yours was an email, but in more cases than often, it's usually, the approach is the face-to-face cold call.
What we're talking about is what mode are you using to do your cold call. Are you picking up the phone and calling them? Are you emailing them? Yeah, that can, that can be a cold call in and of itself, but most likely you're meeting with them face-to-face.
So if you're meeting with them face to face, how are you dressed? What are you wearing? Are you in scrubs or are you in a suit? Well, if you're meeting with them in their office on an office day and you're not coming out of a case. Maybe showing up in nice business attire might be nice, right? Maybe not show up slouchy in your scrubs or you know, dog hair all over it, that kind of thing.
Like, you got to be mindful of that. And that sounds silly, but man, they're taking it all in. This is your first impression and if your first impression isn't good, it doesn't even matter if your product is amazing. Sometimes docs are like, thanks, but no thanks. Your first impression was so bad, you got to suck as a rep, right?
So it's really important to know how you're going to approach the cold call and like your mode of transportation or mode of the way you're getting across your information and really master that. And if it's an image, no slang, no abbreviations. The email doesn't need to be a 10-page story, but it doesn't need to be so succinct that like, is not even succinct, but slangy.
I don't know, it’s like my 16-year-old wrote the email, right? No, you're not doing that. You're going to write it professionally. Yes. It needs to be succinct, but it needs to be professionally written.
Cynthia Ficara: Yes. And you know, you also speak differently than you write. And if you're going to write an email, this is my recommendation.
One sentence or two sentences, make it as short as possible. Hello, Mary gave me your information. Do not in the email, explain everything about who you are. All you want to do is make a first meeting. So I think what's important is tailoring what you're saying and how you're saying it to whatever way you are approaching this cold call.
Knowing Your Goal
And so that brings us to number five and our very last one, which is probably the most important, and that is, knowing your goal. I'm going in to meet this doctor, well, great, you're meeting them, but wait a minute. If you don't have a goal tied to it, like I'm going in there to, for example, make an appointment, I'm going to introduce myself. Great. You introduced them, but you need to, can I at least have your email? Can I know what is the best way to get in touch with you? Can we meet again? Are you going to a conference? Could you come to this meeting? Could we meet for coffee and discuss this? Is it better to meet you after the OR because these days are too busy?
Or just as simple, if your goal is just to get one more meeting, that's a huge goal of cold calling. Just introducing yourself is half the call. I mean, okay, you got in front of them, congratulations, you made all that effort. You got out of your comfort zone and were like, I got in front of them. Yay. Okay. Well, now what?
Anneliese Rhodes: I don't want to get too detailed, but if you hit that goal, like, yeah, sure, Cindy, here's my email, here's my cell phone, you know, reach me out anytime. Well, go for the goal. Like, you know, Dr. so and so, I would love to work with you, you know, in the future.
So I look forward to connecting with you so I can talk to you more about my products or we can learn more or we can work together, whatever you want to do, I mean, don't just settle for one thing. I mean, yes, sometimes the cold call might be a five-minute elevator pitch.
And all you're looking to do is get that guy's office manager's number and name so that you can set up lunch and spend time with him. But if you've got the time and that cold call to go for the gold and try and get that case or get him interested in the product enough to say yes, I want to learn more, I want you to come back, I want you to come to the lab tomorrow so that you can show me the product. That is a great winning goal for that cold call.
Cynthia Ficara: And yes, Lisa, because I want you to tell us the story of how your intent of going into a cold call, but these five things we mentioned by knowing your audience, knowing your name, yourself, knowing your products, knowing how you're going to approach and your goal.
You will be so surprised that this is rare, but you can get an even bigger goal.
Mastering Cold Calls in Medical Device Sales
Anneliese Rhodes: I'll use the five little tips that we just met. So I knew my audience, which was a cardiac surgeon. I know who I am, I know the company that I work for and I know the product that I wanted to talk to him about.
And we were meeting in person so my approach was an in-person approach. I had reached out to the office manager, I had made the meeting, set the meeting and he responded to the set time. So I knew he was coming, and then I was off also, which we didn't talk about. I verified that with the office manager to make sure that we were still good.
I think that's always a good point. Things come up, right? Doctors get called into surgery. Things can happen, you might have to cancel. So just always make sure that you're staying on top of things. I know that sounds silly, but it's quite important. And then my goal at the end of it was truly Cindy, just to meet him, get to know him.
Figure out where maybe this product might fit into his practice and then go from there. Well, not only did I sit down and chat with him and I put him at ease by talking about, you know, personal things, asking about his family, where he's from because I'd never met the guy before. I mean, legit, never met him before.
So, you know, I did all that. We talked a little bit of small talk and then dove right into the product, and had the product with me so I could demo it for him. I talked about the features and benefits of it. I talked about where it would be applicable in his patient care algorithm and then he looked at me and was like, well, how soon can I use the product?
And I'm like, well, it's approved in the hospital, which, you know, is a different subject for a different day, but it was already approved. And he's like, I got a case next week. Want to come? And I'm like, hot dog, yeah. So music to my ears, right? Click on that. So I'm like, I'll be there next week.
I will be there with bells on and then he was like, okay, great. I'll have my nurse send you the information on the case. You know, you can work on the case, bring the right product. And it was legit one of the best cold calls I ever had. And I was telling my brother that Cindy to wrap this whole thing up with the story.
So I'm like, dude. It's not always going to be a crap sandwich. Sometimes it's going to be a frigging massive golden egg on the plate handed to you. And you're just going to say, thank you, give me another.
Cynthia Ficara: What's that long? What was it? The subway commercial, the six-foot-long subway, or the sandwich, whatever it was, whatever you got, which is awesome. Well, I think, I hope that these five simple things that we went over were helpful because cold calling is just part of rotating all through medical device sales, but it takes perseverance, resilience, and I believe genuine passion for helping others.
And these little strategies that we brought up, we hope we set ourselves up to have a rewarding and positive impact on the patients because that's ultimately what we're here to do. Right, Lisa?
Anneliese Rhodes: Absolutely. We're here for you guys anytime. And so we hope that those five quick tips helped out a lot.
Again, just to recap, know your audience, who are you calling on? Pretty simple there. Do a little bit of research on that. Know yourself and be able to speak your name and your position in the company that you work for. You need to know the products that you're calling on. Why is that important?
Because if you don't know the products that you're doing your cold call on, then you're pretty much wasting your time and the physicians might not ask you back. Number four is to know your approach. How are you cold calling? Are you emailing and what does that email look like? Or is this in person?
How are you dressing for that? Are you taking all the right steps to make sure that the one-on-one meeting with the physician, the nurse, or the purchasing manager is going smoothly? Going to go as well as you want it to go, and then at the end of the day, have your goal, have a goal. And if you make that goal a little small, maybe have a backup goal and have that one be bigger, right?
Like ask for the case, ask for the buy-in, whatever that is. So those five little tips we think should get you guys well on your way to not maybe being so scared of cold calling and the water might not be so Arctic cold.
Cynthia Ficara: There is no middle school in medical devices. I love that. I love it. Well, we are so happy that you shared our half hour of celebrating our year together. And we're looking, here's the cheers again, cheers.
Looking forward to next year. We, thank you all for being a part of us and making this platform to impact other women and medical devices.
So the call to action for today is quite simple. We want to keep you motivated, refine your skills all the time, and be ready to embrace any opportunity that comes your way.
