If you’ve worked in the medical sales field long enough, you more than likely can tell the difference between a great leader and a poor one pretty quickly. Good leaders can motivate their employees, make them feel loyal and assist them when needed so they meet their goals. Bad leaders don’t measure up and their inability to lead tends to be fairly obvious upon meeting them for the first time. These leaders are the opposite of those that are great medical sales managers.
So, what attributes do these great managers possess that make them so effective at their jobs? Here are five of the top attributes that separate them from the rest.
1) Communication Skills
Communication is an essential skill all medical sales managers need to have. In fact, they spend most of their days communicating with others, making it crucial to be able to express their thoughts and convey valuable information clearly. Among the many types of communication a sales manager may need to do includes discussing progress with those working under them, providing updates to their own managers and bosses and even going over new products or solving problems for clients.
With so many different things to communicate with others, a good medical sales manager can handle this in a number of ways, from sending out and responding to emails to discussing things over the phone or via text message. Having solid written and verbal communication skills is very important.
2) The Ability to Stay Organized
Organizational skills are another key attribute. With so much going on, from paperwork to reimbursable receipts, sales literature and more, it’s important a sales manager has some way to keep things together. Whether they choose an electronic filing system, scanning all of that paperwork into the computer and setting it up in folders, or going with a paper-based system complete with different inboxes and outboxes, it’s important to not lose paperwork and always know where everything is at any time.
Unfortunately, organizational skills need to be honed over time rather than taught in a classroom, so the best way to get them is through trial and error. The more time you spend setting up and following through with your system, the more organized you’ll be.
3) Excellent Time Management
Speaking of organization, your time should be properly managed and organized as well. Great medical sales managers are able to get a lot done every day, thanks to their time management skills. They need to balance meetings, either on Zoom or in person, along with things like completing paperwork, sending reports and checking in on salespeople. Without good time management skills, this careful balance could become chaotic, as items get forgotten or pushed aside for the next day. Thankfully, there are a number of time management tools, all of which can be helpful.
4) Motivational Attributes
Another characteristic of a great sales manager is their ability to motivate their employees. Managers that quickly earn the loyalty of their employees usually also have the ability to help their sales team reach new heights. If you’ve ever met a boss and been immediately determined to do your best because you not only like them as a person but also because they’re very good at their job, then you know just how a great medical sales manager needs to act.
The best managers make their employees work hard so they hit their goals and even surpass them. Whether a worker needs a pep talk or simply a “good job,” these managers know what it takes to get them motivated and keep them that way. This ensures the work gets done well and on time and all goals are in place.
5) Remaining Open to Change
In the medical sales world, things never remain the same. A product recall might go out, a new product might hit the market or that meeting you had with a physician might be postponed due to an emergency on their part. It’s important to be flexible and open to change.
Great medical sales managers know things can change in an instant, turning their existing plans inside out. Going with the flow, yet remaining organized and using a good time management system, is the key to ensuring everything gets done, even if those tasks weren’t the original ones on the list.
