The healthcare distribution market is booming, and experts project it to reach over $1.048 billion by 2024. With that need also comes openings for more medical supply distributors.

If you are interested in joining an incredible team of medical manufacturers and distributors, then consider working with them in healthcare contracting as a medical sales representative.

Key Takeaways

• Working with medical supply distributors is a meaningful and fast-paced career.
• You can either sell products from manufacturers to distributors or directly to healthcare facilities.
• Medical distribution is an ideal job for those with degrees in healthcare.
• A successful healthcare sales rep invests hours in training.
• Medical sales reps can earn six-digit incomes with enough work.

There are 2 Types of Medical Suppliers

As a healthcare sales representative, you will often hear three terms: medical suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors.

A medical supplier is a broad term for both manufacturers and distributors. These are businesses and organizations which create and sell all medical supplies. For example, suppliers can provide anything from tongue compressors to the machines used in surgery. So when you see an item at a healthcare facility, it most likely came from a medical supplier.

Healthcare Manufacturers

A healthcare manufacturer is the one who creates the medical equipment and products. Often manufacturers will sell their products directly to hospitals and healthcare facilities through their healthcare sales representatives.

If you are looking to work with a manufacturer, you must be familiar with B2C sales.

Some of the top healthcare manufacturers are:

• Olympus
• J&J
• Stryker
• Medtronic
• Boston Scientific
• Jockey Scrubs

Healthcare Distributors

Other times, manufacturers will not sell their products directly to hospitals. Instead, they sell them to distributors, who then sell them to the customer. If you are working in this type of model, you will need knowledge of B2B sales.

Some of the top healthcare distributors are:

• McKesson
• AmerisourceBergen
• Henry Schein
• Cardinal Health
• Medline Industries

Prerequisite Education and Knowledge

The medical supply distributor career field is broad, which means there are different educational requirements for healthcare sales reps.

Of the 137,653 medical sales representatives in the U.S., 82% have a bachelor’s degree, while 7% have a master’s degree. Meanwhile, some suppliers don’t require any prior higher education.

However, you are considered a product expert and need the appropriate training and education. Those with advanced medical training and experience have a higher chance of getting positions selling medical devices. With these devices also comes the responsibility to help hospitals learn how to use them, which could mean joining a surgery.

On the other hand, other sales representatives may focus on distributing scrubs or paper products, which wouldn’t require as much expert knowledge. Either way, if you are working in the medical field, you need to be on top of the latest healthcare rules and regulations – which is why healthcare sales reps often make a higher income than other industry sales jobs.

You can give yourself a competitive advantage when looking for a sales job in healthcare by completing healthcare sales training.

What Working with Medical Supply Distributors Looks Like

Day in the Life of a Medical Device Representative by Medical Sales

Every medical supply distributor’s job will look different depending on the products you sell, where you work, and who your leads are.

One nurse shared her experience and said her days include:

• Calling leads
• Dropping off equipment
• Following up with customers
• Attending surgeries
• Offering pre-and post-purchase support
• And so much more.

The Greatest Challenges in the Industry

Because of the nature of healthcare sales, it comes with its fair share of challenges. One of the most challenging parts of the job is keeping on top of the latest healthcare regulations and knowledge. You need to know accurate and updated information so you can answer any questions your leads have.

Another challenge is the fast-paced and unpredictable schedule of reps. You will find yourself nearly always on the go, traveling from facility to facility for hospital distribution sales. As a result, each day will offer new challenges and different schedules.

The Biggest Benefits of the Industry

Even with those challenges, the industry offers more significant benefits. For example, the fast-paced environment may intimidate some while it excites others who thrive in that type of workplace. You will also get to be part of an industry that continues to grow and present new opportunities for advancement.

Another benefit is the high salary. If you devote time and effort to your job, you can make over six-digit incomes every year. Additional training helps give you the tools for success. For example, you can learn the latest sales strategies to sell medical supplies.

The best benefit of working with medical supply distributions is the impact and relationships you build. Each day you meet heroes working on the frontlines of hospitals and medical facilities. You will also have a chance to impact the lives of others by giving those medical workers the tools they need to succeed and save lives.

No amount of compensation or benefits equals the lasting impact of changing someone else’s life.

Share Moving Media Works With the Best Medical Supply Distributors

Are you looking to start a meaningful and fast-paced career that will change people’s lives?

At Share Moving Media, we have the opportunity to work with some of the best device and medical supply distributors. These healthcare suppliers create and distribute everything from medical-grade gloves to life-saving diagnostic devices.

Whether you are a medical supplier looking to train your current team or want to join a manufacturing company, contact our staff at Share Moving Media to help you reach your healthcare business goals.

Across industries, the internet has changed the way people do business. Today’s consumers turn to the internet to find the answers to their problems, making healthcare inbound marketing more important than ever.

Marketers used to reach out to consumers to peddle products and earn business. Now, buyers have access to a wealth of information to conduct their own research and seek out solutions to their unique needs. In fact, 93% of all online experiences start with a search engine. 

To stand out from the competition and capture market share in the healthcare supply chain, today’s medical sales professionals need to adopt a healthcare inbound marketing mindset.

Keep reading to learn about healthcare inbound marketing and how it can help boost sales and generate revenue.

Key Takeaways:

• Inbound marketing is the use of tailored experiences and content to attract, engage, and delight your audience.
• Inbound marketing involves a powerful content marketing strategy that includes materials ranging from blog articles and whitepapers to videos and podcasts.
• Healthcare inbound marketing is essential to alleviating customer concerns in a complex industry, targeting the right people, and positioning yourself as an industry leader to stand apart from your competition. 

What Exactly is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing is a tactic in which businesses attract customers to their website by creating customized user experiences and content tailored to the audience’s specific needs. Rather than sending out potentially unwanted information to your target market, inbound marketing is all about building meaningful relationships that last. This is important because 65% of a company’s sales come from existing customers.

Types of Inbound Marketing Content

Inbound marketing can take many forms, including:

• Blog articles
• Whitepapers
• Infographics
• Webinars
• Videos
• Podcasts
• Search engine optimization

Goals of Inbound Marketing

With inbound marketing, the focus is on serving the customer. This means delivering a positive user experience through valuable content that resonates and fills a need. 

Healthcare inbound marketing achieves three main goals:

• Attract the right people: Draw people in with meaningful content that builds trust and interests your audience.
• Engage your audience: Provide solutions and expert insights that align with consumer goals and compel people to purchase from you.
• Delight visitors: Offer the support and resources your customers need to ease their pain points and solve their problems.

The more people you satisfy with your inbound marketing, the more those people will spread the word about your business, helping you to expand your reach and cast a wider net. This makes success cyclical. The more you put into your inbound marketing efforts, the more you’ll gain in the long run.

The following video further explains inbound marketing and provides helpful tips and tricks to maximize this tool:

3 Reasons Healthcare Inbound Marketing is a Must

Whether you’re trying to attract hospital distributors, healthcare suppliers, or group purchasing organizations (GPOs), inbound marketing can help generate qualified leads and drive quality traffic to your site. Here are three reasons you should adopt a healthcare inbound marketing mindset.

1. Alleviate Concerns and Boost Confidence

The world of medical distribution can be a highly complex industry. Between technical lab equipment, newly released and updated medications, and ever-evolving government regulations, medical and hospital purchasing often comes with lots of questions. Buyers want to be sure they’re making the best purchase for their company. Healthcare inbound marketing enables you to provide the content they need to build their confidence and influence their purchase decision. 

Through audience surveys and research, you can learn what questions and concerns are affecting your target market. Use that information to create content that allays their worries. Publish expert articles, link to reputable resources, and deliver whitepapers and case studies that address specific concerns. Create videos to demonstrate equipment or further explain the features and benefits of the products you sell. 

Healthcare can be complicated, but you can help your customer base navigate rough waters through custom inbound marketing.

2. Target the Right People

Buyers are out there right now, searching for the very solutions you provide. Inbound marketing allows you to connect with those people. If you can reach those searchers, who are already in a buying mindset, and convince them that your offerings can solve their problems, you increase the likelihood of conversions and sales. Inbound marketing enables you to not only create powerful content but also optimize that material, so you have more opportunities to align with buyer searches.

Through search engine optimization (SEO) like keyword placement, meta titles, and quality content that delivers value, you can earn higher search engine ranking placement. Since 75% of people don’t scroll past the first page of Google’s search results, ranking among the top results can help boost visibility and maintain a front-of-mind presence among prospective buyers. 

Healthcare inbound marketing lets you take a more targeted approach to connecting with potential customers and, as a result, yields more effective results.

3. Position Yourself as an Industry Leader

Knowing what questions your target audience is asking helps you create content that addresses their unique needs. It also enables you to hone in on highly specific topics and conduct in-depth research (and possible case studies) to not only find the answer but to become an expert on that issue. 

Delivering expert-level content that links to credible resources and includes factual, current data helps set you apart from your competitors. You’ll position yourself as an industry leader and gain credibility and trust among your readers and your industry peers.

All of this helps you attract a wider audience for a farther reach. You can get your readers to continue following you for more valuable information and recommend you to their own contacts who have similar questions and needs. You’ll broaden your reach, increase brand awareness and recognition, and drive more traffic to your website. From there, you can guide them through the sales funnel with more custom content that meets their needs and helps them achieve their goals.

Develop an Effective Healthcare Inbound Marketing Strategy 

Share Moving Media is a content and media company that provides communication and educational resources to businesses in the healthcare industry. Whether you’re in physician office supplies or group contracting, our team can help you create a healthcare inbound marketing strategy that captures market share and sets you apart from the competition. 

Contact us today to learn how we can help you create a powerful healthcare inbound marketing strategy!

The healthcare industry experienced a massive upheaval during the COVID-19 pandemic – hospitals were overwhelmed with patients, there were global product shortages, and all unnecessary interactions were put on hold.

In response to these sudden shifts, medical suppliers have had to adapt to years’ worth of digital growth in the space of a few months. Instead of being able to meet with customers face-to-face like they were used to, many sales representatives were thrust into digital meeting spaces. This caused many people to lose some customer engagement in healthcare.

As the industry begins to reshape the definition of customer engagement, you can use your expertise to your advantage and deliver quality communication and optimized content, whether that is virtually, in person, or a combination of both.

This guide will bring you through some steps you can take to jumpstart your customer interactions.

Key Takeaways

• Create a customized experience for your customers by getting to know their needs and expectations.
• Use genuine emotions and customized content to give customers a personalized, engaging buying experience.
• Follow the customer’s lead when it comes to planning meetings, whether virtual or in-person.

Why Is Customer Engagement in Healthcare Important?

As a medical supplier, the products you sell are designed to improve a person’s health. You believe in your products, and you need your customers to believe in them too. If you or your customers are not engaged during the sales process, sales are going to suffer, and patients may miss out on valuable products that could improve health outcomes.

In our modern, digital world, it is important to use whatever technology options you have available to you. Use tech options like virtual reality, augmented reality, and 3D visuals to demonstrate products in a virtual environment. This will keep healthcare decisions makers engaged and help them visualize how your medical supplies will work in their clinical settings.

Engaged customers will feel more of an emotional connection with your company. This will lead to better sales, more referrals, and improved loyalty.

6 Strategies You Can Use to Improve Customer Engagement

Customer engagement is one of the most important factors in selling medical supplies and equipment. Use these strategies to improve customer engagement in the digital healthcare environment.

1. Get to Know Your Customers

Your customers are real people. They have unique interests, family relationships, and learning styles. When you learn about these people, you may discover things you have in common, or at least things you can relate to. 

To help you keep track of all your customers, create customer personas for each person. These are individualized sheets or digital files where you record specific information on each customer, such as the following:

• Demographic information
• Job title and level
• Pain points and how you can solve them
• Values and goals
• Hobbies 
• Learning style (visual, written, etc.)

Use this information to refresh yourself before each interaction. Update these personas when you learn new information.

2. Connect with Genuine Emotions 

Healthcare is an emotional industry. Patients can experience every emotion imaginable while interacting with healthcare professionals. To match this level of emotion as a medical supplier, you need to keep patients’ needs at the forefront of all interactions. This can help you connect honestly with your customers.

The following video touches on five genuine emotions that business representatives can use to engage with their customers:

• Kindness
• Surprise
• Sincerity
• Creativity
• Empathy

When customers feel appreciated and understood, they are more likely to reward you and your business with more sales.

3. Meet Your Customers on Their Terms 

If your customers prefer face-to-face communication, try to make that happen. Others may still want to meet virtually. According to a 2021 report from Veeva, many healthcare professionals have found they prefer virtual meetings with representatives. In fact, the average duration of meetings has increased 133%, when you compare face-to-face meetings with remote meetings.

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Remote meetings can be a versatile tool that you can use to meet with healthcare professionals who have tight schedules. Since it eliminates any travel time, you may have more freedom to plan for longer meeting times.

No matter what the preferences of your customers, you will likely end up using a hybrid approach. The key is finding the ideal balance between remote and in-person interactions.

4. Follow the Customer Path 

To understand your customers, you need to see the medical supplies sales cycle from their perspective. Put yourself through the sales funnel and try to identify any bottlenecks where customers can get stuck or drop out of the cycle.

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You can also speak to your customers directly and ask them what they expect from the sales experience with you.

To broaden your customer base and increase engagement, you should consider using an omnichannel approach. This allows customers to learn about your company and products using their preferred channel, whether that is your business website, a blog, or even social media.

5. Create Customized Content 

With multiple channels for your customers to connect with you, your business needs customized content for each channel. While this content can have the same overarching theme, different channels require different approaches, especially for social media. You want to deliver content that is relevant and engaging to your customers. This will ensure a more personalized experience.

Rely on the personal preferences of your customers when choosing which content to share with them. Compare analytics from your customer tracking systems to determine the best approach to take with certain types of customers.

6. Thank Your Customers

No matter the outcome of your customer interactions, you should thank them for giving you some of their time. Whether you send them an email, a handwritten note, or some other form of appreciation, it can go a long way toward improving your customer engagement. Even if you didn’t close a sale, your act of kindness may encourage them to think of you the next time they are looking to buy.

Improve Your Customer Engagement with Share Moving Media

By focusing on your customer’s needs and connecting with them on an emotional level, you can improve your customer engagement. Share Moving Media is a great resource to help you reach more customers where they are.

We are experts in creating custom content for medical suppliers with a variety of publications and other marketing channels.We can help you expand your market share and stay engaged with your customer base.

Contact us today to get started.