Which division of Cook? Cook doesn't have the best products in some markets, but it would be a way to get in the door and get some experience.They also are known for significantly under-paying compared to competitors. Their wacky management kept them from being bought by Guidant a few years back as I recall, which would have been a good fit.
A couple suggestions:
- Know who your target customers will be (surgeons? IR's?)
- Know who your competitors will be. Call the cath lab or whoever will be doing the buying and explain your situation, and ask who the vendors are. A lot of business is based on contracts so you might be locked out in some hospitals.
- Like any sales, this is a relationship sell so you'll need to forge good relationships with key staff and physicians, based on clinical acumen. Advamed code (which Cook doesn't always abide with since they're a private company) strictly limits entertainment and interactions now, FYI, so don't think you'll be able to golf your way to those relatinships!
- Work your tail off to become a clinical expert
- The key will be selling the therapy and knowing how your products add value to the physician or his case. It's not enough to say, "our catheter is smaller than their catheter." Why would that be important? How would that help the patient? You need to ask a lot of questions and find out what the customers needs are, and then work back how your products fill those needs.
