Salesman Stories
Have you ever had a sales person suggest just the right new kit or enzyme that makes your life a whole lot easier? Or on the flip side, how about when a sales person doesn’t get the hint that you are in the middle of keeping track of setting up a 96 well plate of PCR reactions and can’t stop what you’re doing?
Being a sales rep is a really tough job, requiring a thick skin, good interpersonal skills and the ability to handle rejection and a lot of pressure. I’m sure many of you have had the experience of sales people who were very good, as well as those of the more clueless variety so thought it would be fun for us to discuss our experiences, both good and bad. Here are some questions we could look at:
1- What makes a good sales person ?
2- What are the worst qualities in a sales person you have observed that should be avoided at all costs?
3- What is your funniest or best sales rep story? (Please, no company names, unless you are giving kudos!)
So here are my answers:
1- I think what makes a sales person good is someone who can look at your lab and tell what techniques you use and then talk to you about products you might use. They also don’t interrupt you in the middle of working if you are not making eye contact.
2- The worst is when a rep asks something like “are you doing PCR?” in front of a row of thermal cyclers. Maybe they are nervous, but they should have some working knowledge of general lab equipment.
3- When I was a post-doc, there was a sales rep from a very well-known biotech company that could not make any progress in selling to my lab. All the decision makers/ lab mangers were women and avoided him like the plague. One day he asked one of the guys in the lab (a grad student) “why is it that I can’t get anyone to give me the time of day around here?” despite that the lab purchased numerous products in the application he was selling into. The grad student said quite bluntly, “well, if you would stop looking at their breasts when you talk to them, they might actually listen to you.” The sales guy turned red and walked away. It was a while before he came back, but when he did, he hadn’t changed, actually. Oh well. Old habits die hard.
…so what are your views and stories?
Photo: Matthew Stubstad
molecular biology
