In this episode of the Med Device Unleashed Podcast, I speak with Scott Walle the director of sales operations at Saluda medical, a spinal cord stimulator startup company. He shares the details of his career as a med device sales rep for many years.

Listen in to learn the importance of understanding your clients (doctors) pain points as a med device sales rep and then finding a solution to solve them. You will also learn how to make yourself irreplaceable in your clients’ eyes by being a real challenger.

“When you become indispensable in that way with your customers, you become very hard to replace.”– Scott Walle [29:47]

“Winning business is one thing, putting walls up around your business that is impenetrable, that’s a different conversation.”– Scott Walle [33:37]

Top Takeaways:

·       Learning to leverage all your strengths and weaknesses as a sales rep in the med device industry. ·       The importance of an MBA in furthering your career.·       The power of being resilient as a med device sales rep to succeed. ·       What separates the real challenger and the farmer-type rep in the industry. ·       The importance of having a good foundation in sales and objectives that lead you.·       How to make sure that you’re not easily replaceable by understanding your customers’ struggles and finding the fix for it.

Episode Timeline:

·       [1:34] How spinal cord stimulation devices are designed to alleviate chronic pain in patients and return them to normal while in the hands of the right doctor.·       [2:31] What it means to be a smokejumper in the medical device world. ·       [4:18] The importance of understanding how to leverage your strengths and weakness as a rep in any territory. ·       [6:32] He explains the functions of the Prosellus tool that he came up with and the impacts it had.·       [8:57] The questions that should drive you to get a master’s degree even when you’re a successful sales rep in the med device industry.·       [13:20] How to look at the glass half full and see every opportunity as a way to grow.·       [18:11] He describes his incredible experience working for Johnson& Johnson with their training program. ·       [21:40] How to define the value you offer to the doctors by understanding their struggle and then offering the solution.·       [30:20] How to understand your doctor’s pain point to help solidify their business.·       [35:54] How to avoid making mistakes that could cost your reputation as a med device sales rep.·       [37:18] He talks about the success and the purpose of the blog he wrote that won him an award. ·       [40:23] He shares his craziest OR story.