How to Create a Successful Email Marketing Campaign by Engaging the Scientific Mind

Guest Post from Shannon Weiman, Ph.D., science e-commerce writer, and student of your email tactics.

Email Marketing That Gets a Scientist’s Attention

Carlton raises some good points in his response to Lara’s blog post: “Don’t Let Your Science Email Marketing Campaign End Up in the Trash.” But rather than undermine the ideas conveyed in the post, they serve to underscore the intended message.

Yes, scientists are super-savvy about sniffing out a marketing scheme and have zero patience for email marketing B.S. They are trained to be skeptical, to doubt, to ask questions. Compelled to apply the same rigor to an overt ad campaign, scientists will immediately question the validity of your claims and send your email marketing to the trashcan (despite your best efforts highlight the value of your product).

Why should they trust you over your competitors or their current supplier? How do you get past this impenetrable wall of skepticism?

Building Sales Through Social Media Part III – LinkedIn Power

Generating Leads and Networking via LinkedIn

Welcome back to our ongoing series with Ken Schmitt, LinkedIn Coach.

In Part 1, we discussed why social media space for your brand is important. So very important.  From reaching customers, to building reputation don’t miss out on this chance to increase the “shelf space” of your brand.  And in Part 2 we identified the value of LinkedIn for sales reps and marketers and then found some quick ways to find your audience and generate leads using LinkedIn.

Great you found them! Now what?

The key to all of this, of course, is building your personal network in LinkedIn to allow for more connections and “links.”

Life Science Sales – First Day on the Job Advice From a Veteran

by Mark Herb

If you’re new to life science sales AND don’t have a technical background – Wow!  Congrats!

At last, you’ve ditched in the lab bench, the cell culture hood, and that annoying timer that beeps at the wrong times (except when you set it to go off in the middle of a boring meeting to help you escape – admit it, we’ve all done it!).

You’ve made the leap.  You’re finally in life science sales.  Now what…?

Much like me, you probably came to technical sales heavy on the “technical” and light on the “sales”.

Not to worry.   “Been there, done that” and we’re here to help.

Sure sounds simple, but there’s more to it than proclaiming, “We’ve got great products…so how many can I put you down for?”

Let’s begin your journey selling to scientists.

Life Science Sales – Are you ready to make the leap?

Being new to anything, there is always the dreaded learning curve that most wish they could skip.   In the following series, I’ll try to offer newly-minted life science sales reps pearls of wisdom that can help make this transition smooth and less painful.

Caution!  All this may seem obvious but trust me, not everyone gets it yet.  With any advice, take what you need, toss what you don’t but remember as sales professionals selling to scientists, you’ve got to be on your game and ready for anything.

Use these tips if they can help:

Be trainable!

Most newbies to sales will be shipped off to some form of sales training.  Go with it and embrace it.  Remember, everyone develops their own selling style over time but right now you don’t have a “selling style” so using formal selling instruction and skills help get you up and running.  There’s time to polish the message but build a foundation first.

I thought I was ready to sell…let’s face it, how tough could it really be…?  Turns out formal sales training was one of the best things for me.

Organize, organize!

If your lab bench was featured in an issue of Martha Stewart Living, chances are you’ve got the neat and tidy thing licked.  If, on the other hand, you had trouble even locating your lab space at times, get it together and tighten up your game.

A home office is probably in the cards so make sure you’ve got dedicated space for business.  Clean, neat, and equipped for action.  Remember this space must be fully functional and properly set up to be effective.  You’ll need to stay organized and on top of things as you’ll probably be multitasking more than ever before!

For example, I would advise against sending a sensitive email quote to the wrong customer or getting one lab confused with another and having the incorrect products shipped there…I’m not saying it was me…ok, it was me.

Get your “tech” on!

When things get tough, the tough go for comfort – we’re all human.

Early in the transition to sales, use your technical background to help ease the sting.  Continue to develop the business acumen to manage the territory but don’t fear sticking close to your comfort zone at first.

Many won’t agree with this approach but it worked for me and others I know.

Initially, you do what works for you (and hey, most scientists like to talk about their work – like the one that told me to dispense with the introductions – it was time to talk about HIM – I guess he was eager to share…).

Talking “tech” can build rapport and confidence with customers.

Next time, we’ll chat about other things that appear to be common sense yet somehow slip through the cracks when selling to scientists…see you next round.  I welcome your experiences and comments below.

Building Sales through Social Media Part II – Why LinkedIn

Generating Leads via LinkedIn

Part 2 of our sessions with Ken Schmitt, LinkedIn Coach. If you missed part 1, start there.

As a small business or individual sales rep, how much value do you place on customer loyalty?
If you could engage your customers (scientists) by providing true value, offering real-time data and introducing them to your connections, do you think they’ll buy from you when the time is right? You’d better believe it.

In Part I of this series, we talked about the importance of securing “social media shelf space” – leveraging multiple social media tools – Facebook, Twitter, corporate websites, blogs and LinkedIn – to build a broad-based web presence that speaks to multiple audiences across a variety of demographics. Failing to incorporate these channels into your sales & marketing campaign will allow your competition to connect with your customers. A recent study of 2,100 businesses by the Harvard Business Review revealed that 79% are using social media.

Which social media channel is right for sales reps and marketers?

While there are a number of reasons to consider Facebook with 500m users, a $50b valuation and one of the most recognized brands in the world, it is not necessarily the best platform for your business. Likewise, while Twitter now boasts 110m tweets per day, star power including everyone from Anderson Cooper to Ashton Kutcher and a $10b valuation, there is a great deal of noise in this particular channel – Sysomos claims that 71% of tweets are ignored, 23% garner a reply and only 6% secure a retweet.

The key to this question – “which channel is right for me” – is determining where your customers and prospects hang out online!

My guess is that a quick analysis of your top 20 prospects will reveal that the greatest presence, and easiest access, is on LinkedIn. After launching in 2002, LinkedIn now boasts over 90m worldwide users, representation from every Fortune 500 Company, a total of 1,000,000 company profiles and over 600,000 specialized groups – oh yeah, and a valuation of $2b with only $100m in revenues! LinkedIn has become so prominent, that a new user joins every second…. That means approximately 8 users joined while you were reading the last sentence!

So how do you know if your customers have a presence on LinkedIn? And more importantly, how can you determine whether or not the specific person who will buy your services has a presence on LinkedIn?

Luckily, LinkedIn makes it very easy to find companies, people, titles, events, jobs , and of course, connections. That sound like good old fashioned lead prospecting?

LinkedIn Magic

LinkedIn has done an amazing job of integrating an easy-to-use interface with in-depth and relevant content. Are you interested in building a list of prospects in the pharmaceutical industry? Click on the “companies” tab at the top of the page, go to “browse industries”, click on the “Pharmaceuticals” link, and peruse the 9,586 different businesses in this category.

Here’s an example of how you might find a scientist on LinkedIn who currently works at Novartis, doing immunology research:

1. Set the search at the top of the page to “People” then click on the Advanced link
2. Enter “immunology” in the Title field, and “Novartis” in the company field, and select “Current” in the dropdown box
3. Get leads

Give it a try! We bet you find all kinds of new leads.

More great LinkedIn tips will be in Part 3 of this series coming soon!

About Ken Schmitt:

Ken C. Schmitt is an Executive Recruiter, Career Coach, Expert Resume-Writer, Master networker and LinkedIn trainer. He has been training, coaching and placing mid-senior level professionals for 13 years with a particular focus on leveraging social media for career management. Having presented to nearly 1000 professionals and written more than 50 career-related articles, Ken is well positioned to provide valuable information about social media, recruiting and career management. For more career management advice visit- Turning Point Search

Secret Scientist Meeting Found – Lead Generation Gold Mine for Reps

by Rusty Bishop

Dear Life Science Sales Reps and Managers Here’s a Secret

If I were to tell you about a place you could go once per week for 1 hr to generate new leads, meet PIs, meet post-docs, learn how scientists are using your products, and develop a better friend base at your accounts…

would you go, sales reps?

What if I told you this 1hr meeting is happening on every scientific campus in the world…

would you skip it for a coffee break?

Further, the person leading the 1 hr meeting is virtually guaranteed to be working in Pharma or be an influencer at their next academic science post.

Would that help your sales?

Finally and most important, this meeting is 100% OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

Yep, it’s called a thesis defense. They happen all the time at your accounts and they are open to the public.

Science Sales Gold Mine

On Monday I had the privilege of going to the thesis defense of an old friend. As I listened to Chris talk about his 6 years of academic torture, it dawned on me that thesis defenses are an absolute gold mine for a local life science rep.

Here are my actual notes from his defense

1. Support your best clients and meet new ones.
2. There are 7 PIs- one is a National Academy member another is world renowned for the discovery of the link between cholesterol and heart disease!
3. 62 Scientists in attendance (5 relatives)
4. Learn about what frustrates scientists and creates sales questions that lead to your products.
5. Social Media (Twitter, LinkedIn) potential contacts are everywhere.
6. Learn about how scientists are using your products.
7. He’s going to work at a huge Pharma company! Winner!

Here is a running list of scientific assays and reagents mentioned (bold added for multiple mentions)

Ifa, staining, microscopes, hplc, tissue staining,
Pngasef, antibodies, western blots, mice, histology, flow cytometry,
endothelial markers, cells, tumor models, knockout mice,
biotinylation, culture, seras human, elisas, recombinant proteins,
complement systems induction, immunizations, diets for mice, metabolic
cages, fplc

Sell any of those? I bet you do.

All that in a 1hr thesis defense. In my mind it’s a rep’s dream come true.

The Sales Rep Approach

1. I suggest attending a few of these and listening first. Take a lot of notes.

2. If you know the scientist who is defending their thesis, BRING A GIFT. Amazon gift cards are great (so is booze, but you gotta know the scientist.)

3. Attend the after party, but do not under any circumstances talk work or try to sell something. That comes later.

4. Bring business cards. Pass them out if asked only.

5. Make friends. The party will be stuffed with people that buy your products from PIs to purchasing to post-docs. Once again don’t try to sell them. Be interested in their research. Remember their names. Next time you walk through the lab things will go much smoother.

Next time you’re on campus

Keep your eye out for fliers that say “Thesis Defense.”  I bet there is at least one at the campus you visited today!

Good luck out there and as always leave us any comments or suggestions for new blogs.

How to engage and connect with scientists at trade shows

The Secret Product Your Customers Want

How?  They know their audience – really well.

What’s your goal in 2011? A trick to make it happen.

by Rusty Bishop, PhD.

2011 is already flying by. Hopefully, you are out there selling products to scientists that will make their lives better and research stronger.

Like most companies, here at Red Funnel, we made laundry list of resolutions and business goals. This year, I plan on actually following through using a method that has worked like a champ for me in 2010, the all-mighty Post-It Note.

The Sales Bible

On the recommendation of good friend I recently read the The Sales Bible by Jeffrey Gitomer. I must say it is an impressive read and, I highly recommend it. Gitomer is little over the top with his bravado and “you’re terrible at selling” comments, but his techniques are highly tested and proven, if you can get over the bravado.

I highly recommend the chapters on Overcoming Objections and Networking! Extremely useful for us “sales folks”. In fact, if you travel for sales, the AudioBook Version is great for planes and driving with your iPad or iPod.

Are you a turn-off? Fatal blunders killing your customer relationships

Please welcome Guest Blogger, Lara Marlin Hull. Lara spent many years in the lab at Amylin Pharmaceuticals as a “bench monkey” and brings a fresh scientific voice to improving sales to scientists. We love her take on scientist relationships. Feel free to ask her a few questions.
Enjoy! – Rusty and Mark

by Lara Marlin Hull

Your customer relationships are your goldmine.  Once you get to move your scientist from Lead to Prospect, you’ve gotten your foot officially in the door – not easy in the life sciences industry.

As a former bench monkey figuring out all the sales and marketing magic that happens on the other side of the lab door, I still marvel at the power behind the idea (bear with me) of each scientist /prospective customer also representing this lab, this building, this campus - for years – way more valuable than a mere sale!

All the more reason to keep the relationship alive.  I’ll share some examples of customer relationship flops I have either experienced or heard about around the centrifuge.  They definitely don’t represent the typical scenario – but they help to illustrate my point that these situations wouldn’t have to end in misery.

Guiding Question

From what I’ve seen, “Is this good for my customer relationship?” could be an easy way to decide if tactics are going to be effective.

In any case, some of these missteps would put anyone in the doghouse  so don’t let them happen to you.

1.  Unfulfilled Promises

If there is one lot you can be realistic with, its scientists.  It’s nice for us to talk about you getting us a lower price than the current vendor, but if you can’t make that happen (or even have an inkling that you can’t), don’t say it, and really don’t promise it!   Imagine running a painstakingly long series of assays to compare media because New Vendor promised cheaper prices than Old Vendor.  After months of work, you find that New Vendor’s quote is, in fact, more than Old Vendor – !

The Sales Question that Engages Scientists and Qualifies Leads in Less than a Minute

by Rusty Bishop

Those who read this blog regularly know I am student of sales and marketing with 17 years of experience in the lab.   I question, I observe, I test, and I report my findings to you to help you sell better, because I believe you have the products to make scientists’ lives easier and better.

Last week I spent 4 straight days in the Exhibit Hall of the Neuroscience 2010 Meeting here in San Diego.

It was and is a golden opportunity to crush your numbers and generate hot leads.  Where else in the world do you have the chance to meet 35,000 potential customers?

35,000 potential sales and repeat sales!