3 Trends Defining the Future of Medical Device Sales Enablement

As the business landscape continues to evolve, major disruptions across industries have created new challenges and opportunities. Labor shortages, supply chain issues, shifting buyer behavior, and economic uncertainty are just a few of the factors medical device sales teams have been contending with—and sales enablement for medical devices has never been more critical.

Fortunately, commerce is making its comeback. Healthcare buyers are active. Organizations are investing in growth. The rebound is accelerating. What does it mean for the future of medical device sales enablement?

In this article, we'll explore 3 trends that are impacting the medical device industry, and the effects those trends will have on MedTech sales teams—so you can get your sales content, processes, and expectations ready with the right medical device sales platform.

1. Accelerated Technology in Medical Devices

The trend:Technology is evolving at breakneck speed in the medical device industry. Innovations in connectivity, AI integration, and advanced materials are helping fuel these advances, leading to enhanced capabilities across a wide variety of categories—and setting a high bar for the future of medical devices.

What it means for medical device sales teams:In short, medical devices are becoming more complex and sophisticated. Healthcare professionals will often need to grasp new technology before understanding its value. It's more important than ever for medical device sales reps to be empowered with sales enablement content that clearly demonstrates how their products work and how potential customers stand to benefit.

Unfortunately, many medical device sales teams are plagued with common issues:

• Medical devices are too large, complicated, and/or expensive to demo in person
• Sales reps have to rely on digital medical device presentations and slide decks
• Traditional sales decks attempt to explain sophisticated concepts with confusing visuals and too much copy

Developing a visually compelling medical device sales story is an essential first step to arming reps with the right sales enablement content. When medical device presentations illustrate your value proposition in a clear and concise way, they can result in shorter sales cycles, improved close rates, and positive outcomes in situations where a rep isn't even present—such as remote sales pitches, or when presentations are forwarded to additional healthcare stakeholders.

2. Continuing Supply Chain Issues

The trend:Recent global disruptions have caused major impacts of all kinds, but some of the most far-reaching effects are still being felt on the medical device supply chain. Shipping delays, transportation and logistics issues, and material shortages have become commonplace. It's a safe bet that semiconductor shortages and other manufacturing issues will continue to have a ripple effect for the foreseeable future.

What it means for medical device sales teams:As companies work to adapt their supply chain strategies, medical device sales reps must anticipate continued disruption. This can translate into longer lead times, putting pressure on reps to shorten the sales cycle and get prospects to commit sooner.

One of the most effective ways to shorten the medical device sales cycle is to deliver sales content tailored to the needs of each healthcare prospect. That's hard to do with a one-size-fits-all sales deck, but easy with a medical device sales story designed for each stage of the buyer journey. Consider the difference between a concise medical device presentation that addresses a prospect's needs at a particular point in the sales process, versus an exhaustive PowerPoint deck filled with product features, pricing, industry research, customer testimonials, and more.

A library of shorter, more targeted medical device sales content also provides an agile solution for MedTech sales teams. As products continue to be delayed, changed, and substituted, reps will need an efficient way to pivot to alternative solutions in their presentations.

The bottom line: Supply chain disruptions will continue to impact the medical device sales process. Nimble sales teams that can deliver targeted sales enablement content at scale will have a distinct advantage. Organizations with one-size-fits-all, legacy sales decks won't.

3. Healthcare Demand Recovery: Can Medical Device Sales Keep Up?

The trend:One of the biggest impacts of recent global disruptions on the medical community was to bring elective surgeries and procedures to a halt. This included everything from cosmetic procedures like botox and laser hair removal to non-urgent, outpatient surgical procedures. As a result, demand for medical equipment frequently used for such procedures—and the sales force needed to sell that equipment—also declined. Today, nonessential procedures are back, and medical device sales companies are seeing sales activity trend upward in response to that change.

What it means for medical device sales teams:Medical device manufacturers are embracing rising demand and using it as a driver to invest in more product innovation. Many medical device manufacturers plan to increase R&D spending over the coming years. As new products and technologies are brought to market, medical device sales messaging will need to evolve to keep pace.

Naturally, increases in both demand and production will translate into hiring activity for medical device sales teams. It's important to consider the impact of growing teams on your organization—both from a sales training and productivity standpoint. Sales leaders need to be prepared with sales enablement tools and systems that reduce onboarding timeframes and get reps up to speed—and productivity—faster.

It's also an opportunity for companies who have invested more time and effort into developing a more cohesive medical device sales story and a more efficient demo process to outshine competitors that are still battling common sales presentation missteps. And, of course, more demand means more competition. Clear and instructive medical device visualizations are the key to differentiating yourself from competitors who are still using legacy sales decks full of bullet points and static images. Prepare yourself now to make sure your team is ready to strike while the iron is hot.

The Time for Medical Device Sales Teams to Modernize is Now

Nuvue is the specialized sales enablement platform that allows MedTech companies to do it all with one easy-to-use medical device sales platform. Level up your medical device sales story with expertise built on years of experience and thousands of B2B medical device presentations.

Use powerful, yet simple, sales enablement tools to build medical device presentations in seconds with company-approved content as modular building blocks in a cloud-based library. Push updates to all of it with the click of a button. Share instantly to any device. Measure, analyze, and improve everything.

Find out how modern medical device sales teams like yours are creating organized medical device presentations at scale and fueling efficient growth by scheduling a demo with Nuvue today.

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