As a medical equipment distributor and manufacturer, you want your dealers out in the field closing sales and expanding your market. But how do you motivate and hold accountable dealers who are thousands of miles and dozens of time zones away? Short answer: You don’t, Asian Medical does.
When you hire Asian Medical as your manufacturer’s rep and we use our more than 20 years of experience selling medical products in Asia Pacific to find the best dealers for your products. Then we motivate and train them to keep producing sales for you.
Here are some of our secrets:
Customer Relationships are Key
We’ve already related the tale of 2 boxes. It’s a perfect illustration of the importance of personal relationships in doing business in the Asia Pacific. We meet dealers on their home turf, in their offices, and have tea with them. We know their issues and their markets. We establish ongoing relationships.
Product Exclusivity Is a Motivating Factor
The gold standard for medical dealers in Asian countries is exclusivity — they want to be the only one selling that particular product in their country. Manufacturers are sometimes reluctant to grant that exclusivity, but I’ve found it’s a key to success in Asia.
First, most economies in Asian countries are equivalent to some U.S. states. So you only need a single dealer in Singapore, for instance.
Second, when you have a single dealer in a country, they pay attention to you. I believe if I have one dealer in Thailand or one dealer in Korea when I call them, they sit up straight in their chair. I begin every conversation with “How’s my exclusive Korean factory dealer doing this morning?” In return for that exclusivity, I get a sales goal and a dealer eager to meet it.
Product Demos Create Demand
Demos are a wonderful way to generate sales. We require our dealer distributors to purchase 1 or 2 medical equipment demo units at substantially reduced prices. Then, those demo units can be brought to hospitals for demonstrations.
Often, they’ll leave the demo unit with a potential buyer. For example, they leave medical lights in a hospital for 2-3 weeks. When they go back to collect them, many hospital officials say, “Let us have it 1 more week.”
Eventually, they get a purchase order, and the dealer buys a new one. Demonstration of medical equipment is really critical.
Product Training Creates Confidence
Our staff travels to the US factory for “train the trainer” training. Once we’re up to speed, we impart that wisdom and training to our dealers.
We’ve held sales meetings in Thailand where we invite all of our dealers who fly in and stay at hotels at their own expense. We invite 1 or 2 people from the factories to give product training for 2-5 days, all in English.
It’s a very effective way for the factory to demonstrate products, trains the dealers, and get to know their sales team. Then the dealers go home all pumped up to promote the factory’s products.
Want to find out how we’d open up the Asia Pacific to sales for your company? Contact us for a private, no-obligation consultation.