"Perhaps if you take into account that the new sales people are experienced in the industry and can make some quick competitive conversions"
As I understand it, there are and have been very experienced, success, well connected people putting their efforts into this product line-without success. ZERO SUCCESS.
The key words the PP uses is "quick competitive conversions." This is exactly what this company is looking for, quick, short term sales. Unfortunately anyone who fully understands the implant business in the US knows that there are no "quick conversions" for proprietary implant systems. If someone is using Zimmer, yes, a quick conversion to Implant Direct maybe possible. The GP's know how to restore, have the instrumentation and there is little to no learning curve. But for a specialist to go from say Straumann to a COMPLETELY different implant system that requires new instrumentation, education for the GP's on how to restore this new system, there is no quick conversion possible. Conversion from a first tier company to another first tier company, yes, happens but not very often. First tier user adds a second tier implant line, possible. Doctor using a first or second tier implant company, abandons its current implant offerings in favor of an unknown, outdated over priced implant system with ten employees? I don't think that is very likely.
"Some people believe that the greatest risk can yield the greatest reward. A gamble isn't for everyone but with hard work much can be accomplished."
There is a saying that goes "work smart, not hard"; which is the first part of the fallacy of hard work. Consider what you do in your life that you deem as hard work. Many things we do are done because that is how we have always done them without reviewing whether there is a better and easier way of doing the task at hand. The second part to the fallacy of hard work is that working hard is not the pivotal point of focus but rather a fallacy that is misleading and unfortunately can be rather demotivating. There are things in life that regardless of how hard one works, the ultimate outcome will not be effected. If one was to try and bail water using their most rigorous efforts, for as long as they could stand it, on the Titanic, would the ultimate outcome have changed? Nope. In retrospect those hard working bailers would be considered fools-wasting their time and effort on an obvious lost cause, when they could have been waiting in line for the life boats for a quick, life saving exit from the obvious doomed ship.
Same is true here. Its not a matter of hard work or smart work, its simply a matter of a faulted business plan, non-competitive products, fierce, better equipped competitors
and a lack of management experience and skill in the US market. PP, come on back in 3 or 6 months, and let us know how you guys took down Straumann, Implant Direct and Nobel. People have short memories. One of the managers at this company worked at Keystone dental, a B-School case study of failure of a gigantic magnitude. No one takes responsibility for the failure of Keystone, but in my mind the managers who made the decisions, where the people who caused it. One of them works are Intra-Lock. I guess these Intra-Lock guys have more than $300 Million to blow, like Keystone, maybe will hire an army of useless MBA's as did Warburg-Pincus and Keystone. I hope you guys make it, my experience tells me unless there are some serious management and product changes chances are slim to none. First get your pros through training, tell them they get paid once a month, and their expenses will be paid "when we can get to them." Get past that hurdle. When the pros realize there are no discounts-NONE, no financing, no Net 30, no returns, and no education, they can work even harder. Then when those same experienced sales pros realize that they have a very unrealistic time frame to accomplish a quota that is higher than the entire company has done in the US, cumulatively over the last 5 years, he can work harder. Good Luck my friends. If you can get it done I give you my best wishes! Lets reconvene in 6 months!
As I understand it, there are and have been very experienced, success, well connected people putting their efforts into this product line-without success. ZERO SUCCESS.
The key words the PP uses is "quick competitive conversions." This is exactly what this company is looking for, quick, short term sales. Unfortunately anyone who fully understands the implant business in the US knows that there are no "quick conversions" for proprietary implant systems. If someone is using Zimmer, yes, a quick conversion to Implant Direct maybe possible. The GP's know how to restore, have the instrumentation and there is little to no learning curve. But for a specialist to go from say Straumann to a COMPLETELY different implant system that requires new instrumentation, education for the GP's on how to restore this new system, there is no quick conversion possible. Conversion from a first tier company to another first tier company, yes, happens but not very often. First tier user adds a second tier implant line, possible. Doctor using a first or second tier implant company, abandons its current implant offerings in favor of an unknown, outdated over priced implant system with ten employees? I don't think that is very likely.
"Some people believe that the greatest risk can yield the greatest reward. A gamble isn't for everyone but with hard work much can be accomplished."
There is a saying that goes "work smart, not hard"; which is the first part of the fallacy of hard work. Consider what you do in your life that you deem as hard work. Many things we do are done because that is how we have always done them without reviewing whether there is a better and easier way of doing the task at hand. The second part to the fallacy of hard work is that working hard is not the pivotal point of focus but rather a fallacy that is misleading and unfortunately can be rather demotivating. There are things in life that regardless of how hard one works, the ultimate outcome will not be effected. If one was to try and bail water using their most rigorous efforts, for as long as they could stand it, on the Titanic, would the ultimate outcome have changed? Nope. In retrospect those hard working bailers would be considered fools-wasting their time and effort on an obvious lost cause, when they could have been waiting in line for the life boats for a quick, life saving exit from the obvious doomed ship.
Same is true here. Its not a matter of hard work or smart work, its simply a matter of a faulted business plan, non-competitive products, fierce, better equipped competitors
and a lack of management experience and skill in the US market. PP, come on back in 3 or 6 months, and let us know how you guys took down Straumann, Implant Direct and Nobel. People have short memories. One of the managers at this company worked at Keystone dental, a B-School case study of failure of a gigantic magnitude. No one takes responsibility for the failure of Keystone, but in my mind the managers who made the decisions, where the people who caused it. One of them works are Intra-Lock. I guess these Intra-Lock guys have more than $300 Million to blow, like Keystone, maybe will hire an army of useless MBA's as did Warburg-Pincus and Keystone. I hope you guys make it, my experience tells me unless there are some serious management and product changes chances are slim to none. First get your pros through training, tell them they get paid once a month, and their expenses will be paid "when we can get to them." Get past that hurdle. When the pros realize there are no discounts-NONE, no financing, no Net 30, no returns, and no education, they can work even harder. Then when those same experienced sales pros realize that they have a very unrealistic time frame to accomplish a quota that is higher than the entire company has done in the US, cumulatively over the last 5 years, he can work harder. Good Luck my friends. If you can get it done I give you my best wishes! Lets reconvene in 6 months!