National Product Specialist, Micro Automation - Upper Midwest

Description

The National Product Specialist Microbiology Automation Specialist (MAS) is responsible for the sales and market share growth of bioMerieux's portfolio of automated pre-analytical and analytical microbiology systems and solutions as a deep subject matter expert. This involves coordinated activities with other sales and commercial team colleagues in achieving new customer installations as well as the updating of the current customer base for these automated solutions resulting in the growth of new equipment and reagent business and the protection of existing microbiology product sales and market share.

This role involves a large geography and regular field travel as automation opportunities will be co-managed across multiple account manager territories and sales regions.

Primary Responsibilities

1. Create and execute business plans to achieve assigned sales and placement goals for automated preanalytical and analytical microbiology systems to include active account strategizing with Account Managers, Regional Specialists, Sales Directors, Corporate Account Managers, and Marketing toward meeting or exceeding revenue targets and growth objectives within the geography.
2. Support sales team in territory in effectively building a robust instrument pipeline through account segmentation and qualification and leverage technical knowledge to move qualified opportunities from discovery/acceptance of needs to closing sales stages.
3. Work cooperatively and cohesively in a matrix environment with a multiple commercial colleagues and functions to advance and close opportunities.
4. Collaborate with corporate account manager(s) in geography to identify high-value automation targets in IDN's to protect existing business and broaden the footprint of these systems in these networks.
5. Leverage deep subject matter expertise around bioMerieux's portfolio of complex, highly automated preanalytical and diagnostic microbiology instrumentation to effectively position these solutions versus competitive technologies.
6. Manage opportunity pipeline to ensure that target close dates and expected revenue dates align with month-to-month forecasting as represented in the company CRM tool and its associated dashboards.
7. Maintain in-house relationships with Marketing, Sales Operations, Sales Contracts, Customer Service, Legal, Finance and other key functions to facilitate efficiency and quality outputs in doing business with the Customer.
8. Communicate closely with IT Project Managers and Workflow Consultants to achieve efficient and successful instrument system implementations to maximize positive customer experiences.
9. Work directly with bioMerieux Lab Consultants and Lab Optimization resources in the broad assessment of Customer operations, developing automated solutions and drive the co-selling of Lab Optimization services along with microbiology instrumentation.
10. Communicate and maintain relationships with COPAN partner functions in managing pre-analytical automation opportunities.
11. Provide additional training, coaching, and objection handling guidance to local sales team to elevated knowledge and subject matter competency.
12. Gather and share competitive knowledge and activity and share with sales teams, marketing and other colleagues as to build strategies to respond to competition.
13. Identify and establish relationships with key opinion leaders, showcase sites, and customer references for multiple automated system types within assigned territory.
14. Support and participate in relevant conference, trade shows, and symposia in coordination with sales leadership and marketing.
15. Reasonable management of operational/travel expenses within a set annual budget and in accordance with the corporate travel policy.
16. Perform all work in compliance with company policy and within the guideline of bioMerieux's quality system.

Training and Education

Bachelor's degree required

Experience

1. Minimum 5 years of commercial sales, marketing, support and/or training in medical/life science fields (clinical microbiology preferred) with focus on large capital equipment.
2. 3 years of bioMerieux product experience preferred.
3. Accumulated knowledge of clinical microbiology/infectious disease diagnostics technologies, techniques, and disciplines.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

1. Proficient in operation of Microsoft Windows and Office Suite of products
2. Proficient in Salesforce CRM.
3. Ability to maintain a structured and detailed sales opportunity funnel.
4. Ability to accurately forecast and project capital equipment sales in a large territory.
5. Ability to describe and explain highly detailed technical information to multiple buying influences including laboratorians, C-Suite, physicians, stewardship teams, IT, and other buyers.
6. Fundamental knowledge of the principles and practices of laboratory operations
7. Ability to operate in an organized manner in an autonomous work environment without direct daily supervision.
8. Ability to effectively communicate with internal and external stakeholders.
9. Territory management over a large geographic area.
10. Ability to become a subject matter expert on a complex diagnostic automation and processes.
11. Ability to understand, communicate and train others on the products and services.
12. Ability to navigate complex sales processes with multiple buying influences.
13. Competency in Miller Heiman Strategic and Conceptual selling a plus
14. Excellent written, oral, and presentation skills.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

• Ability to remain in stationary position, often standing, for prolonged periods.
• Ability to ascend/descend stairs, ladders, ramps, and the like.

Domestic travel required 70% of time.