How to Effectively Channel Your Core Career Message
AI-Generated Transcript below. There may be errors.
Claire Davis 0:00
Welcome back to the episode everybody on today's medical sales leader. I'm your host, Claire Davis. And today I have an incredible woman here with me. It's Alicia Ramsdell. Alicia, welcome to the show. We're so glad to have you.
Alicia Ramsdell 0:34
I'm excited to be here, Claire. Thank you for having me.
Claire Davis 0:37
Awesome. So first, let me brag on you a little bit. Alicia is the founder and CEO of mindful career path. And this is where mindfulness intersects with your career. And previous to this position, she led over a 15 year stint in corporate America and started a life by default in accounting roles, which I know is thrilling for some thrilling for them. We're grateful for people who can jump into accounting like you. But then she led over she she mindfully cultivated a life by design, and career development. She's a certified career services provider, a global career development facilitator and holds a certificate in mindfulness based stress reduction, which I know we all are probably dying to hear about. And she brings insight around best practices in career development strategies, while also leveraging stress to elevate your life's work. So that is a full package. I am so excited to dive in here with you today. And not just because you just got finished delivering your TEDx talk. So how are you feeling after that amazing accomplishment.
Alicia Ramsdell 1:45
I'm on cloud nine, right now living living out a dream professionally, on a stage in front of a live audience, including family and friends that were there. And then of course, getting to share that with my community, my network once it's live in mid March, and we're recording this in February. So I'm really excited to share that. And it's all about living life, in fulfillment, living in career fulfillment. And I intersect a little bit of our personal story with my own family. So it was something I really held true to my heart. And so speaking about it on stage just came naturally.
Claire Davis 2:23
That's so powerful. And you know, I think of all the things that we could talk about in careers. What drew me to you so specifically, was that it's not just about building your career, it's about finding that fulfillment. And there's a lot to that. So you know, one thing Alicia, and I were talking about backstage is that when it comes to sales and other industries, a lot of times we build this incredible skill set and selling it marketing, and we do it for our companies. And we we enjoy it, right? There's a lot of pride there. But we often forget that we can use those same skill sets for ourselves and for our own career development. So if you don't mind, I would love to just jump in with you here, Alicia and talk a little bit about one of the ways that we can start, which is networking. So can you share a little bit about, you know, what's good networking, how people should use it, and maybe a couple of examples where you've seen it done really well?
Alicia Ramsdell 3:17
Yeah, so as a business owner, so think of me as that sales professional, but then also as a career coach, right, and I'm working with job seekers, I see clearly the certain amount of steps, right networking being one of them, that you need to leverage from a sales process, right into getting a job that you want, as a job seeker or helping build your own career. And so what's interesting is anytime I talk about any of these steps, so you know, I think about networking, preparation, communication, adaptability and problem solving. Anytime I talk about any one of those, they're all interconnected. So if I'm talking about networking, you're going to hear me reference communication skills. If I'm talking about preparation, you're going to hear me reference being adaptable, and so forth. And so with networking, right, whether you're in medical sales, whether you're job searching, it's crucial to have as a part of your strategy, and building relationships authentically, whether it's with individuals in an industry, or making connections, right to get that next sale, or get that next job, it always leads to new opportunities. And how can we all do networking, pretty easy with social media right now, right? You can build an online presence right through LinkedIn or other ways. You can attend industry events, you can go to conferences. The thing is you got to get out of your comfort zone and make that effort to meet those new connections. Right. And a lot of us are intimidated, I think naturally, to get out there and say hello and make these new connections. But through all of these interactions, you're going to build these relationships, hopefully with key decision makers in whatever your target audiences, your target market, your target companies, you can, when you have these conversations and you build these relationships you can figure out are what are their needs, what are their challenges, and then hopefully through that, you're securing meetings with the right decision making teams. And then of course, you're effectively communicating whatever it is you're looking for, whether it's your next product, right in the medical sales world, or it's your ability to do whatever it is that you want to do in that next job, right, and how it aligns with the company's mission. And I do a couple of examples, I'm happy to share with you if you if you'd like,
Claire Davis 5:39
oh, great, I would love to hear him in, you know, if anybody, for those of you here who are already in sales, your medical sales or sales of another kind, and you're thinking up, I'm going to click to the next channel. Of course, I know how to network, right? Yeah, of course you do. But here's what I find very frequently, is that even though we feel like we're extroverts or introverts who know how to make those genuine inroads for business, take to heart what Alicia is saying. Because often when it comes to using that specific tool for your own career, we get caught flat footed, and we're not sure what to say. And then we're not sure if we sound salesy, when we're just trying to make a connection for our own career advancement, or even trying to make those building blocks that it takes to build relationships with physicians at work. So I would love to hear some examples of how you've, you've helped your clients, and then also in your own life, how you've used this kind of style of networking, so it feels good, and it gets the job done.
Alicia Ramsdell 6:42
Absolutely. And one point that you just made that I would like to highlight is when you get to that point of networking, instead of not knowing what to say or how to say it. Talk about two of those other sets that I mentioned earlier. Right, the preparation and the communication skills. So preparing for what's next for me, right is what's the next device that I'm looking to sell in the medical sales world? What's the next job that I'm looking to gain? And what functionalities are a part of that role? And then from there, it's how do I effectively communicate that with my target audience, so you're prepared before you even go into these networking conversations, and you don't want to sound like a robot. But at the same time, if you're prepared, you're willing to and you're able to field questions and be another word adaptable in these conversations about where you or your company or your product or services can deliver value.
Claire Davis 7:38
Yes. And in the research can't I think where people get stuck, and I know I felt stuck back in my career is that I would prepare but I would only prepare on one side of the equation. It would be I know my product. I know the disease states. I know what's what types of different surgeries I need to be focusing on. And I know how to do my talking points. But I was missing the research that is so so critical for the other half, which is knowing my target, intimately knowing what's on their mind, knowing what they're worrying about, and why I even am relevant to helping them in the situation they're in and what even is the situation? You know, I think that that's such an important nuance that you bring up because it can feel stifling. And it can feel like a roadblock when we only do the practice and the research on our side of the table. And we can miss the opportunity of the relevance that connection to why we're even having the conversation what they're thinking about. So do you see that as something that's a different level of research? Or just, you know, you've got to have the yin and yang of both sides of the equation.
Alicia Ramsdell 8:53
But I think you hit the nail on the head because I think about again, if you're trying to if you're in medical sales, and you're trying to pitch a new device, what are the what are the two inevitable that are going to happen? Number one, that new device is going to be expensive. And number two, you're gonna have to talk to the objections that concern about the costs, the concerns that it's not compatible with the current existing system they have internally, right, so you really have to understand and do the research ahead of time for those needs that they have for those challenges that they have. So they might have that need for that new device that new offering. But what are they going to come up with for objections? What are their challenges going to be? So being able to confront those head on and having prepared that and that's through networking. Getting back to that, through networking is having conversations with people that know let's say you're trying to pitch this to a new organization, talking within your network to people that have worked at that organization currently work at that organization know a lot of what that organization to understand well, what would their objections be? What are their challenges, what are their needs, and then from there are being able to have a more effective communication style and be adaptable to what they come back with in as far as objections go.
Claire Davis 10:10
Can we? Do you mind sharing that networking story that you mentioned before?
Alicia Ramsdell 10:15
Yeah. So I have two, two different examples. So one, again, as a sales professional, here's how I look at it. For me, when I started out my business, I had an imagination that I was going to work with individuals at the beginning. And eventually, I was going to get to those corporate partners, right? I actually landed my first corporate partner through a professional relationship that I had built, but I landed it much earlier than I anticipated. So I started the company. And yeah, I set up my company at 2020. That's called that January, by May, I had booked my first corporate partner. And the reason I had done this is that, through this professional relationship I had with somebody on LinkedIn, they were an executive director at my future purse, corporate partner. And from there, I was creating content that was relevant to the business needs and the economic environment. Remember, mid 2020, we're talking COVID times. So I was talking a lot about start leveraging stress, mindfulness based stress reduction techniques, and so forth. So in a personal follow up, right, something as simple as I said, Happy Birthday to this individual via LinkedIn on a private message, it prompted this natural follow up for him to say, hey, you know, thanks so much. By the way, I really love the content that you're putting out on social media, I think it's so relevant. And things like mindfulness based stress reduction techniques, could be beneficial to my team, can we talk about how maybe that we could partner up in at bring your expertise into our organization, and that example alone just shows that whether you're a sales professional, or you're a job seeker, you can be so successful in your role if you're authentically building relationships, and then gaining access to those new opportunities?
Claire Davis 12:07
You know, it's so interesting, when you mentioned that, it's just that little step you took Happy Birthday. You know, I mean, congrats on the new role. But like, it doesn't have to be rocket science, or an incredibly in depth, free plan message with a couple of talking points. It's just connecting with people on a human level, on a personal level. And I personally find that people would prefer to connect on a personal level than business first. That's really where the trust goes, versus trying to reverse engineer, okay, like, here's my product. Are you interesting? Also, tell me about your kids? Like, that's not natural, how we talk in the real world. So I love that example. That's a really good one, and how quickly you were able to bring that corporate client on. And it was because they saw what you were doing as relevant. So can you talk a little bit about maybe the communication step? Because it's one thing to talk about what we think is relevant to or what we think we need to share. It's another thing to be considering our customer first and putting things out there that can help other people in by meeting them where they're at. So can you talk a little bit about that communication step?
Alicia Ramsdell 13:24
Sure. So whether again, whether you're in medical sales, or you're job searching, it's going to require those strong communication skills, right, you're always going to have to clearly convey your information, write why you want this role, or why your product is more effective than others, right. But while they're talking, and hopefully they're doing most of the talking, you're listening actively, right? And then in your head, and then eventually responding to any objections. In bolts in either scenarios, that's a crucial step. So again, if we talked about this a little bit before, but if you're selling a device, and it's new, and it's the next best device in the market, right, the two objections are going to be it's expensive. And we have concerns with our costs. And we've already gone through budgeting, right? So if you recognize that importance of actively listening, and then clearly communicating, you know, addressing the company's objections, that's going to be beneficial to say, Hey, I hear you. And this is how we've been successful in the past. This is the cost savings that we've that you can see over a long period of time or a certain period of time. And then having the data and support to back it all up is where that level of comfort. Right so we were talking earlier about you know, you know, happy birthday or How are your kids, right? There's a some level of comfort when you're communicating with individuals on that level. But again, bringing that level of comfort. Hey, acknowledge it can be scary. It can be expensive, you know, there could be budget constraints. Fears proof that it's worked in the past. And this is about the time period where you'll really see those cost benefits if you started with this new innovative product, rather than staying with the old product, and I can, again, touch base on, you know, like a job seekers example of that.
Claire Davis 15:18
But I'll just pause here for a moment that think that's brilliant. And you know, when you are positioning it, as we're not selling the mattress here, we're selling the good night's sleep, right, as my friend Heather would say. And I think that it's really powerful to not sell on features. And I know that we've all heard that a million times. But when a hospital brings on, say, one of the major med tech companies who provides everything for the enterprise account, it can feel really challenging to sell on benefits, because most of the time, we assume that that larger company who's already in that hospital with all of the different technology, there's no way we could compete. And a lot of times it comes down to price, like you said, and so it's that next level of connecting with that decision maker, like you shared on a personal note, and also sharing what the outcome could be in the future, what the peace of mind could look like how they could feel a breath of fresh air, knowing that this product is much less likely to break down and hold them up for the rest of their surgical cases for the day. So I love that you're focusing on what the future outcome can look and feel like I think that's really powerful. So yes, we'd love to hear some stories about that. Even from, from a job seeker perspective, too.
Alicia Ramsdell 16:39
Yes, that's what this next one is about. So I had a client and they were looking to where they were interested in transitioning into the pharmaceutical, pharmaceutical industry. And they were coming from another industry, right, they were coming from a higher education.
Claire Davis 16:58
Sorry, it's it, it can feel like a dissociated jump. But I always tell my teachers who want to transition into here, the transferable skills that teachers have, are powerful. We're talking communication, project planning, dealing with young minds and attitudes sometimes right and getting people to be motivated to take on what we want to share with it, which I think are all wonderful skills. When it comes to getting into medical sales. I remember when I used to interview, one of the things I would share was, well, I know that you feel like it's very challenging, complex conversations to have with these oncologists. I'm very comfortable with conversations that are challenging because I used to run a 60 child large daycare program. So if I can navigate all of those different personalities, just imagine what I could do with the targeted call list. So I love that you share that. Okay, so, so please continue. Sorry, I interrupted you there.
Alicia Ramsdell 17:56
No, that's okay. And leadership, too, is another big one, transitioning from higher education, right leadership, whether it's with students, or whether it's with colleagues that are part of your team, that's another big one that I see is a big transferable skill. So before working with with me, she had told me that she had been applying to jobs and never hearing back and she had been doing this for over a year. So when we started to do is we started to work together and effectively channel her core career message, right and what she wanted and where she wanted to go. And that inevitably is going to increase her chances of landing a job, right. So this every step of the way, it's communication. So step one, you got to research that position that you want the company that you want. So she researched for target company, the position she wanted, the functionalities, understood the job description, she also looked for information about whom she would be potentially working for or with and that sort of role. So understanding how they weren't successful, right. And then she was able to once you understood the functionalities of the job, and how her transferable skills aligned, she said, Alright, let's craft or reset, let's craft that tailored, resume, kit, tailored cover letter, etc. So she used all of that information that she gathered. And she tailored it with the right alignment between her transferable skills, and what they were looking for in that functionality. And then the next step, preparing for that interview, again, huge point for communication skills or effective communication skills. So she researched who she would be interviewing with, how they were successful, and how they got from point A to point B. And then also other as I mentioned before other people in the organization that were successful, and to say, all right, Have I done anything similar? And let me show these examples. And then last, of course, when you're in the interview, actively listening to the interviewers questions, being able to respond, making your answers concise to the point and showing examples of how her experiences have done illustrated how her skill sets can then have her not only be successful, but bringing something different than what other people from the five step pharmaceutical industry could typically bring. And that's really where we went through the process. And from there, luckily, luckily, she did the work. But it was the first job they luckily, because it was the first role that she had applied for when we started working together. And it ended up being her dream role or dream job. And she ended up getting it and actually started talking. It wasn't, that wasn't the type of role that she was looking for. She kept saying to me, I want this role. And she had, there was a title that she was looking for. And I said, Okay, well, let's go through the process of understanding why you want this role. But then after we did our exercises, she realized, wow, this functionalities are not what I was imagining they would be. And so she did have to pivot, she did have to become adaptable. And she ended up leaving the shop. And whenever I talk to her beyond that she's always so grateful and happy and where she is today.
Claire Davis 21:02
Oh, that's outstanding. And when you're talking about the way that you got her to recognize where she'd find fulfillment, was it the I've heard you talk about this many times before? Was it using that grid that you share, where you're finding the things, you want to do things, you don't want to do things you want to delegate? That kind of thing?
Alicia Ramsdell 21:19
Absolutely. And that's the four quadrant strategy to career fulfillment is actually what my TED talk is about. And so when people listen to the TED talk at a later date, they'll really kind of visually be able to visualize it. But yes, it's really understanding. If you think of a piece of paper, you draw a line down the middle, and a line across the middle, you got four squares. So that top left, you're writing down, where do I thrive? And where have I been successful? Right, that bottoms left square is where have I not yet been successful, but want to be? So those are your learning opportunities. And then on the right side, that top right side is, hey, where have you been successful, but don't care to pursue it. So for me, right, I was in accounting didn't care to pursue it. So I kind of wanted to leave that alone or delegate. And then that bottom right quadrant is where have you had responsibilities, maybe you weren't that knowledgeable, but you don't want to pursue that. So then when you're focusing in on, where's my next opportunity in my career, you want to look to the left side to say, alright, this is these are the things that I want to get more involved in from a functionality standpoint. But knowing and understanding the right side is equally as important. Because when you view those areas, they're still important to have as a part of your life. Like for me to run a business, I still need to understand accounting and how it all works, and tax rules and regulations, you know, running my business, but I can then choose to delegate if I want, or I could build partnering relationships to make me more successful, and as a business owner, within my career and so forth.
Claire Davis 22:57
That's so interesting. And do you feel first of all, that framework is wonderful. The four quadrant framework, right? Four quadrant strategy? Do you feel like there is a mental block when it comes to that delegation piece? Like we feel responsible for the career that we anticipate or the business that we're running as a whole? And people can be resistant to delegating that piece?
Alicia Ramsdell 23:24
Yes, because I think that people invest so much time from whether it's an early age or not, at some point, you make a decision, and you say, this is what I'm going to do with my life. Right? And then you get so heavily invested in it, that you feel guilty if you don't follow through all the way. And I'm done. Jharna blanket term, but there is a term for it. It's not impostor syndrome, there's another one, there's, I'll have to think about it. But there is another term for it. But it's being so heavily invested something and then saying I can't leave now, right? And especially if you have a family, let's say say, Well, if I leave now, and I'm leaving job security on the table, or whatever it is, you might say, well, then I'm not doing right by my family, I'm not doing right by my community, or I'm not doing right. If you're younger, and you say well, my parents helped support me going through college, I'm not doing right by my parents. So there's a I think there's a sense of guilt in moving on in I don't think it's necessarily a feeling that you can't do it. But you know that you're physically able to do it. But you don't feel right, making the move. And that's where I feel like a lot of people stall out. Myself included. I spent 15 plus years in accounting and tax but I was good at it. You know, I went to school for it. I was able to support my family in ways that I'm not sure I would have been able to do if I was starting out right out of college as an entrepreneur. But I was able to, you know, make a transition when it was right to me, and I'm grateful that I did it even though it took a long time to get there. Yeah. Wow.
Claire Davis 25:01
And do you think that there is a fulfillment, a career fulfillment that everyone can achieve? Is this something that, you know, you're really lucky? If you're not you find it and you're able to lead your career search this way? Or is this something that's really accessible to everyone?
Alicia Ramsdell 25:19
I think it depends. Is it accessible to everyone? Yes. But it also depends on your team. It also depends on your priorities. So if your priorities are number one, I gotta put food on the table. So I need a job, and I need to make the money. I appreciate that. And so that might not look like career fulfillment in the way that career fulfillment looks like to somebody else, loving their jobs arriving at their job excited to get to work every day, career fulfillment is somebody else might be putting food on their table for their family might be having weekends and nights free, and not worrying about any sort of, you know, management role where they have to, you know, work with people outside of the normal nine to five hours. And that's excellent. So I don't think career fulfillment is the same for everyone. But yes, it's accessible to everybody, and how that looks for every individual is going to be different.
Claire Davis 26:14
Wow. Absolutely. And I think that's really important to remember. You know, when, when someone comes to me often, and they say, I want to break into medical sales, they have an idea of what that looks like, and, and what that fulfillment might feel like. But going back to doing that four quadrant exercise, and doing that deep level of research that you mentioned, knowing the leadership, knowing what they what their business focuses and goals are knowing a ton about the marketplace. I feel like sometimes that naturally brings that sort of alignment together. And you don't have to stretch your imagination of oh, I imagined it's going to be like this, you can find out and the actual fulfillment of that role, or the actual picture of what that role would really be like, will emerge. So I love that there's hope out there, I absolutely am inspired by what you're doing and helping people to find what this is for themselves. Because like you say, it's unique for everybody. fulfillment is unique. It's it's individual. So if someone wants to find out more about you, find out more about what your TED talk is dropping, and then also maybe work with you, where would you send them.
Alicia Ramsdell 27:36
So I'm on mindful career path.com. All of my social media links are there as well, you can find out all about my business, and why I do what I do every day when I wake up. And of course, I'm on LinkedIn. So Alicia Ramsdale, they'll find me on LinkedIn. And I'm always happy to connect. I'm always happy to make introductions for anybody within my network. Because if I'm not helping people get to their target destination, then I'm not doing what I set out to do when I started this company. And you know, three, four years ago.
Claire Davis 28:11
Oh, powerful. Yeah, absolutely. And you know what I know, for everyone here who's watching, they're thinking, Wait, we just touched the tip of the iceberg. So at least I hope you will come back and chat with me again, I would love to dive into the different stress reducing strategies that you share with your clients and your corporate clients and around to if you're up for it, I'm up for ready to go.
Alicia Ramsdell 28:31
I actually spoke with our Virginia Franco on some of the Mindfulness Based Stress reductions on her podcast not too long ago. So I would love to do an episode with you and touch base on it. Because I think stress of course, it's inevitable for all of us whether we're talking about our careers or our personal lives. But if we can find a way to leverage it, rather than trying to run for me, I think we're all better off in the long run. And you know, what happens is that we end up teaching others to do the same. So that's our own children, whether that's family members, whether that's friends community, I think everybody can benefit from that knowledge.
Claire Davis 29:09
Oh, yeah, absolutely. Well, there's no better way to end a podcast than to drop a gem like that. Thank you so much for being here with me today. Alicia, you're such a delight. I'm completely inspired by what you're doing in here. We'll see you next next time on round two. Okay, thanks for coming.
Alicia Ramsdell 29:27
Sounds perfect. Thank you.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
