Name: Megan Hood
Title: Sales Specialist, Oral Healthcare
Location: I work from home; make in-person calls to dentists in the St. Paul, MN area
Time with Philips: 6 years
Education: University of Minnesota

A true Sales Rep can sell just about anything. That’s what we do. It’s who we are. But of course if what we sell is not meeting an unmet need, or providing a strong value for our customers, then it makes our jobs infinitely more difficult.

Throughout my career, I’ve worked for a variety of great companies and sold a multitude of different products. Working for Philips I have the advantage of selling the most loved rechargeable electric toothbrush by Americans and their dentists and the #1 patient-requested professional whitening treatment. Both of these technologies are truly incredible in how they help improve people’s lives through better oral hygiene. Yes, I work in sales, and I sell incredible products, but at the end of the day my job is to give people bigger, more confident smiles.

These smiles are not just exclusive to the people using our amazing products. Take a recent visit I made to a customer. I walked into the office and met with the dentist and the hygienists. They know our products, as all dental professionals are familiar with Philips. I did a demo on the spot for our Zoom Whitening and showed how it gets teeth an average of 8 shades whiter in just one patient visit. I glanced around the room to see how they were responding to the demo and all I saw were smiles. It was evident on the faces of my customers that our technology could provide whiter teeth and greater confidence to their patients to smile bigger and brighter, and the personal satisfaction that comes along with that as a dental professional.

These customer smiles don’t always come easy, but another major advantage to my position is the training and experience I have received from working at Philips. For example, on a recent cold call with a new potential customer, I was again going into detail about the power of our innovative technologies and how they can help their patient’s dental hygiene. The dentist asked me, “How long have you been a dental hygienist?” This is not the first time this has happened. I am able to speak their language from the training and experience I’ve received here so my customers often assume I have worked as a dental professional before. I have not. The instant credibility I receive from customers allows me to be viewed more as a peer in their space then as just another salesperson. It’s a testament to how robust and effective our 10-week training program is at Philips to set new reps up for success. It breaks down like this:

Week 1: Home study. First, you will receive a robust package of product details and information to provide a fundamental understanding of the value our products and technologies provide dental professional and their patients.

Week 2: Mentor Co-travel. You are assigned a mentor and you head out with them into their territory as a ‘fly on the wall’ to observe. Most new reps are very adept and by the end of the week, they are able to start a conversation with dental professionals by learning from their mentors.

Week 3: Manager Co-travel. Next, your manager comes to your territory to thoroughly review all the administrative aspects of your position with Philips. Several days are also spent together making ‘cold calls’ to dental professionals who currently do not do business with Philips, giving new hires the opportunity to continuously engage with dental professionals. It’s a great opportunity for interactive coaching with your manager.

Week 4: Begin Selling. After learning from a mentor and manager now you begin putting everything into practice. But the training does not end here.

Week 5: Trainer Co-travel. After being in the field for a bit you then go out with a seasoned trainer in their territory to ask questions and learn additional techniques. Your trainer serves as an incredible resource as you can continue to communicate over time.

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Week 6: Continue Selling. Now you’re back in the field again in your own territory putting all that you’ve learned into practice once again.

Week 7: Trainer Observation. Your trainer joins you in your territory to observe and coach once again. The great part about this is the trainers are sales people too, but they are taking time out of their own territory to ensure you are successful. It’s a very collaborative process to ensure people new to Philips succeed.

Week 8: Classroom Learning. Next, you travel to our Stamford, CT office for classroom training and interaction with other new hires to review more in-depth clinical information and product details. It’s a deeper dive into our products and technologies. At this point, you’ve already been in the field so by the time you get into the classroom you can understand the technologies even more and know the right questions to ask.

Week 9: More Selling. After the classroom setting, you’re back in the field putting everything you’ve learned from your mentor, trainer, manager and the classroom into practice.

Week 10: Manager Co-travel. Finally, your manager joins you in your territory once again to observe your development.

To learn more about career opportunities in Sales at Philips, please visit www.philips.com/careers