A Day in the Life of… an Area Account Manager
Ever wondered what a typical workday is like for a Cairn Technology Area Account Manager? In this article, Aniqa Chowdhury spends a day helping two surgeons, an operating theatre manager and a birthing suite sister source the right products for their needs.
8.15am: I arrive at an NHS hospital in South Yorkshire to see a surgeon in the Cardiology department about our Stille and Lawton micro instruments.
The surgeon has used Stille micro instruments in the past so already knows about their precision and durability, but he hasn’t yet seen Stille’s new titanium models which are lighter than stainless steel and cause less fatigue during lengthy procedures. Being non-magnetic, they also minimise any frustration caused by magnetized needles.
He is also interested in seeing Lawton’s cardiac micro instruments. I explain that they are engineered with performance in mind and point out their many useful features from easy grip handles to specially coated non-slip jaws for gentle grasping.
Being a previous Stille user, the surgeon decides to order a set of Stille micro instruments but opts for the titanium versions this time.
10.45am: I call in to see the theatre manager at a private hospital near Nottingham. She wants to discuss our highly absorbent floor mat, the T-Mat, to see how it compares with the inco sheets they currently use in theatre.
Her team is surprised to hear that, although more expensive than the inco sheets, the T-Mats actually prove more cost-effective in the long term as they are 15 times more absorbent. In fact, they absorb up to 8.5 litres of water or 3.5 litres of saline, binding liquids hygienically for easy non-drip disposal in clinical waste. She asks me to send her more samples so that she can do a proper trial of the mats compared to the inco sheets.
1.30pm: I arrive at a private cosmetic surgery clinic in Leicester to see a surgeon who also works at a private clinic in Harley Street, London. As he is interested in facelift instruments, I show him the Stille SuperCut scissors. He is really impressed by the fact they have one knife edge and one scissor edge for precise cutting to the very tip and by the fact that they are warrantied for 30 years.
He is also very impressed by Lawton’s Bi-polar scissors that are designed for tissue cutting, dissection and coagulation. I arrange to get him a pair on loan so that he can see how they handle.
3.15pm: I head over to a maternity ward at an NHS hospital in Birmingham. The delivery suite needs mats on the floor around the birthing pools, so I show the Lead Sister our DryMax XL absorbent floor mat.
She loves the fact that it has an anti-skid barrier layer to keep the mat in place and stop fluid from going through, as this will reduce the risk of slips on their wet floors. I explain she can cut the mats to size without effecting the mat’s performance and that she can buy individual mats or DryMax on a roll. I leave her with several samples to try.
4pm: Having finished all of my visits for the day, I take the opportunity to organise delivery of the loan instrument and mat samples. I update our CRM system with details of the day’s meetings and add alerts for follow-up calls to see how my contacts are finding our products.
With time to spare, I manage to arrange an appointment for next week to see a prospect interested in our Chemical Spill Kits. I also contact a customer to let him know that we will be exhibiting at the CCR Expo in October and arrange a time to meet with him there. It’s great to speak to someone who is so passionate about our surgical instruments. A nice way to end a very busy but fulfilling day.
