Unlock the secrets to thriving in the specialized field of wound care diagnostics with insights from Zac Dotinga, Assistant Regional Manager at Advanced Pathology Solutions.
This episode promises to illuminate the intricacies of working with podiatry offices and wound care centers, sharing how pathology services, like confirming fungal infections, play a pivotal role.
From identifying decision-makers in clinics to managing a vast territory that includes Washington, Oregon, and parts of Idaho, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the unique aspects of diagnostics sales.
But that’s not all—Zac’s journey into medical sales is as inspiring as it is instructive. Learn how resilience, people skills, and a passion for relationship-building are key to success in this dynamic field.
Hear about the serendipitous encounter that led Zac to his current role and his use of the Med Reps website to make a career shift. Plus, get a glimpse into his life beyond the professional realm, including his love for basketball, hiking, and college football, along with his top book and TV recommendations.
Join us for an engaging conversation that blends career insights with personal passions, offering a window into the lifestyle of a dedicated medical sales professional.
Meet the guest:
Zac Dotinga is an assistant regional manager with Advanced Pathology Solutions, specializing in podiatric and wound care pathology. In his role, Zac works closely with independent podiatry groups and wound care centers, providing essential pathology services including PCR wound swabs and diagnostic confirmations. He combines the skills of both acquiring new accounts and offering continued support to existing clinics, emphasizing the importance of trust, reliability, and accountability. Known for his resilience, dedication, and excellent interpersonal skills, Zac excels at building strong relationships within the medical community. Passionate about his work, he finds joy in his career and feels it never truly feels like work. Outside of his professional life, Zac enjoys playing basketball, hiking, backpacking, and attending college football games.
Connect with him: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-dotinga-94b42b85/
Best Food/Restaurant – “315 Cuisine” Restaurant in the Greenbriar Inn in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho (https://www.315Cuisine.com)
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Episode Transcript
00:00 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
Hello and welcome to the Medical Sales Podcast. I’m your host, Samuel, founder of a revolutionary medical sales training and mentorship program called the Medical Sales Career Builder, and I’m also host of the Medical Sales Podcast. In this podcast, I interview top medical sales reps and leading medical sales executives across the entire world. It doesn’t matter what medical sales industry from medical device to pharmaceutical, to genetic testing and diagnostic lab you name it. You will learn how to either break into the industry, be a top 10% performer within your role or climb the corporate ladder. Welcome to the Medical Sales Podcast and remember, I am a medical sales expert, sharing my own opinion about this amazing industry and how it could change your life. Hello and welcome to the Medical Sales Podcast. I’m your host, Samuel, and today we have with us another special guest, and he goes by the name of Zac Dotinga.
01:01
So what are we talking about today? We are talking about the pathology space of what’s called wound care. Ever thought of being a wound care sales rep? What exactly is a wound care sales rep? How do you become one? What are you actually doing and why would anybody want to do that? Well, this is where you’re going to find out. I’m not going to give anything away, but I’m going to say that wound care is a fascinating space that can pay you well, give you an amazing career and truly immerse you into the world of medical sales. So, as always, we do our best to bring you guests that are doing things differently in the medical sales space, and I really do hope you enjoy this interview. Hey, Zac, how are we doing today?
01:39 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
Good Samuel Doing well. Thanks for having me on.
01:42 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
Absolutely. Why don’t you tell the audience who you are and what you do?
01:45 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
Yeah, so my name is Zac Dodenga. I’m an assistant regional manager with Advanced Pathology Solutions. We’re a podiatric and wound care specific pathology lab.
01:56 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
Okay, so podiatric and wound care specific pathology lab. Now there are a lot of people listening right now that have no idea what you just said. Can you please break it down for us? What is that space exactly?
02:07 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
Sure. So, in layman’s terms, the clinics I work with are podiatry offices, so podiatrists, foot doctors and wound care centers, and what we offer them is pathology. So, say you know, a doctor, a podiatrist, wants to confirm that a patient of theirs has fungus in their toenail. They’ll clip that toenail to us and we’ll say yes or no, does it have fungus? And that’s you know. Putting it in simple terms.
02:35 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
Got it, got it, ok, ok. So who’s your call point? I mean who’s how does the sales cycle work?
02:44 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
So driving around, right, I’m up here in Washington. So who I’m looking for are, you know, mainly independent podiatry groups and then wound care centers. So I kind of mentioned the fungus for the those you know, for podiatrists, but for the wound care centers what we offer is that PCR wound swab. That has some different advantages compared to the standard culture.
03:07 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
So when I’m driving around I’m looking for podiatry offices, usually independently owned, and wound care centers Got it, and is it just the doctor that you’re mainly focused on getting access to? Or is it the doctor, the MA, the office manager, the nurse? Who are all the players involved in you being successful?
03:28 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
Right, so you just kind of named the whole group of them. And every office is different, right? Sometimes you know the receptionist is the one you got to win over to get that lunch. Or you know, have access to the doctor. Sometimes you know the doctor’s super easy to get access to, and so that’s part of the job, figuring out who that you know the doctor’s super easy to get access to, and so that’s part of the job, figuring out who that you know decision maker is, who’s going to let you get into the office, who do you have to, you know, build the relationship with. So that’s really part of the job as well, figuring all that stuff out.
03:58 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
Absolutely, and so, with what you’re trying to do, are you ever in a procedure or are you always just having conversations about what they can purchase from you? And as far as the actual work with the patient, you’re not even privy to seeing being a part of nothing.
04:16 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
Right. So at least in my position here, with diagnostics I’m never really in. I’m not in the OR. I might be stopping in the clinic and walk by a patient who’s in a room, but I don’t really have that interaction with the patients and not really assisting with surgery or anything like that.
04:34 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
So yeah, Got it, got it, okay. And do you have a team, or is it just you and your territory?
04:41 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
Just you and your territory. So it’s me and my territory. I’m a part of what we call the West Coast team and you know, I kind of report to my manager, my regional manager. But I’m out here in Washington and I also cover Oregon and I kind of hop over into Idaho as well. So I’m out here by myself. You know, I make my business plan, my strategy, where I’m going to go, how long I’m going to be there, all that stuff, kind of on my own, and of course I have the assistance of my regional manager when I need it. He’s great, but for the most part.
05:12 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
I’m here on my own. I like to think of medical sales as like four major topics and, let’s be honest, it’s more than that, but for the sake of this point, I’m going to stick to four than that. But for the sake of this point, I’m going to stick to four. And we’ll say one of them is device sales, one of them is pharma and biotech sales, one of them is medical supplies and everything related. And then the last one is diagnostics, and you guys represent diagnostics.
05:41
Now we know and for all those listening right now, if you’re a regular listener, you better know that most device positions will involve some OR-based work and you’re going to have to know how to navigate and show up to a space like that. We know most pharma positions will involve strictly clinic work, where you’re showing up to clinics and you’re trying to get access to all the decision makers in that account. But when it comes to supplies and when it comes to diagnostics, things can get a little unique. In the vein of diagnostics, what would you say it operates most like? Would you say that it’s a lot like a pharmaceutical sales position where you’re expected to go to an account, show up at the clinic, wait and develop the relationship with all the players in that account. Wait for the doctor and when that doctor gets time whether it’s a breakfast, lunch or in between patients see what you can do. Or would you say there’s even more nuance to what you sell when it comes to diagnostics.
06:47 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
So I’m not super familiar with pharma, this is my first position in medical sales. But you know from from kind of what you described there. It is somewhat similar to that but I’m once you know you say you went over an account, the job’s not done. You know you’re you’re a hunter but you’re also a farmer, so you got to keep. I continually service those clinics. So kind of what I do for them is schedule their FedEx pickups for their specimens, take that off their plate, make sure they have supplies.
07:17
Doc ever has a question on a report. I can you know first if I can answer it. I can do. I do that. But I also coordinate a time to speak with pathologists, make sure they’re all good on supplies and just make sure they’re happy. And then you know the little things about coaching up on the rec form or on the reports or just kind of the small logistics of it. You know I’m always there for them and that’s kind of our business model with APS is we’re a white glove concierge service, so we’re in the clinic, we’re helping them out and I’m kind of their main point of contact for everything they need.
07:49 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
I love it. I love it Now. Would you say that or actually want you to share with us what empowers you most to be successful in this role? And let me give it some context. You know there are some roles where, if you will know your clinical information cold, you’re going to be well empowered. There’s other roles where it’s all important, but if you can develop relationships really well you’re going to go far. And there’s other roles where relationships development is important. Being someone that understands the clinic is important, but what’s even more important is understand the nature of how it works and just being able to access the right decision maker. When it comes to being a success in diagnostics, what would you say will be your biggest asset that someone could bring to it to that position?
08:35 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
So in my eyes, it’s relationship building and that’s what I try to do. Whether it’s, you know, relationship with that, the front office, you know the receptionist, that person that greets you when you walk in, whether it’s, you know, relationship with that, the front office, you know the receptionist, that person that greets you when you walk in, whether it’s the MA or the doctor, you know. Building that relationship, I think, is how, for me, how I went over my accounts and how do you build those relationships? You know it starts with trust and for me, building that trust is doing what you say you’re going to do and repeatedly showing up. And you know, if you make a mistake or the lab makes a mistake, whatever, you know you own up to it. You say, hey, I’m going to fix this, and then you, you know, implement that fix. So for me it’s really building relationships, but I guess it’s, you know, you got to figure out who to build those relationships with as well, like you kind of mentioned.
09:20 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
I love it. I appreciate that Now I want to be in medical sales. I’m not sure I want to be in the OR. I’m not sure I want to do a pharmaceutical type position, but this sounds really interesting. But I’m still not sure if this is for me. Describe for us the kind of person that should be running to this field and the kind of person that should be running away from this field.
09:50 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
Sure. So you got to love the grind and you know I think that’s that’s probably true for all you know medical sales, whether it’s device, pharma, bio. You know you got to put in the work and you know when you get started especially, you know it’s long days it’s. You leave at seven to get back at six or seven. Once you kind of build your territory you might be able to ease off a little bit. But still then, once you build your territory, you have to take care of all your, all your clinics.
10:16
So somebody who loves the grind, isn’t afraid of hard work, somebody who’s resilient because you get told no a lot. So you know you have to be okay with that, get used to it and be able to say, hey, I’m going to turn that no into a yes, kind of in my head. What I do is like I think that every no is just getting one closer to a yes. It’s like this clinic might be 15 no’s, this clinic might be one no the second time I come in, but that just kind of keeps me going. And then you got to be a people person that I could, you know, building those relationships, going in, being comfortable, talking in front of doctors and groups and things like that, you know, is pretty critical and to be able to build those relationships you got to be, you know, enjoy talking with people. So, yeah, I would say those couple things.
11:08 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
Got it, and then the kind of person that should just stay away. Those couple of things Got it.
11:12 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
And then the kind of person that should just stay away. If you like sitting at a desk, that’s so. That was one thing I used to hate doing and that’s why I feel like I’m this. This job’s great for me. I don’t have to sit at the desk. So if you like sitting at a desk, sitting at a computer all day long, if, if, if, you know nose are hard for you to take, um, if, if, if, uh, you know no’s are hard for you to take, um, you know you’re going to, you’re going to take some licks, but you just got to get back up and get to it again.
11:42 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
I like it, I like. I like how you’re giving yourself a really valid and fair assessment of what you do. That allows you to get up and give it your all every single day. That’s good stuff, okay, so take us back to when you decided you want to be in this space at all, right, what job were you doing and what happened that made you say you know what?
12:06 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
I think I’m going to go for a position in diagnostics. So it’s kind of interesting. I really didn’t know that much about medical sales prior to two years ago. I’d done various things throughout my career, um, from construction management to I owned a landscaping company for a handful of years to account management, and so how I really heard about it.
12:23
It’s kind of a funny story. Like you talk about like sliding doors, moments like the smallest thing that like kind of impacts your life. Uh, I had a friend. She had a friend in town. He wanted like a place to work out and I had a gym in my garage at the time. So I was like, yeah, you can come over and work out. Like cool, we’ll get a lift in.
12:39
And so he comes over and he’s telling me about his job and I’m like all of that sounds great, like got to be competitive, you know, got to go out and win accounts and you know you get commission and you’re, you know, building relationships and not sitting at a desk all day. And then you know, obviously you know a certain part of it is the financial potential, and so all of that was enticing to me and I think back like what if I just said no to I can’t work out today or whatever? But that’s really when I first heard about it. And then from there I started.
13:11
I moved from Michigan to Washington about two years ago for this job, but at first I was applying to jobs in the greater Grand Rapids. Michigan area wasn’t getting a whole lot of traction. So I heard about this one website called Med Reps and I kind of just picked out like five different cities that I thought would be fun to live in, and so it was like Seattle, austin, denver, a couple others, and it just so happened that I, you know, got an interview and it was a whirlwind getting hired.
13:43
It was like I like I interviewed on a Tuesday, then interviewed on a Thursday, then on Friday they offered me the job.
13:52 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
Wow, that’s fast.
13:54 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
I had to let them know by Monday, and on that same Monday I had to give my two weeks at the current job.
14:00 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
I hope you’re enjoying today’s episode and I want to let you know our programs cover the entire career of a medical sales professional, from getting into the medical sales industry to training on how to be a top performer in the medical sales industry. To training on how to be a top performer in the medical sales industry to masterfully navigating your career to executive level leadership. These programs are personalized and customized for your specific career and background and trained by over 50 experts, including surgeons. Our results speak for ourselves and we’re landing positions for our candidates in less than 120 days in top medical technology companies like Stryker, medtronic, merck, abbott, you name it.
14:38
Would you run an Ironman race without training and a strategy? You wouldn’t. So why are you trying to do the same with the medical sales position? You need training, you need a strategy and you need to visit evolveyourassetscom, fill out the application schedule some time with one of our account executives and let’s get you into the position that you’ve always dreamed of. So that’s wild, because med reps, for one, is never a good source for getting jumps. No, everybody knows about it, but usually those positions are old. So that’s number one. Number two for it to be your first go-round, and they want to hire you within a week of meeting you, man that’s fast.
15:19
That’s a unique and awesome experience and I’m so glad you got to have that. So, yeah, so you’re right. It seems like this was a bit of an accident, for lack of a better word, but you’re here now and you love it. When you think about your future in this space, can you see yourself doing this forever? Do you see yourself maybe wanting to explore some other fields? What are you thinking?
15:42 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
I’ll be honest, this is my first job that I don’t feel like I’m going to work. You know pretty much all my previous jobs. Sunday night comes around, you get the Sunday scaries and you’re like, ah, dreading the week. But I don’t feel that way about this job and I feel fortunate for that. So I can definitely see myself, you know, doing this for a long time.
16:02 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
Hey, that’s awesome. And then, when you’re not out there making sure all of your customers are experiencing the best from everything your company provides, what are you doing? Do you have family hobbies? How are you living your life? So anybody that wants to do what you’re doing has a taste of what their social life could look like Sure.
16:23 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
Sure, and I mentioned it, is hard work and there’s long hours sometimes, but it’s pretty flexible as well. So if you want to be home at 5, you can. I just prefer to work the long hours, and you know, because I want to build my business and all those things. But outside of work I’m not not married, don’t have any kids or anything like that, but I like to play basketball. Played a little basketball back in the day hiking, backpacking, camping, those kinds of things. I’m a diehard college football fan, so try to go as many of those games a year as possible.
16:58 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
Fantastic. Well listen, it was fantastic spending time with you. Zac, we’re going to wrap this up with a lightning round. Are you ready? I’m ready for it, all right. So first question what’s the best book you’ve read in the last six months?
17:11 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
So I came prepared because I knew this was a question. And I’ll be honest, I’m not the biggest book guy, not a, not a huge reader, but I have been reading Atomic Habits, yeah. But you know, always, you know you can pick up this little tidbit and that kind of stuff. Yeah, that’s what I’ve been reading.
17:33 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
Awesome.
17:33 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
What’s the best TV show or movie you’ve seen in the last six months, so I’ve been re-watching Scrubs, which is always fun, but I think I’d go with Severance. That was on Apple TV+. It’s kind of weird, but interesting I’ve never seen Scrubs.
17:51 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
No, no, yeah, I’ve never seen scrubs, but no, no, I’ve never seen it. But I did see severance and I thought that was pretty good. Okay, yeah, scrubs, I don’t know, I just never did it and you would think, being in medical sales, that’s like a must, but it just never happened. Okay, and then, last, but actually no two more favorite meal, and we want the name of the item and the restaurant and where.
18:16 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
Okay, so I was in Coeur d’Alene, idaho, and like I booked my I’m a book my hotel at like the day of like three hours, two hours prior. So I just found this little inn in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and I get there and I guess they had a restaurant with the inn and it was like a three course thing that was was kind of included with the hotel and I’ll be honest, I don’t know the name of the restaurant, but I know and like I’m not a huge foodie either, I kind of think of myself as a garbage disposal, so I’ll eat like whatever, um, but it was, uh, they had like a cauliflower cheese for the appetizer and like a flank steak over rice with some like pickled onions, uh, and then for dessert it was raspberry cheesecake with homemade pistachio ice cream.
19:08 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
So that’s actually sounds pretty tasty. So was it not?
19:11 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
it was phenomenal, or what yeah, it was really good it was. It was very good and like, I think the surprise factor of like oh, there’s a cute little uh you know restaurant at the bottom of this inn. I wasn’t expecting that and I got there at like 830. They closed at nine. I was like, keep it.
19:27 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
Sure.
19:28 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
And so I think the whole, like you know, ambience.
19:32 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
So Coeur d’Alene, idaho, and what’s the name of the hotel? It was the Greenbrier Inn, okay, so, so everyone, we’re going to do our best to find this restaurant name and put it in the show notes from the Greenbrier Inn. You said, yep, greenbrier Inn in Coeur d’Alene, idaho. You know, I don’t know much about Idaho, but I can just readily admit that I would not have suspected Idaho as a place for fantastic cuisine. I would not have suspected Idaho as a place for fantastic cuisine. But I now stand corrected and it looks like Idaho might be a destination for fantastic cuisine, or at least in Coeur d’Alene. So that is awesome.
20:12 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
And then, last but not least, what is the best experience you’ve had in the last six months? So, like I mentioned, I’m a diehard college football fan, Michigan football specifically. So I had season tickets my whole life and so moving out here was kind of like I’m not going to be able to go to very many games anymore, but I was able to fly home for a couple. But, with that being said, um, I got to go to the national championship where michigan won and beat washington. Uh, in houston, with both my and like yeah, just going to games growing up with my dad and my mom and sisters and brother and then being able to share that experience with my parents was was pretty cool, yeah.
20:48 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
That is pretty cool. Well, Zac, it was fantastic learning of all about the diagnostic world with you today. Please keep doing amazing things out there, and we can’t wait to see the things you do in the future.
20:58 – Zac Dotinga (Guest)
Sure Thanks for having me on, Samuel, absolutely.
21:01 – Samuel Adeyinka (Host)
And that was Zac Doting a fascinating stuff the wound care space. You’ve heard the episode and I’m sure some of you were thinking you know what. That’s exactly what I want to do, and whether you’re someone that’s never been in medical sales and you heard this episode, or you’re someone that’s in medical sales and now you’re thinking about doing something like this, then you already know what I’m going to say. Make sure you visit evolveyoursuccesscom, fill out the application schedule some time and have a conversation with one of our account executives and let’s get you where you want to be. One of the cool things about our program, the Medical Sales Career Builder is not only are we helping you get into a position that makes sense for you.
21:40
Ecclesales Career Builder is not only are we helping you get into a position that makes sense for you. We’re taking the time to assess who you are as an individual, assess what you can bring to the table and how powerful a player you can be. And one of the ways we do this in addition to meeting you, speaking with you and talking about the things you’ve been doing we actually have you take an assessment. When you schedule a call, you’ll be prompted to take an assessment. Make sure you take that assessment. It’s going to give you and us a level of insight you’ve never seen before and you will not regret it.
22:09
As always, we do our best to bring you guests who are doing things differently in the medical sales space, so make sure you tune in next week for another episode of the Medical Sales Podcast. I hope you enjoyed today’s episode and remember I have a customized and personalized program that gets you into the medical technology industry as a sales professional or any type of role for that matter. Become a top performer in your position and masterfully navigate your career to executive level leadership. Check out these programs and learn more at EvolvesAssesscom by visiting our site, filling out an application schedule some time with one of our account executives and allowing us to get you where you need to be. Stay tuned for more awesome content with amazing interviews on the Medical Sales Podcast.