for Booth Medical

Angi Muse: Jack of All Trades for Booth Medical

By Pete Mercer

Angi Muse and her husband at their wedding in St. Thomas. Muse said one of her passions outside work is traveling.

Angi Muse, the Grand Prize winner of IMCO’s 2021 Equipment Performance Incentive Contest (EPIC) Program, is

a sort of jack of all trades for Booth Medical. In addition to being the sole sales representative for the company, her daily responsibilities include things like accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, shipping, and receiving, and even making sure that the building is kept clean.

Booth Medical, a family-owned business based in Alexander, Arkansas, sells new and refurbished sterilizers, as well as sterilizer accessories and parts, and provides comprehensive repair services and technical support for their customers.

“Most of the vendors that participate in the EPIC Program specifically work with a lot of capital equipment, which is what we focus on. We sell only capital equipment, so it lends itself to what we do very nicely,” Muse said. “A lot of IMCO vendors are strictly supplies, which we don’t do at all. This program is really catered to companies like Booth Medical.”

The IMCO EPIC program is a year-long capital equipment sales program designed to increase vendor sales, while rewarding the top performing member representatives with incentive prizes. Every year, the top performers are rewarded with travel vouchers at the IMCO National Convention. The results are based on

the points that the sales representatives earn through the sale of specific participating products, as well as participating in sales training activities.

Selling autoclaves in a pandemic

Like many vendors, Booth Medical has had to navigate filling customer orders during a pandemic for the last few years. Because the company does most of the business online, Muse and her family have not had to do an overhaul on their processes like many others have.

Muse said, “We were kind of lucky that we fit in the sterilizer niche because when COVID started, sterilizers were one of the big things people needed. Everyone needed a new sterilizer or an upgraded one with new features.”

Muse and her family were fortunate in the beginning of the pandemic, getting ahead of the orders on sterilizers. She said, “We continuously had ten machines on order. So, every couple of months we were getting a new batch.”

Customers have been understanding of the challenges the industry is facing, especially lately. Early in the pandemic, Booth Medical had problems getting the cleaning products in, just like everyone else. Muse said that customers have gotten to the point where they are bracing themselves when they are looking for something specific. “They’ve gotten used to the answer, ‘Well, we can’t get that for a few months.’”

“I am more focused on the people than I am making a sale. I will even redirect my customers if I feel that they could find what they are looking for somewhere else.”

Customer service focused

Even with many hats that Muse wears daily, she has still focused on improving her customer service. As the sales representative and customer service representative, Muse walks with her customers during the lifecycle of the sales funnel.

She said, “It is like a gift for me that I can make them feel comfortable, even in this horrible situation. I am more focused on the people than I am making a sale. I will even redirect my customers if I feel that they could find what they are looking for somewhere else. I want them to be taken care of, so I try to make sure that they have what we need, even if it isn’t from us.”

The impact of inflation

Like many other similar companies, Booth Medical has not been immune to the effects of inflation. Before, Booth Medical was able to make a good profit on the sale of a sterilizer, but inflation has forced them to make some changes. “We used to ship things for free, and now we don’t,” Muse said. “Because the shipping costs have gone up so much, we now have to pass that onto the customer.” Things like credit card charges, surcharges, and fuel charges (both of which have been passed on to the consumer) start to add up.

These changes have resulted in Booth Medical getting a little more for the products they sell, especially because customers are looking to get sterilizers now.

“I can ask a little more for it now because we have it on hand. I can ship it today. They can probably find one for $6,000, but it will be three months before they receive it. People are willing to pay that extra money to get the products now.”

Again, the customers have been understanding. With the way the market is right now, customers have had to make harder purchasing decisions than they might have before. “I have a few customers that I deal with regularly. One called me recently and I had to say, ‘I sold that to you for that then, but I can’t do that now.’ He said, ‘Oh, I know. I know.’ But he still bought it. They understand.”