How to Break Through Life-Science Sales Barriers

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Selling into life sciences isn’t a linear journey. It’s a series of barriers guarded by scientists, finance, procurement, and operations that all have different priorities. Progress isn’t made by pushing harder; it’s made by understanding and breaking each barrier the moment you reach it.

Here are the real barriers you’ll run into along the buying journey and practical strategies on how to break them.

The 9 Barriers:

•  The Non-Responding Scientist 

•  End-User Discovery Without Real Insight

•  Workflow Problem Without Ownership

•  Support Without Authority

• Finance Approval Without Purchasing

• Procurement Review Without Compliance

• Operations Purchase Without Deployment

• User Adoption Without Use

• Organizational Success Without Scale

1) Scientist Interest Without Engagement

You send a relevant message. They open, click, maybe even check out your LinkedIn profile… and then nothing. Scientists aren’t ignoring the value. They’re avoiding a sales trap. To them, a meeting feels like a time-wasting pitch that benefits you more than them. They need a reason to believe the conversation will improve their research, not your quota.

Breakthrough:
Lead with curiosity about their pain points and show you care about their research, not what you have to offer. Ask a question that improves their experimental outcomes, such as:
“Which step in your protocol usually creates the most variability?”
If the first message benefits them, then it is more likely to turn into a conversation.

2) End-User Discovery Without Real Insight

You get booked for a discovery call, but then it’s surface level. They’re polite yet vague, never exposing their true bottlenecks. This isn’t disinterest, it’s self-protection. Scientists avoid sharing vulnerabilities because some sales reps are known for using that information to push a solution even if it isn’t a fit.

Breakthrough:
Don’t ask, “What’s not working?” Ask, “How do you decide when to replace or validate a new tool?” When they walk you through their decision criteria, they’ll reveal pain points organically. You earn trust not by discovering pain, but by honoring how they make scientific decisions.

3) Workflow Problem Without Ownership

They finally admit there’s a real issue, like variability, bottlenecks, wasted time, failed runs. Everyone feels the pain, but nobody claims it. Lab roles have blurred: techs run assays, scientists optimize, some even support commercial conversations. With responsibilities spread thin, shared pain never becomes owned pain.

Breakthrough:
Make the problem personally valuable to one individual. Show how fixing it accelerates their results, improves their publication timeline, reduces their experimental risk, or helps their team hit milestones faster. A problem moves only when someone feels it belongs to them.

4) Support Without Authority

You finally have someone inside the lab who believes in your solution, but they don’t control the budget or vendor selection. A senior scientist or technician may be interested, but interest alone doesn’t unlock purchasing.

Breakthrough:
Ensure your champion is equipped. Provide a clear internal argument tied to time saved, risk avoided, or bottlenecks reduced. They need language that leadership understands, not technical upgrades alone. You’re not just selling to them, you’re coaching them to sell internally for you. Providing them with a ready-to-use email gives the influencers what they need while minimizing work.

5) Finance Approval Without Purchasing

Finance approves the spend, yet procurement still can’t buy. Finance evaluates value, whereas procurement enforces rules. To them, you’re not a workflow improvement; you’re a vendor that must meet sourcing standards, pricing rules, and compliance requirements.

Breakthrough:
The breakthrough is actually quite simple: engage procurement before finance approves. Ask “What will you need from us so purchasing can move quickly once funding is approved?” before engaging with finance. If procurement expects you, they stop resisting you as they can plan ahead.

6) Procurement Review Without Compliance

Procurement is now prepared to move forward but your vendor status isn’t. Missing paperwork, insurance, quality certifications, or cybersecurity documents block purchasing is a rather common hurdle. Deals stall not because of science, but because of compliance.

Breakthrough:
Provide vendor documentation proactively. Share insurance, quality, and onboarding documentation before they’re requested. Being the easiest vendor to approve helps long-term strategy.

7) Operations Purchase Without Deployment

Yay, the PO is issued! The deal is officially marked “Closed Won.” Yet NOTHING gets implemented. Logistics take over: shipping delays, installation schedules, calibration timelines, onboarding coordination, cold-chain windows, lab access restrictions. Approval isn’t adoption.

Breakthrough:
Schedule onboarding and deployment before you close. Align calendars early. Selling doesn’t end at signature; it ends when the product is in use.

8) User Adoption Without Use

The product arrives…and gathers dust. Or usage drops after initial excitement. If a champion leaves, or onboarding is weak, value disappears fast. A deal isn’t successful unless adoption becomes routine.

Breakthrough:
Understand who actively uses your product/service across the company and hold recurring check-ins to keep usage consistent. Not only does this break the barrier, it ensures you continue to provide excellent customer service throughout the sales process.

9) Organizational Success Without Scale

Hurray, the lab loves it, results are strong and everything works. Yet nothing spreads to other teams or locations. Scientific success wins one environment but organizational success requires operational value.

Breakthrough:
Turn data into a case for standardization. Show how scaling reduces cost, unifies data quality, improves compliance, or consolidates vendors. Growth happens when your value is bigger than the team that discovered it.

The best reps don’t push harder down a straight path; they proactively remove friction at every gate. You win deals not by forcing progress, but by guiding teams through each barrier with confidence, clarity, and respect for how labs actually operate.

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