You may have already met our newest team member at a trade show or heard from him in sales meetings – we’re excited to introduce Nick Cagliostro, National Sales Manager! Having joined the team in May 2023, Nick brings over 25 years of experience in the veterinary industry and has already implemented important sales programs and strategies that meet our customers’ needs for their practice and our own goals for growth.
As a longtime musician, Nick picks up his guitar each day, even just to play a few scales, to create balance with his demanding role at work. When he’s not meeting with prospects and customers at events and meetings, he’s hitting the golf course or cooking up a new recipe in the kitchen with his family.
We sat down with Nick to learn more about his work in veterinary sales and the changes he’s most excited about for Epicur.
How did you get your start in the veterinary industry?
Well, right out of college I went to work for Johnson and Johnson in consumer products. I was then recruited over to Hills Pet Nutrition and spent 24 years with them in a variety of roles, beginning in marketing. Hills was creating a new position called customer marketing, which at the time was new and innovative, but it was not traditional marketing where they think about the consumer; it was trade marketing, where you’re responsible for a very sizable budget and all of the trade-related spend—strategy tactics, product development, and putting together product promotions. I did that for four years for Hills, primarily on the pet side. We did a lot of neat new things and even won several awards in marketing.
The next years were spent leading and directing sales teams in the Southeast, Central, and Western US Sales Regions. I consider it a real highlight of my career to have worked with so many talented Account Managers and Sales Managers. In that time, we accomplished a tremendous amount in areas such as establishing a perfect clinic footprint, educational seminars in the region, best practices on new product launches, and expanding the sales force recruiting and retaining top talent through meaningful career development programs. I went on to manage Latin America and handled top corporate accounts such as VCA, NVA, and PSIvet, where we built long-term business relationships.
That must have been exciting to receive recognition for such unique initiatives. Any favorites you’d like to share?
One was the “You Can Make A Difference” Colgate award. It’s a big recognition for creating a partnership agreement with Veterinary and Pet Retail trade partners. The Partnership Agreement provided the Veterinary Hospital and Pet Retailer with customer-specific marketing programs which helped them drive their business. It was a turnkey solution for customers seeking help in providing ways of growing their Hills business and increasing traffic and hospital visits.
Such exciting projects to work on! How will those previous initiatives and experiences influence the work you do at Epicur?
What I have learned over the years is that teamwork and providing a positive work environment are key factors in developing successful sales teams. Sharing best practices, keeping everyone motivated by being responsive, and recognizing individual accomplishments go a long way in creating a spirited, motivated sales team. It is also critical to tackle challenging projects, to think of new ways of building the business in order to accelerate sales and growth. Leaders will also add expertise to areas that help the team grow, and at the same time will learn from them what are the critical factors for success in their markets. It’s definitely a two-way street! We have to be very focused on what we do. I’ve got a long list of things so I’m constantly working through prioritizing what needs to be done from different perspectives.
Our team is growing! We have three open Veterinary Sales Representative positions across the country.
Explore our open positions and see if there is a right-fit position for you.
Obviously, you have a lot of experience in the veterinary industry, but Epicur Pharma’s place in the industry is a little different than your previous roles. Did you want to approach your role here differently based on the products you’re selling?
At Hills Pet Nutrition, I was extensively trained on nutrition and disease conditions in animal health. Then moving over to Steris, where it was a different business, I learned about surgery and dental instruments. I’ve become accustomed to gowns and drapes, endoscopes, and orthopedic implants for surgery.
The fundamentals of how to work with veterinary hospitals, and providing approaches that build business partnerships, remain consistent. With that in mind, my approach is based on the best practices in the industry. Keeping things simple and being easy to work with goes a long way.
Epicur Pharma has tremendous resources to learn the product line and I have taken advantage of them. Education will always be fundamental in the veterinary community. With these tools, the Epicur sales team can provide our customers with the latest industry trends, specifics about our medications, and find answers to the most challenging questions and pressing issues. We host several webinars on a variety of topics that our sales team and customers enjoy and learn from.
There still is a knowledge gap of what 503B means to the veterinary industry and the differences between a compounding pharmacy and an outsourcing facility. Do you have any plans to create more education around that?
That’s a great question. At the first convention I went to I tested out my talk a little bit as customers came up to learn what a win looked like in the customer’s eyes. I also listened to how other people handled the responses.
What really resonates with customers is when they understand Stokes’ history, which gave them a deep understanding of how guidance had changed. Stokes had the foresight to create an outsourcing facility and to invest in Epicur. So, if you talk about the history of the company and not just about outsourcing and Epicur Pharma, then they know that we are the solution not only for that one patient that requires a specific amount of medication or a custom solution for a pet with multiple issues, but we can also supply their office with products that they can dispense and feel comfortable with.
That history with Stokes and Epicur leads us to where we are today, at the forefront of educating our customers about the latest guidance, such as GFI 256 and now the impending USP guidelines coming in November. So, we like to talk about who we are and what we’ve done from a leadership perspective and the quality of the products. The formulary and assortment of products is another area, and when you share this with customers, they’re impressed with the assortment. When they find a product that they use most commonly for dispensing and then tell them we can get it to them in 1-2 days, that works terrifically.
In my first week at Epicur, I also saw how these drugs are manufactured and it was eye-opening. I was totally impressed with the safety, the quality, and all the checkpoints that go into manufacturing these products and seeing how they do it in the 503B, and how they carry the same kind of diligence over to their 503A pharmacy. It makes you wonder if everybody else is doing that type of testing with the product and we’re working to convey that quality to customers.
What excites you most about the team or your role?
I think the culture is the most exciting thing – and I’ll talk about two things specifically. When I was in Mount Laurel, people took me around, gave me guided tours, and spent time with me. I was given time in every department within both Stokes Pharmacy and Epicur Pharma.
The sales team is incredible. They’re all hard workers, they show up on time and give 100% until the end of their day. You can always feel the excitement, whether it’s in person together or on conference calls, the energy is always there. They are simply great people who are dedicated to their profession, and fun to be with.
What are your favorite aspects of the veterinary industry?
The veterinary industry is a very close-knit group. So, when you go to a convention, you see practitioners that you’ve known for years and there’s camaraderie within the industry. You have the opportunity to network with a variety of animal health companies and it really is facilitating.
But it’s all built around the same thing, which is quality care of medicine for pets. Being a pet owner my entire life, I know the bond that people have with their pets. It’s a special kind of industry from that perspective and it is always exciting to me. My favorite part of the job has always been going into a veterinary practice and talking about the products that we have. And that’s been true with every company that I’ve worked with. The partnership there is undeniable.
Let’s end on a fun note – you said you’ve been a pet owner your entire life. What pets do you have?
Right now, I have a Golden Retriever and a Labrador Retriever. Their names are Sophie and Paisley– my wife named her after Brad Paisley.
