Maddy Pielage: A Competitive Spirit

Originally published by Veterinary Advantage.

[Excerpts] Why did Maddy Pielage catch the “horse bug” early? Perhaps it was because her birthday falls on December 13, the National Day of the Horse. Maybe the stars aligned, and I was just born to be a horse girl,” said Pielage, an account manager for Covetrus in Colorado.

So why didn’t Pielage become a veterinarian? Her story is a common one in the industry, especially among distributor reps. Once she got to college, she realized there were other opportunities to work in veterinary medicine besides clinical practice.

Previous to her role with Covetrus, Pielage was an equine technician in Oregon. Before that she worked at an animal health diagnostic company. As an equine technician she became familiar with Covetrus, using the company’s in-clinic ordering website and online pharmacy. When she saw a job opening back in Colorado where she went to school, she jumped at the chance.

As an account manager for Covetrus, Pielage travels to companion animal practices across the Denver Metro area. A big part of her job is conducting meetings with practices about their goals or problem-solving something they’re struggling with. “I try to be more of a business consultant,” she said. “Covetrus is a great company that has end-to-end solutions for almost every part of their practice. So, one day we can be talking about vaccine backorders, and then we can be talking about how to establish profit sharing for their employees and increase wages. I do trainings on how to maximize the online pharmacy for practices, or how compounding and Fear Free can come together to offer a great solution for pet owners. We do lots of different things.”

Calling on companion animal practices, and helping independent practices succeed, is a rewarding aspect of Pielage’s job. “They’re feeling a push, especially with the corporate practices across the country,” she said. “Helping the independent practices put as much profit back into their pocket as possible is so rewarding. Covetrus has great programs for that. I love seeing my practices succeed and be able to afford their next piece of equipment to grow their practice. Even with staff shortages and other challenges independent practices are facing, the tools that Covetrus has can help them succeed.”

Pielage’s regional team is made up of a number of senior account managers. Pielage said she likes having that experience to bounce ideas off of to improve her sales skills. “They have definitely paved the way.” The reps use a group chat to discuss hard cases, encourage each other and celebrate wins.

Pielage said leadership too has been great at advocating for different personal and professional development opportunities for reps. They’re also very supportive of Pielage’s horseback riding passion outside the workplace.

Read the full article here.