The Key to Your Dream Medical Sales Job

  Do you want to get that medical sales or pharmaceutical sales job of your dreams?  Do you want to sell great products, work for a great company, make lots of money and grow your career?  I know that you may be thinking this is a sales pitch (Or some Army or Navy commercial).  Believe me this is not a sales pitch on some product or service. Our goal at medical sales territory.com is to provide quality information to you, the medical or pharmaceutical representative.  There is a way to get what you want in your medical sales career.  One simple strategy that is often neglected but very essential to getting what you want.  If this strategy or action is carried out with complete thoroughness, you will achieve you desired outcome.  Trust me, I have learned and even learned the hard way and after all, learning the hard way has it’s most profound impact.  Are you ready to hear about this simple strategy or action?  It is simple…

DO YOUR HOMEWORK! 
(I’m not talking about the 2-3 hours of drudgery we endured during grade school either.)

 If you talk with anyone who has been successful in the medical sales industry, you will find at the core of their success they have followed some key strategies.  Doing their homework was one of the most important tasks.  Doing your homework is reflected in all aspects of medical sales from targeting, pre-call planning, the sales call, follow-up and even job hunting.  Have you ever left the site of a sales call or job interview asking yourself, “I forgot to say this...” or “I was not ready for that…?”  Did you feel that you could have or should have been more prepared?  Perhaps some of these omissions could be corrected on a follow up call or interview?  What if you do not get that second chance?  Is your career worth the risk?  Lack of information or research could be career suicide.  The implications could be disastrous to you and your family.
 There are so many areas and terms used to identify careers in medical sales such as medical device sales, medical capital equipment, consumables, etc.  There is also the growing field of biotechnology or biotech, which consists of molecular diagnostics and research.  I do not want to forget pharmaceutical sales, which is very different than medical sales (click here to view the categories).  The medical and pharmaceutical industry has changed and evolved so much it can be a little confusing.  All of the information out there can cause your head to spin.  Dealing with recruiters, understanding the companies and viewing all the job postings on the web can be quite daunting.
 When doing your homework be as thorough and complete as you possibly can.  Really sit down and identify what it is you actually want in your next job or career path. Spend time identifying what your ultimate career goal or goals are.    I suggest making this picture or vision clear in your mind and write it down and plan it.  Many people in medical and pharmaceutical sales do not know what they really want.  They seem to focus on one or two specific areas and neglect other areas that may be important.  I hear many sales reps say, “ I want to make a minimum of $150K per year and the perfect territory with minimal overnights.”  My personal favorite statement that I hear from prospective candidates as to why they want a new job is, “My work-life balance is out of balance.”  I travel too much, etc.  Does that really mean: I work too much,  my job is too demanding or I do not know how to manage my time effectively.  As a side note, if you want to be successful in medical sales, you will work hard. Yes and your work life balance will be out of balance, at least for a little while. I encourage you to research different types of medical sales jobs, including the “at plan pay”, the likelihood of reaching plan, territory size, and other benefits (like 401K, car allowance, additional bonuses). It is essential to consult with other sales reps in the particular field and some trusted medical recruiters.  I encourage you to check the forum, From the Field, and post any questions you may have.
 A wise sales manager had once said to me that a goal without a plan is a dream.  I firmly believe in that statement.  All the popular success coaches recommend writing down your goals and developing a detailed plan to achieve them.  When you write it, plan it and take some action. This will make your goal real attainable.  The success momentum builds (I could write a whole book on this, I will save this for another article).  I strongly recommend that you keep a journal of your goals, dreams and also document your research.  I find writing things down on paper allows me to have a place to keep great ideas and also frees my mind up so I do not have to worry about losing the thought or idea.  When making career choices or changes, write everything you possibly can find out about the company or job.  Get every thought and piece of research down on a pad.  I find it extremely beneficial to write a “pro” and  “con” ( + or -) sheet to help with career decisions.  This sheet has two columns; one side with the positive aspects (pro), and the other column has the negative aspect of the job (con). This gives you a visual template to help organize information and view important concepts.  This visual cue will help you make a better decision based on facts
 A powerful way to get real life information on whether a particular company or job is for you is to do some serious investigative reporting.  What I mean by this, is do some on site reporting and investigating.  I strongly recommend that you go out in the field and speak to customers using the particular product(s) you will be selling.  Ask them key questions about the product, company and the technology.  You can gain so much information from this research it is incredible.  It is also something I recommend before or during the interview process.  It demonstrates to the hiring manager your ambition and knowledge of the industry.  I also recommend you speak to customers using the competitor’s products to gain further understanding their strengths and weaknesses.  All of this information will give you a good understanding of the playing field and your chances of success.  To ice the investigative cake, connect with a few sales consultants from the company that you are considering employment.  This will give you the key insight on the company dynamics and culture.  How a company treats their reps will surely surface here.
 Most of the information you desire is at the tip of your fingers on the world wide web.  We as a society have become very sophisticated and internet savvy. There not many secrets these days with Google, You Tube, Yahoo, etc. If you are researching the company you are interested in or interviewing for, the odds are high the company is researching you. As a side note, I encourage you to do an internet search on your name to see what surfaces. There are many websites on medical device or pharmaceutical sales.  It seems that in my search there are a great deal of confusing sites.  I encourage you to investigate this one and some of the credible links to help you find information.  Feel free to check out our forum, From the Field.  Make sure you do not forget to research the profitability, financial position, and investment strategy of the company. Research everything you can and leave no stone unturned.
 I do not want to forget to mention the role of recruiters.  I could write a novel on this subject, but for the sake of time I will give you the basics.  Some recruiters (a.k.a headhunters) are great coaches and a wealth of helpful information.  One thing I want to remind you of is, they are paid by hiring companies to place quality candidates.  They in effect are selling you to the company and the company to you.  The bottom line is their loyalty is to the hiring company.  They could have two or more candidates interviewing for the same position.  One thing I will say is, recruiters often have the inside scoop on the hiring manager and the company that you cannot find on the web. I encourage you to build good relationships with trusted recruiters.  I have met a few great recruiters that I would sit in a foxhole with (can you tell I was in the military).  I trust them and they are completely honest and credible.  Then there are others that I would be a little cautious about. Use your better judgment and use your sales skills to uncover this infomation.
 In the end, I encourage you to do you homework and research everything you can.  Use the skills and tips outlined above and you will find and land that medical sales or pharmaceutical sales job you desire.  If you find yourself confused and unsure of weather to make a move, sit back and think about your goals and dreams.  Give yourself some time to figure things out and weigh your decisions.  If it is that confusing, do more research.  You might find that this is not your dream job.  On the other hand, sometimes risk is good.  Those high paying jobs may be high risk-high reward.  Remember do your homework.

Todd Angelucci

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