Are These Jobs For You? Part 1

There are different types of sales jobs in the medical field. Two of these jobs are Medical Device Sales and Biotechnology Sales. In this article, we’re going to discuss the Medical Device sales field.

A Medical Device sales representative sells diagnosis and therapeutic medical products and services. The phrase “medical devices” encompasses equipment used by doctors and other health care professionals to perform surgery and diagnostic testing, monitoring patients physical condition and help support life.They sell them to physicians, hospitals, laboratories and clinics. They answer questions and negotiate prices in order to sell the devices. Sometimes medical device sales reps may conduct simulations related to using the product in the OR, stand alone surgery centers and clinics. Manufacturers of medical devices require professional sales people to sell their equipment to healthcare professionals. They have to understand everything there is to know about the product, which is why medical device salespeople are usually PhDs or engineers.

What qualifications are needed for this type of sales job? Most employers prefer to hire individuals with a bachelor’s degree for medical device sales jobs. Some employers will accept a business or science-related field if you have proven sales experience and skills. An employer will sometimes reject people with pharmaceutical sales experience because selling medical devices has a more direct approach then the market oriented approach the pharmaceutical marketers use.

Employers also want people with sales experience who have a strong track record. They would like people that are self starters, have great communications skills and can work well in a collaborative environment. They would have to develop their own sales leads by making calls or visits to healthcare administrators to make appointments for in person sales representations. They would have to have the ability to identify technical issues and assure customer satisfaction through the sales process. They may have to provide sales forecasts, develop quotes and proposals for the assigned territory, attend professional meetings and seminars. Sometimes one of the aspects of the job is the ability to work trade shows to demonstrate medical devices. Medical device sales jobs often require local, regional, national or even international travel depending on the salesperson's territory. Because medical device sales jobs have sales goals to attain, the job does have potential to cause stress especially during periods of slow sales.

The potential for six figure salaries is one reason motivated people tend to pursue sales jobs in these areas--medical devices and biotech. The most potential for a salesperson to earn bonuses is the medical device sales followed by the biotech sales. Medical device sales and biotech sales are more entrepreneurial and more autonomous than, say, the pharmaceutical field; it’s almost like running your own business.

In Part 2, we’ll take a look at the biotechnology field and what it has to offer.

If you have any comments, please feel free to post them.

By

Linda Lee Ruzicka

Linda Lee Ruzicka lives in the mountains of Western PA , happily married and with her 8 cats and three dogs. She has been published in Twilight Times, Dark Krypt, Fables, Writing Village, June Cotner anthology, The Grit, Reminisce , the book, Haunted Encounters: Friends and Family. She also does freelances work for Beyond and for Salesheads. More of her blogs can be found at Salesheads blog.