WHAT IS MEDICAL SALES ALL ABOUT?

That’s a great question! Most people would be aware that the role exists, and that it involves ‘selling stuff’ to doctors but beyond that you might be unsure.

Medical sales is a highly sought after, prestigious and professional sales role. The industry is growing at around 5.6% per year, mainly because of our growing population and hence the need for increased medical services, which in turn requires more medical reps. The industry covers quite a range of roles and opportunities including, but not limited to:

Pharmaceutical
Pharmacy
Medical consumables
Medical devices

Pharmaceutical:

Probably the largest and most profitable player in the market, this tends to be where most medical sales reps begin their sales journey; trying to influence the prescribing habits of doctors. Your focus is on building a strong argument, over and over again, as to why your prescription drug is the best option for their patients. Meanwhile, your competitors are doing the same thing!  Your sales calls will typically involve the use of highly detailed clinical research papers, so in this role you need to know how to use them properly, what to look for, and then what to say.

Pharmacy:

Usually working with a large pharmaceutical company once again, but in a very different role to the pharmaceutical reps, you’re responsible for selling non-prescription drugs, and perhaps other products, directly into store. As you might imagine, it takes strong negotiating skills because you’re often dealing with the business owner and also competing heavily with lots of other companies to win a share of their shelf-space or recommendation to customers.

Medical consumables:

Primarily selling ‘disposable’ items that get used on a single patient or procedure and then thrown away.  These could be simple items such as facemasks or syringes; suction tubing or plastic-ware, but it also extends into a highly profitable and specialized market of surgical instruments and procedural devices. That’s where the role of the medical consumable rep comes into its own, with a focus on selling these technical instruments into surgical practice and then supporting their use through continuous staff education (in-services), and case support.  It’s a demanding role that requires a high level of clinical knowledge and the confidence to direct doctors and nurses on correct usage during procedures.

Medical devices:

Most pharmaceutical reps eventually move into this area because this is where the real money is to be made from a remuneration perspective – you work incredibly hard in this role, with lots of very early mornings and long, tiring days, but you make excellent money and gain the rewards of a top-tier sales role and the recognition that comes with it! Medical devices are a huge player in the healthcare market because, once again, almost every machine; piece of equipment, or software program that is used during a procedure, has been sold into the hospital by a medical device rep. Your level of clinical knowledge and confidence to direct others has to be super-high, but in addition, you’ll need very strong technical skills too.

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