How to Become a Medical Sales Rep (Even If You Have No Experience)

 Medical sales jobs will always be in high demand. Despite automation's emergence in nearly every aspect of business, medical sales remains a largely face-to-face industry. In addition, an aging population keeps the field relevant and important.

You're likely already aware of the high earning potential of medical sales. In fact, according to MedReps most recent research, average total compensation for medical sales reps is $149,544 -- with an average base of $92,698 and an average bonus of $63,318.

While it's true that medical sales is a highly competitive field and the workload is demanding, if you're up to the challenge, it's possible to begin building your career and making a name for yourself almost immediately.

It's important to understand, though, that unlike other fields, medical sales is a journey. After all, research from the 2018 MedReps salary report revealed compensation potential is directly linked to tenure in the field. This shows you must be willing to put in the time and work to have a profitable and rewarding experience.

Before embarking down this career path, get to know the industry and figure out how it fits into your own specific career needs.

Free Kit: Everything You Need for Your Job Search

How to Become a Medical Sales Rep

The first step to becoming a medical sales rep is to choose a specialization. Specializations include medical devices, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology. Next, you'll gain field experience and enroll in training. You'll also network, grow your online presence, and connect with industry contacts.

Here's what you need to do to break into medical sales:

1. Choose a specialization.

Finding the right fit begins with exploring your personal and professional interests. Above all, you must be certain you have a real passion for the field. Medical sales is highly rewarding but it requires a solid commitment. If you're not truly passionate about the industry, you risk becoming overly stressed and frustrated.

Medical sales encompasses a variety of concentrations, including:

  • Medical devices
  • Medical equipment
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Biotechnology

With such diverse options available, job seekers can find an aspect of medical sales that appeals to them and suits their skills.

Most medical sales jobs are actually transactional, but some involve consultation. In most cases, you'll be meeting with health care professionals to discuss your products' benefits.

Some medical sales positions (such as medical coding sales) also incorporate skills like billing and marketing. Meanwhile, medical sales recruiters are focused on sourcing and placing the best and brightest professionals in the field.

Before applying to any medical sales job, use job search resources such as the MedReps blog to find news and advice specific to the industry. The website also features job postings for both entry-level and experienced medical sales reps.

It's important, however, not to be overly swayed by potential earnings.

For example, while the 2018 MedReps salary report revealed medical sales reps promoting health IT/software are the top earners -- making an average of $167,554 in total compensation -- if you're not passionate about emerging technology and stand-out customer service, it's unlikely you'll find much success or satisfaction from this concentration.

Make sure to get a full-picture view of the opportunities you consider.

2. Gain field experience.

Once you've discovered which medical sales niche you're most interested in, it's time to earn some experience.

You've already spent a great deal of time and money earning degrees and certifications -- and those will certainly help. Still, most recruiters place a high value on work experience. This means you should explore opportunities where you can gain experience in the field immediately. These include:

  • Internships with medical sales companies
  • Job shadowing with an established medical sales rep
  • Volunteering at a hospital or doctor's office

You can also gain experience by taking an entry-level job in a medical-related or sales field, such as doing marketing for a medical office, customer service in a hospital, or even vending sales in a hospital setting.

Most medical sales jobs do not require specific certifications. Since these positions rely heavily on transferable skills, most positions require job seekers have an undergraduate degree, but not in a certain concentration.

Instead, recruiters seek ambitious, dedicated candidates. Some of the necessary skills include:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Email Open Rates By Industry (& Other Top Email Benchmarks)

  Have you ever wondered how your email results compare to those in your industry? Or perhaps, what kind of open rates should you expect? Is your click rate above or below the industry average? Email deliverability is hard and there isn't always a good way to know how you are doing or how to improve. This benchmark data is really valuable because it gives you a reference for how well you're doing — and some indication of how to improve. Download Now: Email Marketing Planning Template  Email Marketing Benchmarks Email marketing benchmarks provide you with useful information about the health of your email sends. Benchmarks allow you to see how your specific campaigns compare to the standards of your individual industry (Surprise! Each industry has different benchmarks). In turn, you can discover opportunities to improve your email strategy and work on achieving even better results.   Below, we’ll look at email benchmarks for various industries and provide resources for how ...
Read more

WERE YOU NOTIFIED ABOUT MISSING TAX FORMS FOR YOUR ACA SUBSIDY? BLAME COVID.

When they file their annual taxes they complete an IRS form that reconciles how much they received in advance tax credits against their actual income for the year. The letter from the marketplace said they hadn’t filed for 2019, but Schenker knew they had — just as they have every year. “I was more annoyed than anything else,” Schenker, 55, said, remembering an earlier enrollment problem that took months to resolve. “I didn’t want to get stuck in some sort of appeals category.” Schenker’s 25-year-old daughter, Kaily Schenker, who is part owner of the family’s organic farm, got the same letter about her plan. Schenker helps her with her taxes, and she also filed the Form 8962 paperwork, he said. Officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees the ACA marketplaces, confirmed that some consumers received notices from the agency alerting them that, according to the IRS, they hadn’t filed a tax return or reconciled their advance payments for tax credit...
Read more

Reflecting on Black History Month at the Health Foundation

  As Black History Month 2020 draws to a close, the Health Foundation’s Head of Improvement Programmes, Daphne Amevenu, reflects on the importance of taking time to celebrate black people’s essential contribution to health and care in the UK. The Health Foundation exists to bring about better health and health care for everyone in the UK. To do that, we seek to understand all aspects of what affects a person’s health and the impact of every part of our health care system. I’ve been pleased to see the Foundation invest energy and time over the past 3-and-a-half years in projects seeking to tackle health inequalities. This work has been particularly important during the current pandemic and the Foundation has published some much needed analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on black and minority ethnic communities. Since 2019, I’ve been leading work across the Foundation to embed the values of diversity and inclusion within our organisation, reflecting our commitment to protect and ...
Read more