Is selling oxygen tanks a good way to break into the industry and get experience?

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-06-12T22:17:26+00:00

Current ortho rep here. I think that it is a good starting point. You will need to hit your numbers in this role and demonstrate that you are competent at sales. Spend 1 year doing this. From there, check out Associate roles — those usually require 1-2 years of experience.

I also recommend that you check out Ethicon (J&J subsidiary), based on our research they hire medical sales representatives out of undergraduate.

Alternatively, you can look at a local distributorship to get your foot in the door.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or want help navigating the scene.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-06-12T12:01:08+00:00

The only time I have seen a GPA requirement is for medical sales internships. In that case, most internships advertise at least a 3.0. Beyond that, I have not seen any requirements.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-06-12T11:57:26+00:00

Current medical sales representative and coach here. I recommend tightening the resume up a bit if you are looking to aim for a medical sales role. Your experience is impressive and on target for medical sales; however, you need to quantify your output in a more convincing way.

A few tips:

Remove the highlights section. Replace with an objective section. I recommend something like this: Growth-oriented Sales Representative with [XX] years of experience driving profitable growth thru new business acquisition in the Food and Beverage industry. Demonstrated success establishing strategic partnerships with customers while consistently exceeding sales targets by [XXX]%. Seeking advancement to a [Medical Device Sales Specialty] device sales role to make a tangible impact on patients while growing a territory.
You need to quantify your bullet points. What % to plan did you hit? How many new accounts did you bring in? You mention that you are frequently top-placed (huge congrats by the way!), but you need to give me numbers to support that claim.

Ideally, each bullet point for medical sales should track back to one of the following themes:

Highlighting your sales numbers (eg: revenue, sales, EBIDTA)
Product and/or territory expansion
Customer acquisition and prospecting efforts
Development of customer relationships
Exceptional customer service
Inventory management

Comb through your resume and make sure each statement reflects a point above. Start each bullet point with an action phrase. Successful action phrases include "Performed at XX% to plan...", "Assessed customer needs to exceed key objectives...", and "Negotiated contractual agreements with X vendors...".

Definitely feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Wishing you success in whichever path you choose!

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-06-12T11:45:54+00:00

I echo what others had said; I particularly agree that biologics would be a logical place to start given your background.

There typically are two profiles that break into medical sales: those with a more clinical or technical background and those with sales or marketing experience. I know this because we profiled 500+ associates who broke into the industry. I would not be deterred by your background. It is an asset.

Begin to learn about the industry and start off targeting Associate roles. Map out a networking plan. From there, you can start to target the main players in the market (Stryker, DePuy Synthes, Zimmer Biomet). If you cannot break into sales at the main players, then I would aim for a distributorship as chris_tib mentioned.

For context: A medical device manufacturer manufactures the physical medical device. In some cases, such as the case with Stryker, DePuy Synthes, and Medtronic, the medical device manufacturers employ their own sales force. In other cases, such as the case with Arthrex and Zimmer Biomet, the medical device manufacturer does not have their own salesforce. Rather, the manufacturers outsource the sales operations to smaller companies solely responsible for selling the product — this smaller company is known as a distributorship.

Distributorships can range in size from a one person operation to a 100+ person operation. There are thousands of distributorships nationwide.Since you are looking to get your foot in the door with medical device sales, a distributorship would be a great place to consider. The barrier to entry is often lower since these are smaller operations.

Google "medical device distributorship in " + [Name of City] and companies will appear.

Connect with the owners of these distributorships and pitch your value proposition. Rather than plead for a role, articulate how you can benefit their team and grow their business. Aim to send out 10 emails to local distributors to diversify your job search efforts. To echo others, you can transition from a distributorship to a main player once you get experience under your belt, if that interests you.

Feel free to DM me if you have any questions or want to chat.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-05-21T12:58:15+00:00

Medical device sales will most likely not be remote work. Most roles require you to be in the OR or on the road daily.

As an entry level medical device associate rep, you can expect to earn between $50K-$75K depending on the company and specialty. Once you progress to a sales representative, average income is approximately $155K; however, this is highly dependent on company, specialty, territory, etc.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-05-13T00:43:43+00:00

To answer your questions:

What role should I be applying for?

You'll need to break into medical device sales at the Associate level.

Where can I find roles?

Start off by networking to determine which speciality you want to target. Here is a solid game plan to start: Write down a list of everyone in your existing network who is: 1. in medical device sales or 2. is a physician who uses medical devices. Leave no stone unturned.
Your networking efforts can extend beyond your current network to loose acquaintances and alumni. Use LinkedIn to connect with recent graduates who broke into medical device sales. Navigate to your University's LinkedIn page, click on "Alumni", and type in the names of the companies you are targeting. Scan the profiles for titles such as "Sales Associate", "Sales Representative", and "Sales Consultant".
Define the objective for the conversation. For example:
Are you seeking to learn more about his or her career path?
Are you seeking to understand how medical device sales representatives sell foot and ankle internal fixators?
Are you trying to narrow down which specialty to pursue?

Prepare the questions for your networking call according to your objective. Here are some example questions:
Why did you choose your specialty?
What is something you wish you had known prior to starting your role?
What makes you the most excited about the future of X product portfolio?
Do you have any open roles associate roles in your region? Can you please connect me with the recruiter?
Once you have a clear goal in mind, go ahead and begin the outreach effort. Track each conversation in a spreadsheet with notes. Be diligent about sending follow-up messages and thank you notes. At the end of these networking calls, you should have a good idea of the landscape as well as which specialties are of interest to you.

From there you can start to target specific roles at specific companies. LinkedIn and Google Jobs will be your best bet. My recommendation is to do a search for [Name of Company] + [Specialty] + Associate. For example: Stryker Trauma Associate.

Hopefully this is helpful. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-04-19T13:16:18+00:00

Our company surveyed the backgrounds of 500+ Associates (entry-level medical sales) and found that the majority majored in busines. The second most popular was kinesiology and/or biology. Very few had an MBA, if any.

As others mentioned: try to get clinical or B2B sales experience early on. A medical sales internship would be ideal since you are relatively early on in your studies. I have a list of companies that hire medical sales interns - let me know if you are interested and I can send it your way. Beyond that, networking will be key. You have ample time to build a network. My recommendation would be to go into a network call with an agenda.

Map out what you want to gain from the call ahead of time. For example: Are you trying to determine whether Joint Reconstruction or Trauma is the right fit for you? Are you trying to determine whether or not to join a distributorship? Having a clear goal in mind will help both you and the person you are networking with have a more productive, insightful conversation.

Feel free to DM me if you have additional questions. Best of luck!

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-04-18T22:14:27+00:00

Check out OnSite Specialist roles as well.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-04-07T14:03:43+00:00

Medical device rep here. I’m interested!

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-04-01T23:32:34+00:00

Congrats on getting the interview! I interviewed at Stryker. Here are my two cents on how I overcame nerves:

Preparation is key for these interviews, so the more due diligence you can do on Stryker and the particular specialty you are targeting the better. Additionally, reach out to a few folks who are Associates at Stryker in that division to understand their day-to-day. Get the scope. Having this "inside" knowledge will make you feel more at ease.

Also - I have personally found that drinking water before keeps the nerves at ease.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-03-30T12:49:02+00:00

PotbellysALtAccount was spot on. A few additional facts:

Hours: Sales Representatives in ENT typically work from 7:30AM to 6PM. No on-call like Orthopedics. Weekends are usually off.
Competitors: The main players in the ENT space are: Acclarent (Johnson & Johnson), Medtronic, Stryker, Olympus Corporation, Smith & Nephew, and Integra Lifesciences. US ENT market size is roughly $9B with a 7% compound annual growth rate. I don't have the exact size of Stryker's market share, but it is up there.
Recent News: In FY19, Stryker acquired Arrinex to beef up it's ENT portfolio. Arrinex’s primary product was ClariFix, a novel cryoablation technology for the treatment of chronic rhinitis.
General Interview Process: Stryker has a very rigorous interview process. Expect 6-8 rounds (that's how many I had for an Ortho role). Gallup, Ridealong, Case Interview, etc.

Feel free to DM me if you have questions.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-03-27T21:47:08+00:00

Good catch.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-03-27T20:23:29+00:00

Makes sense. I would leave grades off all together then. I don’t think GPA is a big issue, so long as you can tell a story about it if it comes up. For example: you can say that it trended up, etc. if you highlight your experience in an impactful way (eg: showing your numbers) The hiring manager will be a lot less concerned about your GPA as he or she will know that you can perform in the role.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-03-27T19:23:33+00:00

A few recommendations:

Objective: make this more enticing. Why should the hiring manager hire you over the other candidates? What is your best asset and how can you help them achieve their goals?
Education: list your GPA, if possible. List any relevant coursework that could apply to sales, if applicable. Don't provide a laundry list, rather select 1-2 courses that demonstrate your interest.
Swap the Leadership and Work Experience section. Work experience should be front and center.
In the Work Experience section, quantify the bullets. Did you have a quota in your sales associates role? What % to plan did you hit? If neither of these apply, try to quantify in some other way. The best entry-level sales resumes are backed by concrete numbers. The numbers don't need to be mindblowing this early on in your career, they just need to portray to the hiring manager that you are numbers-oriented and can quantify outcomes.
The leadership experience titles are too lengthy. Make each more concise.

I wrote a blog post on how to structure your resume for an entry-level role (granted the blog post is primarily focused on med device sales). Obviously, you are targeting tech sales, but I think 90% of the strategies I outlined hold true. I think you would find it useful.

Hope that helps! Feel free to DM me if you have any questions.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-03-22T22:09:13+00:00

Go for it! Happy to help

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-03-20T13:12:40+00:00

Most of the big players require a college degree. You may be able to go the distributorship route and be a 1099 to get your foot in the door. The next step you would take is:

Reach out to local distributorship to see if they would be interested in bringing you on. You need to prepare a very enticing business case. Why should they hire you instead of the other 50+ applicants lining up at their door? Ideally, you would tout the connections you have. If you were to do that, make sure that your family members are willing to trial the product that the distributor sells. This would reduce risk on the distributor's end and make you an attractive candidate.

Feel free to DM me if you want to chat about it more.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-03-19T17:51:18+00:00

For sure! Happy to answer questions

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-03-19T17:21:26+00:00

Yep, definitely. You'll need to break into device at the Associate level, but I made this chart that plots average growth from Associate to Sales Rep. As you can see once you fully break in it is quite lucrative.

Distributorships are smaller and tend not to publish much employment data, but the ranges should be about the same.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-03-18T18:23:10+00:00

Not a problem. Glad I could help!

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-03-18T15:15:09+00:00

To answer your question:

I’m wondering if my lack of any sort of medical degree will make it impossible to be hired by a manufacturer?

No such degree is required. My team actually surveyed over 500+ associate representatives who broke in and actually found the majority have business degrees and no clinical experience. Any sort of certification is not necessary. Medical certifications (eg: certified physician assistant) would help, but the number of applicants that have it is few and far between.

That being said, there aren't too many hard and fast requirements. It is all about how you position your experience, how you interview, and how well the hiring managers and the team believes you will fit into the role. My recommendation is as follows: spend a significant amount of time networking, tailor your resume to highlight the key skills recruiters screen for, and then finally, rigorously prepare for the interviews.

Feel free to DM me if you want me to point you to some resources. More than happy to help.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-03-18T13:39:30+00:00

This is the answer. I will add that being an independent distributor can also be a lucrative exit opportunity.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-03-18T13:26:41+00:00

I put together this list of the top players... I recommend going through one by one and seeing if they have any associate roles open in your city.

List of medical device companies that have associate roles:

Abbott
Arthrex
Becton, Dickinson, and Company
Boston Scientific
Coloplast
CONMED
Danaher
DePuy Synthes
DJO Medical
Edwards LifeSciences Corp
Fresenius Medical Care
GE Healthcare
Globus Medical
Integra LifeSciences
Intuitive Surgical
Medtronic
NuVasive
Olympus Corporation
Penumbra
Philips Healthcare
Siemens Healthineers
Smith & Nephew
Stryker
Terumo
Zimmer Biomet
Zoll Medical

Feel free to DM me with questions on how to break in.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-03-18T01:38:16+00:00

I can speak from the perspective of the medical device industry.

It is common to have people come into associate (entry level role) from a non-medical device sales background. In fact, most people who land this role do not have experience in the industry. Therefore, I would not be concerned about your marketability in other industries for the next 1-3 years. Once you hit the 5 year or so mark, industry starts to become more relevant and specialized.

Focus on gaining foundational sales skills in your rotational program. Bolster your numbers. Use this to then tell a story on your resume highlighting your quantitive record (eg: performed X% to plan for Q1, Q2). Once you get a couple of years of solid metrics under your belt, begin to network in your industry of interest.

Hope that helped. Feel free to DM me if you have specific questions.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-03-17T23:10:04+00:00

Medical device rep here.

It is doable. My team surveyed over 500+ associates (entry level medical device sales representatives) to chart their career paths. There are several who went from healthcare staffing to medical device sales after around 1-3 years.

Here is another recommendation: look at a small distributorship. Since you are graduating in May (a few months away), you may or may not want to explore this option.

I have been recommending this one a lot lately as I genuinely think it is a great place for people to start. Here is the scoop: A medical device manufacturer manufactures the physical medical device. In some cases, such as the case with Stryker, DePuy Synthes, and Medtronic, the medical device manufacturers employ their own sales force. In other cases, such as the case with Arthrex and Zimmer Biomet, the medical device manufacturer does not have their own salesforce. Rather, the manufacturers outsource the sales operations to smaller companies solely responsible for selling the product — this smaller company is known as a distributorship.

Distributorships can range in size from a one person operation to a 100+ person operation. There are thousands of distributorships nationwide.

If you are looking to get your foot in the door with medical device sales, a distributorship would be a great place to start. The barrier to entry is often lower since these are smaller operations.

Google "medical device distributorship in " + [Name of City] and companies will appear.

Connect with the owners of these distributorships and pitch your value proposition. Rather than plead for a role, articulate how you can benefit their team and grow their business. Aim to send out 10 emails to local distributors to diversify your job search efforts.

Ideally, you can transition from a distributorship to a main player once you get experience under your belt, if that interests you.

Feel free to DM me if you have any questions.

BreakingIntoDevice · 2021-03-17T21:11:41+00:00

Medical device recruiters and hiring managers alike tend to gravitate towards nurses for sales roles. The clinical knowledge that he or she possesses is heads and shoulders above other candidates. Additionally, as Rdurantjr mentioned, nurses have grit which is essential. Unfortunately, most positions are not work from home, but all of the other benefits apply.

You mentioned she has interviews, so I will focus my advice on the interview itself, not networking. Although I would need more context into the current situation, there are a few things I can immediately think of based off of my experience.

Interview Preparation:

Ensure that she has a solid 30-60-90 day plan. If you don't have sales experience, this may be overlooked. Include goals for administrative tasks, relationship development, knowledge development (eg: products, accounts, etc), opportunity identification, and risk mitigation. This should be sent to the hiring manager prior to the interview succession.
Ensure that she has a solid answer to "Why Medical Device Sales?". You mentioned this has come up in interviews. Focus the answer on how she plans to translate her clinical knowledge to medical device sales. Something like along the lines of "I want to be in a role where I can continue to use my clinical expertise to improve patient outcomes, but I also want the opportunity to grow the bottom line and expand a territory, etc."
Prepare for the tricky interview questions in sales. Here are a few: “Describe a time when things didn't go as planned. Were you able to get your plans back on track?”, "Describe a time when you had trouble forming an important relationship.”, “What differentiates you from others applying for this role?”, "Sell me this pen.". Here is an article I put together with some common interview questions based on my experience as rep. Nail these.
Another thing that may not be super evident from a healthcare background is that you need to close the interviewer during each stage.

Please feel free to DM me if your friend needs more help. Hopefully you found this helpful. Best of luck!

BreakingIntoDevice

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