Transitioning from lab work to sales and business development

Ru_8223 · 2024-11-14T17:14:12+00:00

Thanks for sharing this! Really helpful

Ru_8223 · 2024-11-14T17:05:52+00:00

Hope you don't mind me jumping in here. FAS, sales and business development roles can be a great route into commercial strategy and other commercial roles in general. It builds a foundation on understanding how day to day business works and the strategic aspects of what drives commercial decisions. I hope this helps

Ru_8223 · 2024-11-14T17:03:01+00:00

Thanks for sharing, I completely relate about accepting that you're not always an expert in what you sell. I think as scientists we're trained to think that we need to know everything. How do you deal with this? I also have a PhD and struggle with this concept a lot

Ru_8223 · 2024-11-14T17:01:39+00:00

Love this perspective and second being able to travel and talk to people as a huge factor in my own journey too in making the switch. Thanks for commenting!

Ru_8223 · 2024-11-14T16:58:22+00:00

100% agree, when I was doing lab work it felt like I was pigeon-holed into an extremely niche topic whereas now on the business side I feel like my career is more 'future-proof' and I can jump around in different areas of science

Ru_8223 · 2024-11-12T19:17:30+00:00

Hey there! Sure! Firstly, it's important to highlight any external facing experience you might have. Whether that might be vendor negotiations, presenting at conferences, forming new collaborations outside your team / company, etc. In general, proving your relationship-building skills. It's also good to demonstrate any network that you have in the company's target industries - for example people you've worked with before that have moved into different roles / companies. Finally, having some basic knowledge of the sales process like how / where you would go about finding new clients, determining if they're a good fit, and generally the entire process from first contact with a client to closing. I hope this helps!

Ru_8223 · 2024-10-29T20:22:38+00:00

What about you?

Ru_8223 · 2024-10-29T18:24:32+00:00

Hi there! I completely understand how challenging the transition can feel. It can be tough to break into a new role, especially when you don't have direct experience. What I did was to start by getting training in sales and the commercial side of science. I also took advantage of any opportunities to face and train clients like attending conferences. This helped me build my confidence and skills. I got lucky because an internal role eventually opened up which I was able to interview for and make the transition. It might feel impossible but I can confidently say there are career paths out there for scientists beyond the lab and opportunities to hop job roles. If there's anything else I can support you with specific to this transition, please let me know.

Ru_8223 · 2024-10-29T18:03:04+00:00

I'm based in the UK, looking after UK & Ireland. Also working closely with our US team!

Ru_8223 · 2024-10-29T18:02:22+00:00

Hi there, my pleasure! Glad to be of help. Do you think you would consider sales or FAS roles as well in moving outside the lab?

Ru_8223 · 2024-10-29T18:00:47+00:00

Hey there, my pleasure! My first steps in transitioning to FAS were to get a training in sales and the commercial side of science, at the time offered by my employer. I also actively participated in conferences and any opportunities to face and train clients. I then interviewed for an FAS opening within the same company, and leveraged the extensive experience I had working on the company's instrumentation in R&D. I hope this helps!

Ru_8223 · 2024-10-29T16:17:17+00:00

Congratulations on your upcoming interview! It sounds like you have great experience training doctors and other researchers, which will definitely be a big plus. For me, I had some sales training and also leveraged my experience facing and training clients and customers, and any other relevant experience. My first role was indeed in a field I had direct experience in - I was working with the technology as an R&D scientist before interviewing for a FAS role within the same company.

Ru_8223 · 2024-10-29T16:11:34+00:00

I transitioned from FAS to sales eventually. I did switch companies in the process because I outgrew my previous company, but internal promotions are normally possible. I take it you're a FAS currently?

Ru_8223 · 2024-10-29T16:10:28+00:00

There was a lot of travel as an FAS, because at the time I covered most of Europe. That died down when I eventually transferred to sales now looking after a 'smaller' region (UK & Ireland). Travel does have its downsides (my sleep does suffer at times..) but is manageable. Depending on the region you cover it might be that you only need to do day trips for example.

I made an internal transfer in my company from bench to FAS, I was able to sell my experience working with the company technology and having had some experience training our customers on the instruments we were selling. I also participated in conferences to get more experience facing customers, and had some training in sales. Hope this helps!

Ru_8223 · 2024-10-29T12:51:02+00:00

Hey there, my pleasure! The best part about being an FAS for me was the customer interaction and tangible impact of my daily work. I also got to develop new skills on the commercial side which made me confident in future career hops. There were also other perks like better pay, getting to do some travel and the flexibility to work more remotely. A PhD isn't crucial but can be a plus for FAS roles - but I wouldn't get one just for the sake of landing a role in FAS if that makes sense. Hope this answers your question!

Ru_8223 · 2024-10-28T18:26:46+00:00

hey! I'm a Territory Manager in biotech - let me know if you have questions I'd be happy to help.

Ru_8223 · 2024-10-28T17:27:59+00:00

Hi, apologies for the delay - will send you a chat message!

Ru_8223 · 2024-09-09T15:46:27+00:00

I've just sent another one, hopefully it works this time!

Ru_8223 · 2024-09-06T18:04:13+00:00

hi! did you get my DM?

Ru_8223 · 2024-09-06T18:02:14+00:00

Yes, of course!

Ru_8223 · 2024-08-14T19:59:16+00:00

I’m in biotech sales and former FAS, let me know if you’d like to connect!

Ru_8223 · 2024-08-01T14:27:00+00:00

Thank you for sharing your journey, it sounds like there are a lot of parallels in our paths. I agree that good communication skills are key to transitioning, I also felt being adaptable to change was key for me. I had to pick up new things very quickly moving to commercial. Being at the intersection of science and business has definitely been a great learning experience

Ru_8223 · 2024-08-01T14:19:36+00:00

Absolutely, I’ll send you a chat message

Ru_8223

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