How to break into medical sales Q&A.

I get asked how to break into medical sales almost daily. I've included the questions that I get asked the most along with my answers and bonus resources at the end!

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1. Do you need sales experience to break into medical sales?

You don’t need experience, but I always recommend it. Medical sales companies prefer people who have sales experience because there is less to teach you. If you don’t have sales experience you need to be able to sell yourself well. If you’d like to get sales experience, I highly recommend starting in B2B sales.

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2.?What B2B companies would you recommend getting my sales experience at?

ADP or Paychex. These are Payroll/HR software companies. You will learn the basics of selling that you need to be a successful medical sales rep.

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3. How to choose a company to interview for?

Do your research! First decide which specialties interest you the most. Once you’ve narrowed your search down by specialty research the companies in that space and networks with sales reps who work for those companies. Ask them about themselves, their experience, what they like, don’t like, and what they think of the product that they sell. How they respond to these questions will tell you a lot about that company, the product, and selling into that specialty. Check websites like Glassdoor and Cafepharma. These websites will shed light on the good and bad.

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4. Do I need to start off as an associate?

You don’t. But if you do you will be able to learn from someone with more experience than you. That is the upside to starting off as an associate.

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5. What’s the difference between an Associate Rep and Territory Manager?

An associate rep works under a Territory Manager. As an associate you essentially do whatever the Territory Manager tells you to do. But if you have a good TM you will learn a lot.

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6. What books do you recommend?

Fanatical Prospecting, Relentless Sales, Go for No, and Influence.

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7. What qualities are important in a medical sales rep?

Being a lifelong learner, resilient, honest, confident, driven, and relentless.

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8. Can you share some medical sales interview tips?

Network with as many people in the industry as you can. If you are interviewing with X company, speak with as many sales reps at that company as you can. This goes a long way.

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9. What resources are available to help me break into medical sales?

I’ve included people on LinkedIn that I know personally below and what they do!

• Jebb C. Ruff, MBA offers training on breaking into medical sales. He has been a hiring manager for medical sales so, he offers a lot of great insights.
• ??Claire M. Davis??? offers help with resume writing. This is so important because if you don’t have a great resume don’t expect to get through the first step.
• Jacob McLaughlin offers training to break into medical sales and has helped over 1,000 people break in. He recently quit his medical sales job to go full-time on helping people break in. He also has a podcast.

What advice would you add and what has worked to help you standout and get a medical sales role?