Today’s medical or pharmaceutical sales representative face many challenges in the current competitive marketplace.  Managed care, generics and a host of other factors contribute to the daily roadblocks, which may stand in the way of increasing market share.  So what must the successful representative do to try and control their destiny? —Organize and plan.

I’ve heard it said many times at various meetings, “Plan your work and work your plan.” Also, how many times have you heard, “control what you can control.”  Well, sometimes representatives feel that they can control very little, right?  Agreeably there are many things outside the control of a representative.  However, organization is not one of them.  Gaining insight and organizational focus of your territory will make the difference between you and the plethora of other representatives in a commodity driven market.

Most sales representatives in the medical field are faced with similar obstacles at one time or another, so pulling together a game plan is in order.  Representatives are asked for documentation and 90-day action plans based upon what they thought management was requiring. Let me challenge you today to plan your territory based upon YOUR knowledge of the turf and work WITH your manager.  Trying to simply appease your manager with mundane territory plans, rarely works long term.  Challenge their knowledge, that’s part of their job.  Before you do, develop your plan with workable substance and understand your turf.  Remember, your goals and your manager’s goals are mutual in that in the end you will both want something workable that achieves results quickly. 

I talk to many representatives each day and rarely do I get through a day without someone accusing their current or previous manager of being a “micro-manager.”  Before making this accusation, some representatives may want to reflect upon what is being asked of them.  Many times management is simply asking for a level of detail that a representative cannot produce.  And by the way, they have the absolute right as your employer to ask for this information and these detailed territory plans.

So go out and “dig in” to your territory.  Probe for information from medical professionals that will help position your product(s).  Involve other personnel in office that can help facilitate your role and your relationships.  You’ll be amazed at the additional “depth” of knowledge you’ll gain in your territory in just 90 days.

Call it what you will confidence, conviction or just over-the-top-enthusiasm, in medical sales it is important to demonstrate a positive level of passion toward your products or services.  Your clients expect strong presentations and so does your employer, so don’t fail to deliver passion in your next presentation!

In most medical sales positions, as with any other type of professional sales role, confidence, conviction and enthusiasm are important.  These components can help you gain credibility as a medical sales representative and provide you the healthy bit of arrogance you may desire. Defining these elements is simple.  Confidence generally shows that you have “mastery” of your subject matter.  Conviction demonstrates that you sincerely believe what you are conveying and want the physician or prescriber to believe it too.  As far as enthusiasm goes, that just means you jumped out of bed that morning ready and excited to yell about your medical product or service!  (No diving back under the covers—The world awaits you!)

So, the real pitfall comes with medical sales representatives that demonstrate an “unfounded arrogance”.  Who are these folks?  They are the ones that have not earned bragging rights by projecting the necessary confidence, conviction and enthusiasm, thereby falling flat or stumbling through their presentations.  Maybe they don’t know their product information well enough?  Maybe they’re just plain boring?  Do they lack confidence?  Whatever, the most tenured sales representatives know that it takes time, practice, patience and experience to get the elements balanced to master a professional sales presentation.  Yes, there is a place for practicing, but I just can’t make myself call it role-playing.

If you think about it, you may have heard in the medical sales field that a competitor is “arrogant”.   Your client may say, “I don’t like representative so-and-so because he’s so cocky.”  Interestingly, that representative may very well be a top performer.  It seems like it just works out that way.  Their arrogance may contain just the correct level of confidence, conviction and enthusiasm necessary to move business.

Obviously, you don’t want to be an industry jerk, but a little bit of arrogance can move your career forward.  It might even make you a lot more money?  Think about it.

As a Human Resources or Talent Acquisition partner in your organization, you are more than likely faced with a barrage of calls, e-mails, brochures, etc. from agencies vying for your business.

The rhetoric is the same in the medical sales arena, “We have had great success in finding…blah…blah…blah, and that’s where the ole *7 (delete) command happens in the voice mail system.

Why? It’s because you’re hearing from another vendor with an unsubstantiated claim trying to obtain your business. This type of “cold call” has long been the norm for those of us in the medical sales recruiting industry. Unfortunately, in the previous example, there was no value or need, which initiated any action on behalf of your organization, the potential client company.

I’m not saying that the above solicitation is bad; we’re all just trying to make a living in today’s tough medical sales economy. What I would venture to say is that the impactful nature of those calls is just not there. It appears the recruiter has made no review of your company’s website and no possesses no “baseline” knowledge of your organization or its products or services

My point is this…to be great at recruiting in the medical or pharmaceutical sales market; a medical sales recruiter must have a solid medical and sales background. An understanding of the marketplace and knowledge of current changes in reimbursement or other relevant trends is critical. I guess at this point your question might be, “How can I expect you to help me if you don’t understand my needs in medical sales?”

Here are a few questions to consider in finding a “Great” medical or pharmaceutical sales recruiter:

1. Does the recruiting agency specialize in the niche field of finding medical salespeople? Will they take the time to research and truly understand my needs?
2. Will the submitted candidates be of high quality and specific to my needs in medical sales? How do they determine a high quality candidate?
3. Does the agency have a specific and established recruiting process defined? What is it?
4. Does the recruiter have references? How long have they been in business?
5. How long does it take for the recruiter to find individuals to present (sourcing speed)?
6. How is the agency unique relative to finding talent versus simply using the job boards?
7. What is the “longevity” of placements made through the firm?

Hopefully, these questions will help you find that “Great” partner in efforts in the recruitment of top talent. You may agree that finding the very best salespeople can be a challenge in today’s medical sales world.

Randy Wilkerson, MBA has worked for three fortune 500 medical sales companies and is currently a medical sales consultant and Business Development Manager at Global Edge Recruiting Associates, LLC .

True, times are tough, particularly in medical and pharmaceutical sales, but there may be opportunities for you to move up due to realignments, mergers, acquisitions and the like. 

Consult with your friends in the medical sales field, it’s important not get caught up in the emotional component of a new “gig” and to consequently fail to evaluate the opportunity fully as a true business/family decision. Unless you deem your sales position to be in immediate peril, evaluate new opportunities as you have in the past with “due diligence.”

Make sure you’re not making a lateral move and that you are truly advancing your career. Many medical sales jobs vary tremendously relative to how the compensation packages are derived. Determine what your qualifier will be in terms of financial reward. Is it an additional incentive of 10 or 15% above your current base pay? Will it be an annual bonus incentive? Whatever the qualifier for your next medical sales position, try to keep it as objective as possible and of course, make sure every important element is defined in your written offer.

Assuming you really want this new job or advancement, you must also make sure it is the right move relative to monetary gain and your career stability. Consider basing your next opportunity on strategic and objective planning, particularly if you consider yourself to be in the latter part of your medical sales career.

Companies are now realizing that there are countless individuals that have spent a tremendous amount time and effort training and educating themselves for this sales environment. How did they do it? By putting their time in selling in the b2b environment promoting copiers, cell phones, rental cars and a host of other “tough sales” products. Selling pharmaceuticals isn’t always a picnic, there are a multiple responsibilities and a pharmaceutical rep must quickly learn the ability to get past “gatekeepers.”
As we are all intimately aware, many of our friends and colleagues have either lost their jobs or are threatened with this potential reality. These folks deserve our respect and have earned a shot at their next sales gig based on what they can and have produced.
Yes, the stereotypical model of a pharmaceutical sales rep is changing and still needs to change. However, hiring managers must realize that every person is an individual and as such has his or her own unique talents and abilities.

Pharmaceutical candidates today need to prove their abilities in today’s job market with proven sales achievements just like they’ve done in the past to get beyond stereotypes.