# Can I/should I get into medical sales? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 20, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-should-i-get-into-medical-sales/482153 "2009-01-20T17:41:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-should-i-get-into-medical-sales/482153/1 "2009-01-20T17:41:57Z")
Alright, given that the economy is crap right now and there’s a pretty good chance I won’t get any job at all and I’ll be stuck waiting tables for several more months (years…decades…:() I’ve decided to apply to sales jobs in addition to engineering ones. It seems that most entry-level sales jobs only have a bachelor’s degree for a requirement. Well, I figure that for medical sales, I have not just a BS, but a BS in a related field (biomedical engineering.) In addition, I worked for a couple years in a hospital, so I have experience dealing with doctors, nurses, hospital staff, etc… So there’s the positives…the negative is that I have no _actual_ sales experience, just waiting tables. Sure, a lot of jobs say you don’t _need_ any, but if there are people applying to them that do, they have a leg up on me. But then I remember my friend who graduated last spring with a degree in biochemistry and now has a sales job…and not even a related one, she’s selling paper and IT solutions to car dealerships! Her only sales experience is the same as mine…waiting tables. So maybe that has some merit to it? Here’s a sample of the cover letter I drafted for applying to the sales jobs. Any tips/pointers would be appreciated: > [@](#): > > Dear Sir/Madam > > I am writing to you in regards to the job posting for a sales representative. I feel that I would be an ideal match for this position, and would love to join the [company name here], which has always been recognized as a world-leader in the medical field. > > My education in biomedical engineering and experience as a biomedical technician has prepared me for working in the medical device industry. I have an extensive knowledge of anatomy and physiology, hospital procedures, and medical devices. > > While a biomedical technician, I was constantly interacting with doctors, nurses, sales representatives, and administrators. I became quite comfortable working in a hospital and OR environment, and developed a great repertoire with the physicians and hospital staff. I worked under minimal supervision, and was responsible for testing, inspecting, repairing, and documenting work done on over 1,000 medical devices in a small, rural, hospital. > > My time spent in customer service has given me valuable insight into how to meet and anticipate customer needs. On a daily basis I am interacting with both existing and new customers, making sure they stay or become loyal to our brand. I am used to dealing with a wide-array of customers, and am very adept at selling the product. > > Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks in advance for the help. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-should-i-get-into-medical-sales/482153/2 "2009-01-20T17:51:08Z")
I think you’re a credible applicant for a medical sales position. There are a fair number of places that like to hire salespeople without experience and train them. The theory is that they won’t have “bad habits” from previous sales jobs. It’s not as good as prior experience that indicates a strong track record in sales, but some places prefer no experience over mediocre/lackluster experience. Be prepared for sales to turn out to be either something you can do or something you can’t handle, regardless of whether you get hired for a position. Think of ways you can emphasize listening skills and evidence of persistence in your background. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-should-i-get-into-medical-sales/482153/3 "2009-01-20T17:53:30Z")
Medical sales as in what? Selling equipment? Drug Rep? Something else? If your talking about becoming a drug rep, I wouldn’t bother with that right now. The drug reps that are already in the business are having trouble keeping their jobs, and when layoffs need to be made they’re going after the new people first. (This is second hand knowledge.I work closely with about 200 drug reps and talk to them quite a lot) ETA I know a handful of people that sell Medical Equipment, mostly radiology stuff, and to the best of my knowledge that field is doing just fine and isn’t seeing quite the layoffs the drug side it, though there are still some. The problem is that with the high cost of drugs and the bad economy, drug companies are under fire and since their most visible area (to the public) is drug reps walking into doctors offices with lunches, that’s where their cutting back. Even though they spend quite a bit more money in R&D. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-should-i-get-into-medical-sales/482153/4 "2009-01-20T17:57:22Z")
I think you want to drop ‘repertoire’ for ‘rapport’ other than that, sounds good! Best of luck to ya! ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-should-i-get-into-medical-sales/482153/5 "2009-01-20T17:59:46Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Medical sales as in what? Selling equipment? Drug Rep? Something else? Not drugs, that’s for sure. Either the more directly usable equipment, like radiology, surgical etc…, or implantable things like joint replacements, pacemakers, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-should-i-get-into-medical-sales/482153/6 "2009-01-20T18:02:35Z")
I do VERY little work with those people. I had a friend that just got laid off from Bristol Meyers Squibb selling something to do with CAT Scans. But he got something like a three year severance pay. But like I said before, I don’t think they’re having the same problems that drug reps are. ---
**Author:** ![Lucretia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@Lucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucretia)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-should-i-get-into-medical-sales/482153/7 "2009-01-21T01:25:42Z")
I see equipment reps at work (operating room) all the time, and saw drug reps as well in my former position. You can make a good living out of it, but you must be prepared to absolutely bust your ass, especially these days. If you aren’t bothered by sacrificing any sort of personal or family life, it may be a good way to go. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-should-i-get-into-medical-sales/482153/8 "2009-01-21T02:11:46Z")
I been in sales pretty much my whole life. Sales is something where you either “get it” or you don’t re being a successful salesperson, and you should know fairly shortly whether or not you “get it” or not. There are as many ways to sell successfully as there are human beings, but the key is that in the end it’s a numbers game, and if you don’t have a credible shot at getting enough volume to sustain a decent standard of living you need to move on. You also need to research the heck out of the company you are applying to. Even when you have companies selling the same product there are often vast differences between the corporate cultures and the compensation. Main attributes (IMO) of a successful salesperson are a healthy confidence in your own intellectual and conversational capability, a capacity to handle rejection without taking it personally, a decent ability to read people, enough diiscipline to be self starting, and a sold set of ethics in dealing with your clients. All that a ton of hard work. In your industry/business a top performing salesperson should be able to easly make 6 figures. If there is no one in your company who is tops in sales making this you might want to reconsider your plans.