With over eight years in the pharmaceutical industry, I have finally attained the position of regional manager. With this position comes a great deal of responsibility. This position requires that a regional manager be diligent to his or her duties, trustworthy to handle pharmaceutical samples, and patient with his or her sales representatives.

Being Hispanic, I am a minority in this industry. However, this has greatly improved my sales records, which helped me eventually attain the position of regional manager. Because I am bilingual, I have been able to better serve doctors that deal with Hispanic patients. At times, I have served as a translator for my doctors while doing preceptorship, which is when the pharmaceutical sales representative shadows the doctor for a day. Although there have been times where I have felt discriminated against, most of the time my bilingual skills, along with my relation to minorities, has created a positive atmosphere within my daily working environment.

The pharmaceutical industry is very competitive, and the position of regional manager is a job of numbers. In order for myself to be successful, my sales representatives must perform far above standard, which requires me to provide them with the skills to persuade doctors to prescribe my products. The pharmaceutical industry has gotten a bad reputation over the last few years concerning the honesty and salesmanship of its workers although we only employ educated and intelligent individuals who provide their doctors with the highest quality details within my company.

I find my job very satisfying and would rate it an eight out of ten. I enjoy working with others, a competitive environment, and the ability to set my own salary with a base and commission. I also enjoy the fact that I am helping others treat or even cure their disease state. This gives meet complete job satisfaction and is good for my heart as well. I believe this was my calling in life as my desire to help others while earning a comfortable living reigns supreme.

My accomplishments thus far have been nothing short of amazing as I led the company in sales for the last three years up until my promotion. My accomplishments, however, must be chalked up to sheer persistence and hard work. Also, the fact that I am bilingual has greatly helped me effectively communicate with some of my doctors.

I began my sales career early where I started in the rental car industry. I quickly gained experience managing others while also learning the sales industry as well. I rapidly moved up the ladder, and because of my sales ability, I was recruited into the pharmaceutical industry. From the get go, I realized that the pharmaceutical industry was nothing like the rental car industry and learned the hard lesson of rejection. This lesson would lead me to also learn the skill of consistent persistence. I never took no for an answer and would never change the roads taken in the past that have lead me to this industry.

One thing one may find about this industry is that other sales positions are constantly attempting to recruit you into their industry. This seemed strange to me at first because this was the only job I had ever been recruited for. The industry of sales, however,  is always looking for solid representatives. Interestingly, there are not many sales positions, even in the position of regional manager that pay over $150,000 per year.

Along with a six figure base salary and the ability to make commission, I enjoy going to work each day due to the fact that I’m changing people’s lives. When I, or my sales representatives, convince a doctor to prescribe my particular line of drugs, I know that their patients will receive the pain relief that they need. This makes my job very rewarding both intrinsically as well as extrinsically.

However, there are days when my job is very stressful although I never feel like quitting. Quitting is not an option for those of us who have learned the lessons of persistence and perseverance. Some stressful aspects of my job revolve around my own sales representatives and their performance. On a rare occasion, I will have a representative that performs below standard. This may be due to a number of factors, which is why I must drop whatever I am doing at that time to address these concerns. This may cause lost time with my family even on some of the most important dates.

Although there are very stressful times during my working life, I am afforded four weeks of vacation time per year. I rarely spend that much time away from my job because of the sheer enjoyment as well as the fact that I get paid for those days that I do not take. I believe four weeks of vacation per year is ample time for any job, especially in the pharmaceutical industry.

During my undergraduate degree, I would have never believed I would have been in the field of sales. The pharmaceutical industry, however, does not accept anyone with anything less than a four year degree. The potential employee does not have to have the degree in a specific area, but he or she must have a baccalaureate in some field. For my friends who want to enter the industry, I tell them the best way to gain entry is by having a successful track record within the sales industry. Starting in an entry level position such as a management trainee program that focuses on sales is a great way to get your feet wet.

Now that I have attained the position of regional manager, I will focus my time on moving into the administrative position as director of sales or marketing. That is my goal!

Odds of dating a supermodel: 88,000 to 1

Odds of injury from mowing the lawn: 3623 to 1

Odds of finding out your child is a genius: 250 to 1

Odds of being struck by lightning: 576,000 to 1

Odds of being canonized: 20,000,000 to 1

So, there’s the bad news. Now, for some good news!

Jobs in greater Boston grew at 2.5x the national average in July (source: Bureau of Labor Stats)

Unemployment rate for Hospitals in August, 2011 (this is General Medical and Surgical Hospitals: NAICS 6221, Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals: NAICS 6222, and Specialty Hospitals: NAICS 6223): 3.2% (Source: Bureau of Labor Stats).

Number of medical instrument OEMs with quarterly revenue growth annual increase over 50%: 9 (Source: Yahoo Finance)

Number of medical instrument OEMs with 5-year annual average growth rate over 30%: 8 (Source: Yahoo Finance)

Percentage of employers who now compensate their employees for referring new employees: 69.5% (Source: JobVite.com)

I’m not sure how to summarize all of the above other than to say I see some trends and I really hate Las Vegas. My bet is if I mow my own lawn (when it is not raining out), give up my dreams of dating  supermodels, and concentrate on targeting companies that are doing well financially – by targeting their existing sales reps – I will do just fine.

Chin up, and remember the stats above in your job search.

A Global Snapshot. Current trends show a steady increase in worldwide population yet a steady decrease in birth rates. In lay terms, people are living longer. We have some 6.9B people today and are expected to have 7.5B to 10.5B over the next 40 years (Source: U.S. Census Bureau). An exciting element of this is obviously a question – imagine what medical technology may look like over the next 40 years? We have seen incredible advances in medical technology over the last 40 years.

Within the theme of “people are living longer” there are some emerging opportunities for your Health Care career. All stats from this list are from the Orthoworld Industry Annual Report, 2010.

1.) The demographic of 40-64 year olds is growing at over 3x the rate of the 20-39 year olds.  This population should grow from 1.5B to 2B in the next 10 years.

2.) There is a bad old joke in the ortho industry that first you get arthritis, then your knees give out, then your hips give out. Figures back this up: in 2009, some 355M people suffered from arthritis – of these 151M had osteoarthritis and 24M had rheumatoid arthritis. Of these 2.9M had joint replacement procedures – 1.4M hip, 1.1M knee, the rest shoulder replacements.

3.) Follow the money. In 2009 knee replacements generated $6.77B, hip replacements $5.65B. I am imagining Elvis, if he were alive today, with an exotic materials hip replacement. He’d probably still be cool.

4.) The big players in joint replacement are (in order of this market sector sales, 2009): Zimmer, DePuy, Stryker, Biomet, Smith & Nephew, Wright Medical and Aesculap. And the golden opportunities are in the lesser-known companies with new product launches – take a look at the FDA 510Ks, where niche market smaller players abound.

Future Trends are here now. Although metal-on-metal joint replacement remains an option for surgeons, we now see ceramic-on-ceramic, ceramic-on-metal, and even diamond-on-diamond options in the wings. Amazing stuff. I recall being a kid (this will really date me) and seeing X-ray glasses in the back of a comic book; I talked my mother into buying them for me (this may have been the last time I talked her into anything) and I recall walking head first into a wall. OK, there were probably R&D issues with those glasses. Or do you recall Dick Tracey with his watch which was also a telephone? Of course you don’t – that was before your time. . .

So we’re all a bit older and hopefully a bit wiser. The numbers above suggest we are also sticking around a long time. Which means the orthopedic  industry should do just fine. . .which is excellent news in these turbulent times.

If you are in big pharma and seeking opportunities in medical devices/equipment/biotech, I have some encouraging news for you, based on the performance of my own clients (I am a mentor to those seeking work in medical sales). Think of this as a brief checklist of key changes in the healthcare – medical marketplace that you can use for an effective job search:

1.) Big device / equipment companies are now hiring reps from big pharma. To see this for yourself, make a list of the Top 10 big medical device/equipment OEMs and (don’t go to their websites) look them up on Linkedin. Look at the profiles of their “New Hires”. You’ll be whispering wow shortly. It’s true – they are hiring now from big pharma. Take a good look at the background of those new hires and you’ll also see some key items you need to address in your resume and Linkedin profile: do you have experience in new product launches? Do you have special insight to certain disease states or therapeutic areas? Were you involved in successful new office startups? Do you have developed relationships with specialty physicians (IM, EM, ENT, Cardio, Respiratory, surgeons).  These are all common elements you’ll see in these new hires. And we must get that information into your resume and Linkedin Profile.

2.) Many of these sales positions are never advertised – they are filled via internal referrals. Last year JobVite.com surveyed over 600 human resources and recruiting professionals regarding their methods for acquiring talent in today’s very competitive market. The poll reviewed 9 talent acquisition tools, everything from job boards to corporate websites, 3^rd party and retained recruiters. And the new #1 source of talent acquisition? Referrals. I help about 250 candidates each year in their pursuit of medical sales roles – I have seen the growing power of referrals. So – when you are in Linkedin and you’ve got a list of medical device/equipment/biotech companies you’d like to target, your next step: find people who are on the sales teams of those employers. These are your potential referrals.

3.) Most of my clients moving from big pharma and entering medical device/equipment/biotech careers are finding their break with “mid-tier” OEMs, e.g. $100M to $3B in annual sales. Why? Reasons vary, but here are 3 leading reasons as provided by these employers. First, you gained invaluable insight to the business development and sales operations best practices of a major company; many of these mid-tier companies want to be major players one day – they want you to show them the roadmap. Second, many of these mid-tier companies will zero in on your new product launch experience – as that is exactly what they are set to do next. Third, these mid-tier companies will want to know the “mistakes” you saw made. You’ll want to deftly answer that question! And consider yourself as someone who can help them avoid the landmines that your previous big pharma employer may have stepped on.

Keep plugging away – try not to be discouraged. And realize your peers are successfully moving from big pharma sales careers into medical sales careers. And big medical device/equipment companies are beginning to open their doors, despite the harsh economy. This is all good news – which is something we all need.  By the way, the percentage of companies that have hired via Linkedin? It’s 89.4% (based on recent poll by JobVite of 600 employers), so be sure your resume and Linkedin profile are both exceptional.

I was watching Fox’s John Stossel’s program yesterday. Good stuff. He dealt with legal elements of the medical industry. But (you knew there would be a but), I think some of you older folks know the line, “Paul Harvey’s the rest of the story”. The long and the short of it is there is a lot of litigation when it comes to launching new medical products. We all knew that. But the facts were presented to support Stossel’s story premise: we’d just be better off without all these pesky lawyers. I think attorney Richard Shapiro’s blog “Injury Board” (see InjuryBoard.com blog on Stossel posted 6/17/11) offers an excellent “Paul Harvey’s the rest of the story”. In short, truth is often more complex than what first meets the eye.

This new blog, written by Mark Bartz and Brian Hargis, will reveal the full story on all elements relating to your career in medical sales.  You’ll see challenges and opportunities. You’ll also see plenty of Success Stories of clients we mentored who broke into medical sales careers from (dare we say it?) the pharmaceutical industry!

Moore’s Law states that technology develops at an exponential rate; originally applied to computers, the law is now generally applied to technology as a whole. For 40 years, this seems to be the case. The medical products in the pipeline today are yesterday’s SiFi. So imagine what tomorrow will bring. Remember when the 6 Million Dollar Man seemed cutting edge? Not that I actually remember that show – I just heard about it from some of my older colleagues (cough). The new medical products just now approved by the FDA will change your life, the lives of your customers, and even the lives of pesky lawyers. . .

We hope you enjoy this new blog. Look for a notice shortly when we launch our new website MedicalSalesMentor.com

Right – kind of. As with everything else, there are good recruiter distribution services and bad ones.