At AACC, I had the pleasure of a long conversation with a national sales manager of a $30M company (Ten sales reps and Ten technical support folks) where I found his opinion that “sales reps those days just aren’t as strong as they used to be.” I said, “Really? I’ve found that sales reps are [...]
Posts from ‘July, 2009’
AACC Review – Companies like Abbott, Beckman, Roche, Thermo, and Ortho Clinical were there….
AACC was in Chicago this year….I always like Chicago as a trade show location. The AACC usually draws 20k + visitors, but I thought there were fewer attendees than ordinary.
I agree with Robert at the Dark Report – the mood was somber. I saw unemployed candidates looking for jobs who told that they weren’t seeing the positions they [...]
Medical Sales Jobs: Salary and Commission Packages
Here’s an interesting article from The Ladders on Negotiating a Bigger Sales Package. It includes definitions of eight types of revenue and/or commission packages, discussions of the pros and cons of each, and negotiating tips for improving your deal:
Straight commission – just like it sounds…you get paid for what you sell
Variable commission – commission varies [...]
How to Prepare for a Clinical Sales Job Interview
Positions in medical sales, pharmaceutical sales, biotechnology sales, clinical diagnostics sales, medical device revenue, imaging sales, hospital equipment sales, lab revenue, and other healthcare revenue are fairly competitive to get into (you’re going to got to put some effort into it), but worth it in terms of compensation, commissions, and extras. Plus, it’s an exciting [...]
How to Prepare for a Behavioral Job Interview in Medical Sales
A behavioral position interview is a popular interview tactic in the pharmaceutical revenue arena. It focuses on finding out how the candidate handled (behaved in) specific job-realted situations. In healthcare sales, pathology revenue, clinical diagnostics sales, medical device sales, biotech sales, clinical laboratory sales, imaging sales, or medical sales, customer interaction is key—so how you handle [...]
Hiring Medical Sales Reps? First–Review Your Current Team
Are you hiring revenue reps for laboratory revenue, clinical laboratory sales, clinical diagnostics, imaging sales, medical device sales, biotech revenue, clinical laboratory sales, surgical supplies sales, hospital equipment sales, laboratory revenue, or other healthcare sales? Your first step should be to review your current team: What works in your sales reps and what doesn’t? Then you can [...]
Leading 20 Clinical Company Changes Over the Last Eighteen Months: How They Affect Pharma Sales Reps
In 2008, these were the Top Twenty medical companies: Major 20 Medical Companies 01
Pfizer
$44,424 02
GlaxoSmithKline
$38,501 03
Sanofi-Aventis
$38,452 04
AstraZeneca
$28,713 05
Merck
$26,532 06
Novartis
$25,477 07
Johnson & Johnson
$24,866 08
Roche
$21,998 09
Eli Lilly & Co.
$17,638 10
Wyeth
$17,179 11
Bristol-Myers Squibb
$15,622 12
Abbott Laboratories
$14,632 13
Schering-Plough
$12,773 14
Bayer Schering
$12,294 15
Boehringer Ingelheim
$11,103 16
Takeda
$10,626 17
Astellas*
$8,530 18
Daiichi-Sankyo*
$7,382 19
Eisai*
$6,250 20
UCB Group*
$4,370
The list looks a little different these days. For instance, Pfizer purchased Wyeth in January 2009, Merck purchased Schering in March 2009, and Roche signed a major deal with Genentech…confirming for many a trend toward [...]
So Your Sales Manager is Younger Than You…
Used to be, seniority counted. For a lot. It was an orderly progression up the career ladder, many times within a single company, and if you were wonderful at your career opportunity, you’d likely get your turn in management. Not anymore. For one thing, career paths aren’t what they once were–it’s more common to not only job-hop, [...]
Coffee–or a Podcast on Brag Books? Get the podcast, get the job!
Do you’ve a very important interview? Make sure you have a brag book. Brag books can be an absolutely critical way to tip the scales in your favor in an interview. Not only do they highlight all your good qualities, they allow you to demonstrate those intangible skills that make a great impression. In this economy, [...]
How Can Career Coaching from the Pharmaceutical Sales Recruiter Help You?
As a pharma sales headhunter, I spend a lot of time on the phone fielding inquiries from job seekers. Not only about specific career opportunities in clinical revenue, clinical sales, imaging sales, biotech sales, clinical diagnostics sales, laboratory sales, medical device sales, hospital equipment sales, clinical sales, or other areas of healthcare revenue, but also about career coaching: [...]

If you are a sales professional or want to become one, or if you are looking for a new sales job, you will face one of the toughest interview processes of any job seeker.