Do You Need Sales Experience to Get Into Medical Sales?
No, you don't need sales experience to break into medical sales. Here's which backgrounds help, what matters more than experience, and how to close the gap.
Anthony Giglia
· 3 min read
The short answer is no. You do not need sales experience to break into medical sales.
That being said, your experience is one factor in the overall picture when it comes to getting a shot at an interview.
Which backgrounds make it easier to get interviews?
If we take a step back and think about the most ideal candidate for an associate-level position, it’s someone who already has medical sales experience. They’re familiar with the industry, know how to navigate a territory and build a business plan, and would require the least amount of training.
After that, there are two other backgrounds that can help:
- B2B sales experience. These candidates build business plans, work through long sales cycles, and know how to handle objections. They have highly transferable skills that can make them great medical device reps.
- Healthcare experience. Nurses and surgical techs may not have sales experience, but they have a clinical background.
Now, you do not need to fit any of these three profiles to break in. There are two other factors that matter:
- Your resume. How do you present your experience? You might be qualified on paper, but if your resume isn’t formatted and written in a way that shows it, you’re not going to get phone calls.
- How you apply and network. This matters even more than your experience or your resume. Applying to 200 positions and doing no networking is not going to get you anywhere.
I encourage my clients to apply to just three positions and do everything possible to find the decision maker, call that person, and network with them before the interview. That’s how my clients are getting results and getting placed within 8 to 12 weeks.
Why networking on LinkedIn can be difficult
Everyone has started to figure out that networking is important. So you go on LinkedIn and try to hunt down the hiring manager. You go down a rabbit hole. Hopefully you find them. Hopefully they have a profile. Then you send them a message.
But one associate sales position can have over 300 applicants. There could very well be over 100 other people sending that same hiring manager a LinkedIn message.
My clients can bypass that process. I give them access to a database so they can connect with hiring managers directly.
What if the job posting requires B2B experience?
Oftentimes, a job description or recruiter will say, “We require a minimum of two years of B2B sales experience.” Some hiring teams will not venture outside those requirements. However, I’ve helped dozens of people without sales experience break into medical device sales. It is not necessary.
B2B experience is certainly valuable and can help you land more interviews. But getting interviews and winning them are two different tasks.
How do you close the experience gap?
You need to apply and network effectively. You also have resources today that can make you a more compelling candidate on paper.
For example, in my program, I teach you:
- Anatomy and pathology
- How to sell
- How to walk a physician through a case
- How to navigate the reimbursement landscape
- How to build a business plan
- How to contribute from day one
I give you the experience necessary to become a compelling candidate, and it’s something you can put on your resume. I also reconstruct your resume for you to help you get phone calls back.
And, of course, my database helps you reach the right people much faster than trying to hunt them all down on LinkedIn on your own.
For the full playbook, see how to break into medical sales with no sales experience.
