How to Move From B2B Sales to Medical Device Sales
B2B reps have transferable skills but often lack clinical knowledge. Here's which roles to target, how to present your numbers, and how to win the offer.
Anthony Giglia
· 3 min read
As a B2B sales rep, you’re an attractive candidate for medical device sales. You’re already in sales. You understand longer sales cycles, know how to prospect, build a business plan, and manage opportunities. Those skills transfer well and make you a compelling candidate.
The gap is that you may not have clinical knowledge.
When you apply for a medical sales role, you could be competing with over 300 applicants. That pool may narrow to around 20 qualified candidates who get interviews. If it comes down to you and another B2B rep, or a medical device rep making a lateral move, your lack of clinical experience can become a glaring weakness.
That’s something I address in my program. I teach you the anatomy, pathology, patients, and products involved in the roles you’re pursuing. We cover how to speak with a physician, walk through a case, understand the reimbursement landscape, and build a business plan. You’ll be able to show a hiring manager that you’ve started closing the clinical knowledge gap.
What roles should you target?
For a B2B sales rep, the typical pathway is an associate sales rep position.
That being said, I’ve seen candidates go straight into territory manager or sales rep roles when they interview extremely well. Those roles can pay anywhere from about $90,000 to $230,000 or more.
And that’s not the ceiling. After you’ve spent a few years as a territory manager, you can compete for senior-level positions. At that point, there’s no reason you should be making less than $300,000 a year. (More on pay by career stage.)
Barrier 1: Getting the interview
Your B2B experience helps, but it won’t automatically get you interviews. Three factors matter: your experience, your resume, and how you apply and network.
Your resume needs to make your sales performance immediately obvious. This is where I want to see your rankings, quota attainment, percentages, President’s Club awards, and other significant achievements. Don’t just tell me that you managed a territory or built relationships. Show me the numbers.
It should be one page, easy to follow, and full of measurable results. If a hiring manager scans it for a few seconds, they should be able to see that you’re a high achiever.
Then you need to get in front of the right people. Applying to 200 roles online and doing no networking is not the way to go. I would rather see you apply to three roles that make sense for you and do everything possible to identify and connect with the decision maker for each one.
In my program, I reconstruct your resume and give you access to my database so you can reach hiring managers and reps directly.
Barrier 2: Winning the interview
Getting interviews and getting offers are two different things.
Your sales background may get you in the room, but the hiring manager still needs to believe you can succeed in this industry. If another candidate has similar sales results and more clinical knowledge, you need to give the team a reason to choose you.
That means preparing to extreme levels. Know the company, its products, the anatomy and pathology involved, the patients it treats, and the competitors in the space. Rehearse your answers. Prepare high-level questions. Know how to close the interview.
I also help my clients build a highly specific business plan. I’m not talking about a generic 30-60-90-day sales plan you found online. Everybody knows to make one of those now. You need to show the hiring team how you think and the value you can bring to their business.
B2B sales experience gives you a strong foundation for medical device sales. The goal is to position your results, close the clinical knowledge gap, and interview so well that the hiring manager can see you succeeding in the role.
