Travel may be necessary in your next medical device, pharmaceutical or medical sales position.
It’s important to understand the expected amount prior to accepting a role. In every profession there are certain essential parts of the job that must be completed to create success. Travel may just be a part of the necessary evil (or enjoyment) to do the job well. Generally, sales people want to increase their earning potential. To do this, they realize that travel is often necessary.
Can I work from home in medical sales?
There are many people in various professions that are now allowed to work from home versus going back to the office, but one thing is clear, we’re charting new territory. We’re looking at a new norm across many industries, including medical device sales and pharmaceutical sales roles.
We’ve all seen many roles in IT, customer service and data analysis that are successfully being accomplished remotely. However, many sales roles simply are not designed for remote work. In certain types of sales, especially big-ticket items, being physically in front of the customer is paramount.
We often hear from prospective candidates that they would like a work from home position. We understand. However, in many professional sales roles, such a medical device, pharmaceutical sales or with hospital sales representatives, working from home does not seem to effectively secure the business. A significant percentage of these sales involve capital equipment and require a longer sales cycle, sometimes requiring over a year to close.
Although it’s not uncommon to see a portion of these sales presentations to be hosted remotely, the majority of the effort and completion is provided by on-site visits by representatives and management to facilitate the sale. Typically, this is a sales building process that takes significant time, planning, effort, extended personnel and commitment. Usually, it requires many visits to successfully secure and manage an account. During the sales process, the medical device, medical sales representative or hospital representative is gaining trust, loyalty and credibility for their organization’s product or service.
Many of the job opportunities we represent, including many medical sales, pharmaceutical sales and medical device positions require representatives to be out in the field making personal face-to-face calls upon medical practitioners. Medical device and other medical sales professional sales roles depend upon the human connection; a one-on-one relationship to further the sales cycle. This includes the on-going providing of information, product updates relative to safety and efficacy and information relative to new products.
If you are looking for a work from home position, Google and many other job boards offer job seekers a way to filter job opportunities by this category. But, read carefully through the job description before applying to find out about travel. Many medical sales roles might be “remote” in the advertisement although they require travel. The reason is “work from home” is a type of remote work. But remote work can also be used to say that you can work the position from any location. Many sales representatives work from a home office, but, it does not mean they are not be responsible to travel to customers.
Travel depends upon the opportunity. Generally, the more complex sales involving medical device, pharmaceutical or hospital sales are handled by in-person sales calls. Many times, these involve different levels of contacts within the hospital, clinic or other medical organization that may require different presentations or information from the sales representative. And of course, many medical devices are demonstrated within the clinical setting in hospitals and physician offices.
How much does a medical sales representative travel?
It might be safe to assume that most medical device and pharmaceutical sales jobs require a minimum amount of local travel, although some require regional travel covering a larger territory and several states. Inside sales roles may offer work from home opportunities, but read the job description carefully, as many require sales calls to be done from the company’s office.
Around 50% travel is most common. That means that 2-3 days per week may require overnight travel. In our business, we have seen as much as 75-100% travel, these jobs require a “road warrior” mentality.
Being on the cusp of new and exciting medical devices and medications makes the medical sales profession stand out amongst other professions. It is a coveted position. We receive calls every day from job seekers trying to enter the field of medical sales.
From start-ups to large companies, a career in medical sales can bring you endless possibilities. Our firm is proud to be a part of the medical sales industry. For over 25 years, we have enjoyed recruiting some of the nation’s top sales professionals for major healthcare companies, as well as teach new sales representatives how to get a job in medical sales. If you are looking to make that next career move to medical device sales or pharmaceutical sales, submit your resume and we will keep it in mind for future positions. To learn more about how to get a job in medical sales, click here.
