Repertoire asks, Why are you in medical sales?
Your mom or dad might have told you there’d be days like these. Tough ones, where every call, every audience, seems to be hard-fought. But in the end, if you had it to do over, would you? Most Repertoire readers who responded to a recent questionnaire said “Yes.”
In November, Repertoire asked readers to respond to a questionnaire about their profession. Of them:
- Fifty-eight percent were 51 or older; 41 percent were between 30 and 50; and just 1 percent were under 30.
- 77 percent were men, 23 percent women.
- The majority (75 percent) service primarily physician practices, while 12 percent serve hospitals. The remainder served IDNs, surgery centers and long-term-care facilities.
- Twenty-eight percent have been in the field for 11 to 20 years; 27 percent 21 to 30 years, 18 percent zero to 10 years, 18 percent 31 to 40 years, and 9 percent more than 40 years.
Thirty-six percent of respondents reported spending between 31 and 40 hours in the field per week, while 23 percent reported spending 21 to 30 hours in the field. Nineteen percent spend 41 to 50 hours per week in the field, 10 percent less than 20 hours, and 21 percent more than 50 hours.
Thirty-nine percent reported spending 16 to 20 hours per week on administrative work, 31 percent reported spending 11 to 15 hours weekly, 19 percent between six and 10, and 11 percent five or fewer hours.
Morale’s good
Fifty-five percent of respondents described their morale and feelings about the current state of medical products sales as “somewhat positive,” while 16 percent said “very positive.” Twenty-six percent described their morale and feelings as “somewhat negative” while 3 percent responded “very negative.”
When asked, “If you had your career to do over, would you choose to be a medical sales rep?” 81 percent said yes and 19 percent said no.
And when asked for the two factors they find most satisfying about medical products sales, they answered:
- Customer relationships (70 percent)
- Financial rewards (56 percent)
- Freedom (46 percent)
- Intellectual stimulation (11 percent)
- Interaction with colleagues (10 percent)
- “Other” (7 percent)
On-the-job performance
Repertoire readers were asked to identify the greatest obstacle to providing great customer service. The largest percentage – 41 percent – said “not enough hours in the day,” while 35 percent said “group purchasing contracts.” Seventeen percent said providers are too busy to see them, 5 percent identified value analysis/product selection committees, and 2 percent said vendor credentialing.
When asked to identify the single most important thing they could do to improve their sales, 42 percent said “manage my time better,” 28 percent said “educate myself more on industry events, changes and reform,” 15 percent said “better use of electronic sales management tools, 8 percent said “improve my relationship with inside sales/customer service,” and 7 percent said “educate myself more on products.”
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Reps talk about their job
After Repertoire tallied the results of the recent survey about medical products sales, we asked a few readers to share their thoughts about the profession.
Participating were:
- Sam Marshall, independent rep, Medical Specialties (and an air EMS technician)
- Dan Hilton, account manager, McKesson Medical-Surgical
- Amy Annis, regional director, strategic accounts, Hospital Associates
- Jack Moran, managing partner, MedCare Associates
- Rich Bilz, field sales consultant, Henry Schein
- Chris Lord, sales account manager, Claflin Co.
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