How To Advance Your Career In Medical Device Sales

Medical device sales is a thriving industry, with exciting opportunities for career advancement.

There is a growing demand for healthcare products across the country and ongoing innovative breakthroughs in medical technology. This all makes for a promising future for medical device sales representatives, with great job security and high earning potential.

But how do you break into the field of medical sales? And once you’re in, how do you advance?

Here’s how to think about your goals, get the right training and land career-making opportunities.

Set SMART Goals

Like most things in life, the first step to achieving your medical device sales career aims is by setting SMART goals. That is, goals that are: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. This makes planning out the necessary steps and tracking progress much easier.

In terms of your career in medical device sales, be specific about what exactly it is you’re wanting to achieve and how you’d measure success.

Are you trying to initially break into the medical device field? Work for a particular company? Take on more responsibility by progressing to a regional- or national-level position? Or simply earn a higher base salary or larger commissions?

It’s important to dream big, but make sure your goals are realistic for your timeframe – or, at least, that the step-by-step progression is achievable.

If you are looking for your first job in medical device sales, it’s fine to want to be a national medical device sales director in the long run. But, in the short term, break your goals down into bite-size pieces like beefing up your resume, networking, getting your foot in the door and gaining additional knowledge.

Focus On a Speciality

The more specialized your knowledge, the easier it is to advance.

Being a jack-of-all-trades is helpful in many areas of life but when it comes to career progression, specific expertise and relevant experience are highly valuable.

Choose a specialty in your field to focus on. Start by deciding between orthopedics or non-orthopedics. If you go the orthopedic route, for example, the options could include trauma, spine, joints, foot and ankle, sports medicine or other surgical subspecialties. Non-orthopedic specialties can include cardiovascular, neurosurgical, urology and endoscopy, among many other options.

Deciding which area to specialize in can be a difficult decision, especially when you have many options you could pursue. Consider factors such as:

• Your personal interests
• The amount of time you want to spend in the operating room
• Your ideal work-life balance mix
• If you mind being on-call
• If you prefer more case coverage work or more sales work
• If you would rather have many smaller deals or fewer larger deals each year

Continue Your Education

Not all companies explicitly require medical device sales representatives to complete higher education, but having a bachelor’s degree in business or other related fields is usually the baseline to be competitive.  

But just having a degree isn’t enough by itself to advance in the medical device field. You also need industry-specific knowledge and on-the-job skills to close the anatomic and clinical knowledge gap.

If you decide to focus on orthopedics, for example, you need to have a firm grasp of basic anatomy and terminology to get started. From there, you may also want to learn more about different disease states, treatment options and surgical procedures.

Continuing education for medical sales is more accessible than ever, with the online training curriculums and on-demand courses.

Pursue the Right Opportunities

Luck favors the prepared, so they say, but the prepared create their own luck.

Don’t be shy about actively pursuing opportunities that can help you advance as a medical sales rep. Hone your networking skills and build relationships with the people you meet along your path – potential employers, suppliers and customers.

Take an unbiased look at your resume and experience – or ask a trusted colleague – to figure out where you have gaps that can be filled. Then, get out there and fill in those experience gaps through training opportunities, work placements or mentorship.  

Fast-track Your Career With OREdmasters

Whether you’re breaking into medical device sales or you’re looking to level up your skills, the right support can make all the difference to get you to advance your career.

With OREdmasters, you get that support and much more. Our online medical device sales education program, developed by surgeons and other leading industry professionals, helps you prepare for the next step in your career.

Sign up today for an on-demand, all-access subscription to gain the skills and knowledge you need to progress in your career in medical device sales.