Medical Device Sales Is A Good Career, But Surgery Sales Is Better

If you’ve been considering a career change within medical device sales or have thought about entering the medical device sales field for the first time, you may be wondering what specialty is the most rewarding. While medical device sales is a good career choice, surgical device sales is better. Let’s take a look at the reasons why.

What Does a Medical Device Sales Rep Do?

As an employee of a medical device manufacturer or supplier, a medical device sales rep works with hospitals, nursing homes, doctor’s offices or dentist offices. The medical device sales rep needs to seek out new business while maintaining good relationships with existing clients.

Not only can you earn a lucrative salary as a medical device sales rep, but you also have the opportunity to earn commission on your sales. 

Is Medical Device Sales Rep a Good Career?

You may be wondering: Is transitioning to a medical device sales rep a good career move? What makes being a surgical sales rep better? 

While compensation can be a driver for many people when considering a new professional role or a career change, most people also want to know that the work they’re doing is making a difference.

Surgical device sales accomplishes both: It’s a lucrative career choice in terms of compensation and benefits, but it also allows you to make a difference in patient outcomes. 

However, there are pros and cons to this career field.

Pros:

Working with cutting-edge technology
As an orthopedic sales rep, you’ll likely get to work with innovative advancements in the medical field. Companies invest a lot of capital and manpower in creating cutting-edge devices to improve patient outcomes. As the person tasked with selling these devices, you’ll need firsthand knowledge of the technology, how it works and its benefits to the prospective customer.

Improving patient outcomes
Because you play an important role in introducing technology and devices to surgeons and can be in the OR to advise surgeons on how to deal with device issues in real-time, your efforts can directly correlate to improved patient outcomes. 

A varied work environment
If the idea of sitting behind a desk for the majority of your work day sounds unappealing, being a surgical device sales rep could be the right move for you. These reps are rarely behind a desk. They’re traveling and visiting with potential customers out in the field. 

Cons:

A need for flexibility
At times you will need to be flexible to meet the needs of the surgical team you work with. This can sometimes mean a varied work schedule. 

Adaptability
Because you are often in the OR advising surgeons, there is a need to work well and thrive under pressure. The fast-paced, commission-based environment of a surgical device sales rep can require adaptability, as you need to meet certain financial benchmarks.

Why You Should Consider a Surgical Sales Career in Orthopedics

In addition to the pros of being a medical device sales rep, there are other benefits to becoming a surgical sales career in orthopedics.

You’ll learn how to nurture different relationships.
As you navigate the medical device sales world, you’ll soon discover that you work with a variety of personalities and relationships. You could be working with a CEO, someone in purchasing, surgeons, nurses… and the list goes on. Each of these people and their roles can all affect how you interact with and nurture them. 

You’ll expand your hard and soft skills.
While most salespeople focus on soft skills rather than hard, in medical device sales, the combination of hard and soft skills can set you apart from your competitors.

Tip: As you begin your sales career, and even if you’re well established, expand your soft skills within your sales team first. 

Build your hard skills by enrolling in free courses, watching instructional videos or practicing skills you know you need to brush up on, like solving math problems without a calculator, for example. 

You’ll get to keep learning and make a difference.
You know you have the opportunity to help improve patient outcomes with your device and your knowledge of that device. As a medical device salesperson in orthopedics, you have the opportunity to continue learning about technological advancements, sales strategies and the orthopedics field. 

With an orthopedic sales training course like OREdmasters, you have access to a comprehensive curriculum developed by surgeons and other leading industry professionals. The online, on-demand courses are focused on orthopedic anatomy and clinical education, allowing you to learn at your own pace to close the anatomic and clinical knowledge gap.

Enroll today in a wide range of courses about surgical subspecialties, orthopedic anatomy, orthopedic terminology, disease states and more.