July 30th, 2010
#sales #jobs – I often get asked about pharmaceutical sales recruiters whether they can help you get drug representative positions, especially by people who have had zero sales experience. The fact is that recruiters make their money by successfully placing candidates in companies and to maximize the chances of doing this, they want people with proven selling abilities.
If you have had very little previous sales experience, chances of pharmaceutical sales recruiters taking you very seriously are next to nothing. Now having said that, if a recruiter is willing to interview you, you might as well go along with it to get the interviewing experience but just don’t get your hopes up too high in that recruiter actually landing you a job as a drug representative.
If your sales background is pretty well non-existent, you should go through other channels via networking to get to the hiring companies instead of going through recruiters.
One thing that people from clinical backgrounds and other fields where there wasn’t much selling involved should be aware of is that pharmaceutical sales does involve selling. You have to be able to sell in this type of career.
Pharmaceutical sales is very competitive with different companies promoting their products to physicians and other healthcare professionals. As a drug representative, you have to bring in the sales numbers for your company. It’s part of the job (actually, it’s the main part of the job).
Pharmaceutical sales is not just about dropping off drug samples to different clinics and doctors offices all day. You have to sell your product in terms of getting doctors to use your products on their patients. This doesn’t happen just automatically because again, there is a lot of market competition out there.
This type of market competition is not really seen in the public eye and newcomers in the industry are often very surprised on just how competitive the industry can be. So if you don’t have proven selling abilities, don’t count on pharmaceutical sales recruiters to get you that job. Instead, take the time to learn other routes to get you to that career you want in this field. One excellent way to start is through my free webinar on pharmaceutical sales.
Tags: drug representatives, pharmaceutical sales, pharmaceutical sales recruiters
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July 29th, 2010
#jobs #sales #pharmaceutical — Although my book “How To Get A Dream Job In Pharmaceutical Sales – Direct Inside Advice and Guidance From a Sales Manager” is already currently listed on Amazon, Barnes and Noble as well as Chapters, the audio CD version is not. The audio version, which is currently available as a single MP3 CD or audio download is currently being revamped. So far, all versions of my program which helps people get pharmaceutical sales jobs are available at my pharma website.
I recognize that some people like to shop through one of the online book retailers and the evidence is continued sales of the printed version of ‘How To Get A Dream Job In Pharmaceutical Sales” each month.
However, I would like to get a CD version of the program listed at the online retailers as well which is why the audio program is being revamped.
The audio download version will remain the same. The five and a half hours of audio (yes, that’s a LOT of useful information on pharmaceutical sales jobs there!) is available as downloadable files. The ebook version of the book is also included in this downloadable package as well.
The MP3 CD version will however change. Instead of everything being on a single MP3 CD, the entire contents of the audio will be converted to standard audio CDs which are playable in car systems and stand alone CD players. In addition to the ebook pdf file to the program, this will take six separate CDs to hold everything.
New CD labels and a new box with a new cover label to hold all six CDs will be part of the newer version as a pharmaceutical sales jobs audio program. This is the version that will be available through the online retailers like Amazon hopefully in the near future. So stay tuned as we are in the process of turning the audio tracks into separate CDs.
Tags: amazon, pharmaceutical CD, pharmaceutical sales, pharmaceutical sales jobs
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July 25th, 2010
#pharmaceutical #sales #jobs – I recently dealt with this nurse who wanted to become a pharmaceutical sales rep. This individual has never worked in the business environment before having spent her entire career in the clinical setting. I spent perhaps half a day formulating a development plan for her to make a successful transition and upon receiving this plan, she reacted by disagreeing with the points I made.
The plan I came up with was based on my 20 plus years in the corporate world of which 14 were in the pharmaceutical sales field. She has zero experience in business and was disagreeing with pretty well everything I suggested in the plan, even becoming insulting.
The fact is that pharmaceutical sales training and pretty well any field in business for that matter, is very different from the clinical setting. If one wishes to make that transition for career, pharmaceutical sales training in particular requires you to be coachable. If you are not coachable, you will not make it into pharma sales or any other business field.
Even after getting hired, companies required their pharma sales reps to work under a certain set of guidelines and follow a development plan. Sales managers will be very critical of sales calls made during their work days with their reps. Reps need to be coachable long after their initial hires as well.
If one is not coachable in any training program or any consultative plan, especially given by seasoned experienced trainers in industry, one will not succeed in the new field. In fact, many companies use the fact that certain people are not coachable as grounds for declining promotions and even job terminations.
So if you want to be in a new field, it is much better to open up and take any developmental or training plan set out for you than to complain. Being coachable is one of the requirements for transitioning into a new field like pharmaceutical sales.
Tags: coachable, pharma sales reps, pharmaceutical sales, pharmaceutical sales training
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July 24th, 2010
Sometimes I’m asked whether I, as the author of “How To Get A Dream Job In Pharmaceutical Sales – Direct Inside Advice and Guidance From a Sales Manager“, is available to conduct pharmaceutical sales interviews. These would be much like real job interviews but potential candidates would want some type of assessment after the interview and then perhaps a referral from me to one of my industry contacts.
Here is my honest answer. I would be available for interested people but … it would be fairly costly. I don’t think meeting with me for an interview would be a necessary investment for people interested in getting a pharmaceutical sales job.
An interview would still take at least an hour and some assessment which would take another 30 minutes to another hour at least. So you are looking at 1.5 to 2 hours of my time. This would effectively be a private one-on-one consultation session which never comes cheap.
And then if such a test job interview was to be done somewhere I would have to travel to, you would have to add in my flights and hotel accommodation plus other travel related expenses which of course the interviewee would have to cover. Surely, it would be more cost effective for aspiring pharmaceutical sales representatives to develop valuable contacts in their own area over time and the usual expense would be say lunch or dinner with each of the networking contacts locally.
There is the possibility of a telephone consultation which I do offer at $47 US for 30 minutes but again, to do this right you would need 1.5 to 2 hours which would really add up. I’m just trying to save everyone unnecessary costs here.
Those interested in pharmaceutical sales interviews would be better off spending the time to carefully build up relationships with industry contacts in their own areas over the next couple of months based on the steps I outline in my book and audio program until these contacts feel confident to refer upwards. A good first step if you already haven’t, is to go through my free webinar first.
Tags: pharmaceutical sales, pharmaceutical sales interviews
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July 23rd, 2010
#pharmaceutical #sales #jobs #pharmaceuticalsales
If you like short inspirational quotes, then you will like the development at my Motivation Facebook page which had involved the daily posting of several such quotations. I recognize that whether you are pursuing to get into the pharmaceutical sales field or already working as a drug rep, regular motivation is helpful. Daily motivation quotes serve to remind you to keep on track in your daily life as well.
One benefit of these daily posts at my Motivation Facebook page is that you can easily add comments to any of the inspirational quotes. And if any of the quotes really speak out to you, let the rest of the Facebook community know that by hitting the ‘like’ link for each quotation.
This is a great way to participate in the growing community here at the Facebook platform. These quotes will help keep you motivated in your pharmaceutical sales career.
Then on the weekends, I will summarize most of the short inspirational quotes that I posted throughout the week onto one single post at my Motivation Success Blog so you can review them all at once and/or catch any that you may have missed during the week.
I just love short inspirational quotes. They are quick to read and just takes several seconds to digest into my mind so that I can relate them to my own life. They are like short but very effective reminders. You can even review them while you are waiting in doctor’s offices for the next pharmaceutical sales call.
I hope they work for you and if you appreciate my efforts here on my Motivation Facebook page as well as at my Motivation Success Blog, please let others know about them so they can benefit as well. This is just another service that I provide for my pharmaceutical sales readers.
Tags: facebook, inspirational quotes, motivation, pharmaceutical sales, short inspirational, success
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July 21st, 2010
#pharmaceutical #jobs #sales #medical – Presently, my book ‘How To Get A Dream Job In Pharmaceutical Sales – Direct Inside Advice and Guidance From a Sales Manager’ has an audio version which is about five and a half hours long.
In addition to being downloadable audio files, it also comes in a single MP3 CD if requested. I’ve been thinking of converting the entire program into standard audio CDs that can be played in the car or any standard CD player. The present audio version, being MP3 files, cannot be played in most car or standard CD players.
I tried to estimated the time and space required if all MP3 files were converted to standard audio files and it would take at least five separate CDs to accommodate everything. Then a sixth CD will be required for the digital text version of the book which I will include as part of the overall package. So this would end up being a six CD pharmaceutical sales audio program.
How do you all feel about that?
I did something similar when I converted my book The Life Champion In You, which is a motivational personal development book, from its former single MP3 CD into a four CD audio program. Again, the three hour audio program in this case required three separate CDs to fit the audio and a fourth CD for the ebook PDF file.
So needless to say, a six CD audio program for my pharmaceutical sales program will be a huge product but then again, it really is a big one. The MP3 files which are compressed, kind of hides the fact that there is so much information in the program. Perhaps a six CD version will really be a more accurate reflection on the size of the overall program and how much information is offered.
No definite plans for a full conversion yet but I’m heading that way each week. Any comments or suggestions on this will be welcomed.
Tags: audio program, pharmaceutical sales
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July 20th, 2010
One question I got from a reader of my book and audio program “How To Get A Dream Job In Pharmaceutical Sales – Direct Inside Advice and Guidance From A Sales Manager” is whether I would be in a position to refer that person to a pharmaceutical company or hiring manager. In other words, would I be able to do pharmaceutical recruiting or be a referral?
My answer is it depends. In fact, this same question has been asked by quite a few other past readers before and I am honoured that I would be considered a good potential reference.
However, my stance on whether or not to be a reference will depend largely on how well I know the candidate in terms of potential and skills. This is what would be expected of me because others in the industry will take my words seriously and have high expectations of any candidates I refer.
Therefore, if I have never worked with the person before, then the only way for me to assess the candidate is to interview that individual myself. And this would mean face to face interviews rather than telephone or email dialogue.
Only after a face to face personal interview and if I’m satisfied that somebody would be a good candidate for a pharmaceutical sales job would I ever be in a position to refer someone to industry people.
So if I have never interviewed you face to face or have never worked with you either in pharmaceutical or any other industry (other industries are okay), then it is unlikely that I will be able to refer you. This is what would be expected of me in the first place by my pharmaceutical recruiting colleagues.
Rely on your own contact list that you build up in your own local area. Those will be the best sources of possible people to refer you to hiring managers.
Tags: pharmaceutical recruiting, pharmaceutical reference, pharmaceutical sales
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July 19th, 2010
#drugs #pharmaceutical #jobs #sales — I got a question from somebody who is interested in pharmaceuticals sales rep jobs while chatting with him on Facebook. He asked me whether the term or title ‘medical representative’ is the same as ‘pharmaceutical sales rep’.
I told him that in most cases yes and one can certainly tell by the company on the business card. If the company is a pharmaceutical firm, then the term medical representative certainly implies the company’s pharmaceutical sales representative.
Different companies may use slightly different terms for their sales forces but they all mean the same type of position. Even I have had a few different title while as a drug representative. Here are some of the more common titles.
Medical Representative
Medical Territory Manager (actually not a manager but sales rep)
Medical Sales Representative (if company is pharmaceutical)
Drug Representative
Pharmaceutical Representative
Pharmaceutical Sales Representative
Professional Service Representative
Territory Manager (again, not really a manager)
These are all titles used for drug reps who call mainly on family physicians. There are other terms for those reps who call on mainly medical specialists and these are a more senior level of pharmaceutical sales rep jobs.
Sometimes, large companies with large sales forces divide their people into different divisions by product line. So one division could be for cardiovascular while another can be gastrointestinal for example.
So I concluded my chat with this fellow on Facebook by suggesting to him that since he’s on Facebook, he should visit my Pharmaceutical Sales Facebook page where he could get access to my free 30 minute webinar on pharmaceutical sales rep jobs.
This webinar will give a nice background on the field as well as general requirements for pharmaceutical sales rep jobs. If you are on my blog, you can also get access to the same webinar at the sidebar of this blog.
Tags: drug rep, facebook, pharmaceutical sales, pharmaceutical sales rep, pharmaceutical sales rep jobs, pharmaceutical sales representative
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July 13th, 2010
#pharmaceutical #drugs #jobs #sales
One of my readers of my book and audio program “How To Get A Dream Job In Pharmaceutical Sales – Direct Inside Advice and Guidance From a Sales Manager” reported that she connected with four local pharmaceutical sales reps recently of which one is a member of her Toastmasters club. Since my book goes into some detail into networking with these industry people, she took action and is progressing as a result.
In the case of the rep who is a fellow member of her Toastmasters club, this rep introduced her to one of his company colleagues, another drug rep. The reader promptly contacted this other rep and an information interview meeting was agreed upon.
This is good progress because the reader can now get some excellent career information directly from these local pharmaceutical sales reps and she did it by following the steps I outlined in my book and audio program.
The relationships build from there and meetings with these reps’ district managers are withing reach. This is a very effective way to bypass the lone lines at the company human resources departments as a straight route to the hiring sales managers is formed.
When the local pharmaceutical sales reps get to know the reader, they will likely recommend her to their district sales managers which will put her in a very good position when a vacant sales territory comes up. This is a win-win situation for all as the reader will be first in line for possible pharmaceutical sales jobs while the company won’t have to bother with formal recruiting efforts which costs money and takes up time for the managers.
I go into a lot more than just networking in my book and audio program but a good first step for aspiring pharmaceutical sales reps out there is to take in my free webinar on this field.
Tags: networking, pharmaceutical networking, pharmaceutical sales, pharmaceutical sales reps
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July 7th, 2010
#adhd #drugs #pharmaceutical — I had a short stint dealing with the ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) field during my pharmaceutical sales career. It was interesting learning about this field as I was involved as a product marketing manager for new ADHD treatment.
When I was presenting my speech as the guest keynote motivational speaker out of town the other week, one of the audience members revealed that she has ADHD during the question period and how she bounces from one thought to another in her head. I then told her and the audience that during my years in my pharmaceutical sales career, I’ve been told by ADHD experts that in many cases, this medical condition does have a genetic trait.
Quite often, the children would be diagnosed with ADHD first. Then if the parents are looked at, we would find that one of the parents would also turn out to have symptoms of ADHD as well. It is claimed that ADHD in adults especially is underdiagnosed and many people continue life suffering from the consequences of this disorder.
Such consequences could be disruptions in jobs as well as family and social life. The medical experts claim that such cases should be diagnosed and treated more often. This is a field that is definitely growing and may represent one of the future medical therapeutic areas where pharmaceutical companies may expand into.
Further expansion into this area of course may imply future opportunities in pharmaceutical sales careers for hopeful candidates interested in this professional field. Medical professionals that deal with ADHD include family physicians, neurologists, psychiatrists and pediatricians. People who are interested in this type of career should learn all they can first and one way is through my free 30 minute webinar. It will give them a general understanding of the field and what is required to enter such a profession.
Tags: adhd, attention deficit, hyperactivity, hyperactivity disorder, pharmaceutical, pharmaceutical sales, pharmaceutical sales career, pharmaceutical sales careers
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