Medical Sales Article

Do You Need A 4-Year College Degree To Get Into Medical Sales?

By Mace Horoff, President
Sales Pilot Medical Sales Training

I get calls every week from people who would like to enter the Medical Device or Medical Equipment Industry as a sales representative, but are concerned about not having a bachelors degree or higher. Can you get in without a 4-year degree? Absolutely!

There is a caveat though - you won't be able to get in just anywhere. There are many companies that insist on a 4 year college degree. If your goal is to work for one of these companies, then the degree is a must.

However, there are many other medical companies that you can work for that don't have an absolute requirement for a degree. Many of these jobs are at the local level where you would be working for a distributor who represents one or more lines of products. The hiring criteria and ultimate hiring decisions are up to the distributor.

The bottom line in medical sales (or any sales for that matter) is selling product. A distributor is mainly interested in one thing - do you have what it takes to help him or her meet sales quota by generating steady, incremental sales. They will also be concerned that you project an image that represents them well in the eyes of the customer. But the bottom line is sales. Convince them you can sell and you have a good chance of getting hired.

Distributors and hiring managers are impressed when you can show them early via your resume and initial contact that you are creative and savvy in your approach. They also are more affable towards applicants who are willing to "pay their dues" on their way to the big commission checks. Showing that you are humble in this regard is a must.

By the way, if you can't do any of the above, that 4-year degree won't do you much good anyway. A degree is just a baseline requirement for some companies, but certainly not all. And if you are one of the bumper-crop of recent grads that think your college degree is all you need to get hired, you will be very disappointed.

Here's something I advise applicants to try and it often meets with a good response if everything else looks good. If a company wants a 4-year degree as a condition of employment, see if you can negotiate completing the degree by a certain date while employed by the company in some capacity. It gives you the opportunity to get your foot in the door and finish your degree at the same time. Will it be a lot of work? You bet - but no one said succeeding in medical sales is easy.

But it's worth it - it's really worth it!

© Copyright Mace Horoff, 2007. All Rights Reserved