Any advice for breaking into pharmaceutical sales?

I find everthing about this job, reprehensible. It could make Mother Teresa swear like a sailor. Too too many mentally unstable here. You want a decent living with self respect, study and go back to college, gain other skills. Go where there aren't so many nut balls. No amount of money is worth what you will you will have to tolerate here.

 

Yes.....dont do it. Pharma is a job that will be obsolete in a few years....find something with a future.

 

Don't.

The industry is a joke. Go sell something else. ANYTHING else. There are plenty of industries that will pay a base salary plus bonus and benefits. Pharma is the most wasteful industry on planet earth. You will experience layers upon layers of useless managers with completely unjustifiable expensive national meetings (which will take you away from family and kill your sales moment) simply so that these middle managers and thousands of home office marketing personnel can justify their existence.

Instead, go find a niche product in an evolving industry. You will make coin, and no one outside of your company will understand what the hell you actually do or sell... which is exactly how you want it!... and 20 years from now you will thank yourself for not wallowing into this quagmire known as the Pharma industry.

Cheers.

 

I couldn't agree more. I just retired after a 25 year career and I use the term career very loosely. I survived. Made some decent $ but the constant bullshit, lies, ride alongs, useless conf calls, emails and meetings made it almost unbearable.

 

If you know how to order and deliver a catered lunch, You're hired Pajama boy !

 

Could you expand on what you're saying? Are there certain companies that are better to work for, and if so, which ones, or what types?

Any reply is appreciated. Thank you.

 

Any particular markets you would recommend or that you wish you'd gone into?

 

May I ask, did you just graduate from college, and did you have any previous work (particularly sales or managerial) experience that helped you to get the job?

 

Yes I have a ged and I sold happy meals in a drive through setting.

 

Ain't nobody that can flip a burger like me see.

 

Your question is complicated, because there are numerous factors to consider. There are no better or worse companies to work for, as they all have good aspects and bad. What you need to know are things such as what are the product(s) I’ll be promoting? How is the managed care of the products? What type of manager will I have? How is the physician access in that territory? What are the goal expectations? What is the historical performance of the territory? What does the competitive landscape look like? How long is the products patent? What is in the company pipeline? What is the territory geography?

I assure you, these are the most important questions. Pay is fairly comparable and so are the benefits, no matter the company. Now, that doesn’t mean that companies don’t vary, but if you are looking for your first job, you will NOT be in a position to negotiate, which rarely exists in this industry anymore anyway.

You’re welcome!