Considering a Career with BIOTRONIK

Serious posts please.
I am considering a position as a clinical specialist with BIOTRONIK. I am preparing for my 3rd interview now. What should my expectations be for starting salary? I am guessing around $70K.....and feedback on employee morale would be much appreciated as well. This is a big decision for me. I know these boards are usually swarmed by unhappy employees, but if there are any happy employees out there, please respond as well.

Thanks!

 

Oh boy! I am expecting quite the set of responses to your question from the Trolls on CP...I have been here (BIO) for a number of years so I hope my response balances out what is to follow.

First, let's talk about CRM as an industry. Obamacare is changing the outlook for us. The Big 3 (MDT, STJ and BSX) have been laying off folks they hired back in the 2004-2005 timeframe when all signs were positive. Certainly the recalls have had their impact on the industry, but the Affordable Healthcare Act for reasons real or imagined - have given all CRM players the justification to lay off folks.

Not only is this a necessary move to cut costs, but it makes sense in terms of workload as well. Devices are increasingly becoming automatic. Diagnostics we used to have to do manually even 4 years ago can now be had by simply placing the wand over the device. Remote Follow Up is soon going to include Remote Reprogramming, and then you are going to see a whole new paradigm in contracting: with clinical support and without. Its going to happen sooner than later....and when it does, the days of being on a team of 7 field reps is over.

All that being said - if this is your first "real" job - I say go for it. CRM is still considered "top of the food chain" in terms of medical sales, and the experience you gain here can get you an interview with most if not all of the other medical sales outfits.

Let's look at this Biotronik opportunity.

Regardless of which CRM company you start with, the most important thing to look for is the best TERRITORY in which to build your technical competency during this critical phase of your new career. Put differently, some will get on here and tell you "Brand Y" is the best company to get your start with - well - if Brand Y is contracted out of the TERRITORY you happen to be working for them in - then NO. You need a constant and steady "diet" of implants for the first year and a half. For me, I was involved with 400 cases in my first 2 years...I was able to take the NASPE (now IBHRE ) at the end of that and earned the CCDS designation. So, when assessing this opportunity with BIO - you need to be keenly aware of their volume. Be wary of comments like, "We will fly you to Denver or New York to get the cases you need for certification..." If the volume is not there for you to get 5-10 observed cases in your home territory, then you are going to get certified, sent home and languish on the vine.

Yes....Biotronik has territories that meet this criteria...you just need to be sure that you are being prospected for one.

Advice. If you get the job....leave your ego at the door. The first year or two, you will be "The Bitch". You will be expected to show up early, stay late with very little notice. You will be on call Thanksgiving and Christmas. You may or may not get paid extra for weekend call, or given SPFFs by Senior Reps. Everyone hears this advice, and goes yeah, yeah, yeah - I am prepared to do what it takes....and then about 3 months after they are certified they get a chip on their shoulder about doing this stuff. The facts are that every case, check and otherwise shitty assignment you get thrown at you is teaching you something that will benefit you on down the road. Nothing is more refreshing to find in a rep than an UNDYING SENSE OF HUMOR. Grin and bear it and you will go far.

Starting Salary. $70k is about right for someone with no background.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout-out for BIO. The company is going through a transformation. The nay-sayers can say what they want - this is no longer the resting place for castoffs. The technology is not only quality, but MOST IMPORTANTLY - it is being sold at prices that will stand up to the demands of the Obamacare Environment. If price wasn't the key issue moving forward - then the Bigs would not being laying people off in an effort to get more competitive in the pricing arena.

Good luck.

 

This is pretty much a level analysis of the situation; I would add that you have to very closely investigate the area you are going into. Talking and riding not only with the sales, but also clinical people. Remember, Bio has only a very minor share of US sales market, for very good reasons. They are always encouraged by their 'technology' and 'our day is coming attitude', but the same people who have taken 35 years of US sales penetration, to gain 4-5% share, are still running the company....So be very cautious, find out how many technical people have been hired in your area, in the past years, 'we're growing 20%+ a year', yet with the same sales revenue leaves one wondering.

 

Not completely true....

The 'same people' that you are referring to are long gone. 99.9% of the old guard is gone and have been gone for some time.

4-5%??? It is actually more like 10-11%.

All of the BS aside, your point is valid. Regardless of the company that you work for, if you get thrown into a territory that has little going on you will suffer a long and grueling learning curve because there just isn't anything to see or do. So much of what a good rep or clinical has learned doesn't come from attending a 2 week course in-house. It comes from following a seasoned rep or clinical around for months or even a year or so and hopefully those folks are willing/able to point out every little thing that you might encounter during a everything from routine follow-ups or implants to the most complicated scenarios. Then it is up to you to be able to independently be able to recall on these things because you might only see them every blue moon BUT you must be able to recognize them and then know what corrective action to take as needed.

 

Thank you all soooo much! I am being considered for a large
Texas metropolitan area, so I sure hope there is a lot going on! I am eager to learn! When you all say to be prepared to start early and stay late, that is fine with me, but how early and how late, typically, and on average how many days per week should I expect to work the crazy hours? In other words, will I have a least a couple of evenings with my family?

 

I would stay clear of the Texas territory...

 

You will not see your family...no support in Texas, on call every weekend, you will cover the whole state since the whole territory is on a non compete hired from competitors. Don't mAke a huge mistake run now

 

"you will cover the whole state since the whole territory is on a non compete hired from competitors". Please pardon my ignorance....but what does this mean?

 

Well are you looking at Dallas or Houston?

 

Houston

 

Non-compete hired from competitors.

What je is trying to say is that the team you will be joining is mostly made up of people who were hired away from one of the other CRM companies and now work for Biotronik. All of our contracts have what is called a "non-compete" clause....meaning that when you leave a company AND REMAIN IN THE TERRITORY, you cannot approach any customers or hospitals with a competitive companies CRM products for exactly one year. What he is implying is that your teammates will be unable to help you cover the territory in anyway until they have fulfilled this one-year "penalty" box situation.

Now, in the past, BIO has flown folks in from other areas to run things in the territory while this is happening. Whether or not they have this in mind for Houston is up to you to find out. Reardless, I doubt BIO is planning on putting you in there completely alone and clueless - the impact on the business prospects would be devastating.

You asked in a previous post about how often you would be expected to work crazy hours per week. Well, my first year - my wife eventually asked me if I was having an affair because I was gone all the time. If you have a good team, they can work around this - your experience may be different - but as I said before....plenty of people claim they are "ready to do what it takes", but reality sets in for some and they quickly change their tune.

 

I would talk to the Houston reps before making a decision...

 

Houston is a great place to live first of all!
Houston is going through a restructuring. The area has been short staffed for many moons. As someone wrote the non-compete people can't work for 1 year and that makes life tough for the folks that can work. If you don't mind not taking vaca or working when you are sick and being on call 24/7 with no extra compensation, or if you have a dental or doctor appt you may cancel 3 or 10 times before you actually get to that appt. Then it is a perfect job for you !
The advantages are: when everyone is able to work it will be
great. It may take a year or so before this happens. When you go home you do feel good because you helped a patient with their quality of life. Patients are so grateful and grow an attachment to their "device checker". Lol. The cases can be challenging depending on the Doc you are working with. You need a strong back to carry in all the equipment and bags for a case. If you have a nice vehicle it will be trash in a year. Plan on 25k-30k miles a year. The compensation pkg does not cover the wear and tear on your vehicle. Houston is a huge area.
But this field is rapidly changing. As technology improves the field will shrink. The good news is Bio is so far behind the other companies you will get some good experience to continue in the medical field. I hope this helps with your decision. I really tried to lay out some of the pros and cons.

 

There's no employee morale in that territory and you will never have communication with your boss

 

Sorry, it would be a big mistake to take this job. You will not be set up for success. Houston is a huge market with other opportunities. Look a bit longer and I wish you the best. If you decide to take the job, it will be less than a year that you will be thinking about my advice. Run!

 

I am the first person that wrote a response, and this is exactly what I was referring to. This poster would have you believe that Biotronik is the worst of the worst. Please do not forget that your focus should be on the TERRITORY, not the COMPANY. If what is being said on here about the team being mostly made up of folks who will be working off their non-competes, then that is cause for concern.

I have seen people leave a company fully expecting to bring over 80% of the business they used to have to the new place, only to find out that a YEAR is a LONG time in this industry and that even the most LOYAL customers tend to be put to the test.

I would challenge you to press the manager on this...how confident is everyone that the business will be there in a year? If he says the plan is to have teams from outside the territory come in and do implant business while the Houston Reps burn off their non-compete, then thats at least plausible. But if he suggests that the Houston Reps "go way back" with their docs, and that when the years up the business will just start cascading in....well....then you need to ask yourself how willing you are to put your faith in that? As I have stated before - you need to find a territory where the implant volume is large, consistent and stable enough to get you up to speed.

 

Ask the manager what reps can actually work in the territory right now and speak with them. You want to hear from the reps that were not just brought over from st Jude .

 

You have to consider also, that you will be working an area, that AFTER these non-competes come back to work. Will you be needed, after the group is able to perform their job? Many many many people are hired as clinical reps, then are let go when the dust settles. Why? Because they cost Bio $$$ as employees.

 

"Many, many, many..."?

Have you ever worked for Biotronik? We have don't have "many,many, many" anything. So, although what you are describing may be true at the Big 3, I have not seen what you are describing taking place here at BIO.

BIO cannot afford to train someone only to let them go. The Bigs used to be able to, but now there's really no need to train someone since their layoffs have created a pool of ready talent waiting to fill in.