Secure?

Do you all feel secure here as far as longevity? Trying to decide whether to leave where I’m at to come here

 

from the outside, I can tell you that I looked at this company as well. I don't think it will do much for your resume, as it is a god dam fish oil. not very sophisticated sales approach needed. I would only take this if I was out of work, or if I was looking to break into medical sales.

 

It's a one product company. This is a stock play, not a career play.

 

its a solid 100-110k a year. More if you land a key account manager job. I have no doubts they will get their indication, but they could be bought out since they do not have a pipeline and the indication will surely kick them into the highest sales volume of a product in a decade.

 

Maybe it's not a stock play. It's been on a steady downswing for weeks now. Negative 7% today alone.

 

Agreed. Price action alone means something negative is about to be announced. I wouldn’t recommend taking a position here unless you’re unemployed or on a PIP Plan at your company.

 

I keep buying more as the price drops. You can’t read into that. It says nothing.

 

I love it here

 

ANY job in pharma isn’t sophisticated sales. Maybe in 1987 it was but not even then if you really think about it. Sophisticated sales mean customers sign on a dotted line and they pay you money for a product or service. Technically this isn’t even selling - it’s promoting.

 

You understand that buying the rumor and selling the news still works, right?

 

You know what’s funny? I’m a former drug rep who used my Cardiovascular experience to go work for a powerhouse medical device company. The most successful reps in my region are all former drug reps and it’s like that throughout the industry. There are tons of device reps that don’t have very good selling skills...they spray and pray. High performing drug reps do well in device sales. One reason is that they had to influence behavior WITHOUT getting a signature on the dotted line......and the only person who benefits was the patient.

 

Good point to post #11

 

Love this!

 

Hey good for you! Happy 4 you. Serious question do you use a variation of the challenger sale in device sales? I find the whole challenger sales process to be painfully dated and canned. Rarely use it in the field and yes I’m a consistent top performer in a rough territory. I say it works as well as a coin toss.

 

I do keep in mind some of the main principles. Customers narrow down their options and buy on the sales experience rather than price.....customers don’t want to be asked what keeps them up at night but shown what should be keeping them up. I don’t view it as some fail proof system however.

My original point was that device sales companies do not provide formal sales training either as a new hire or ongoing. Skills will atrophy or the rep never had much to begin with.....came from an industry where volume of calls predicted success and they just outworked everybody. I never understood how difficult pharma was until I got into device. In pharma I had to sell against a cheap generic and if they used it the doctor made less money because it reduced the need for surgery. I just had to take the doctor’s word for it when they said they would use it or use more and wait for the data to verify. And the only person who benefits is the patient. In my current role if a doctor uses my device the surgery is less invasive, more precise, faster, and it cuts the number of days a patient is in the hospital. The doctor can then do more surgeries, make fewer errors, make more money, and the hospital saves while patients experience better outcomes. If they don’t use my device I get a real reason why which gives me a fighting chance to address the concern instead of some bullshit.

Will you work harder in device? Yes. Be managed out if you don’t perform? Yes. See your quotas go up after you crush them over and over again to the point one stops hitting their number? That happens too and then it’s time to move on....but you make a lot of money in the process.

In conclusion, you won’t convince me a good drug rep isn’t a good sales rep. Seen it proven too often.

 

I do keep in mind some of the main principles. Customers narrow down their options and buy on the sales experience rather than price.....customers don’t want to be asked what keeps them up at night but shown what should be keeping them up. I don’t view it as some fail proof system however.

My original point was that device sales companies do not provide formal sales training either as a new hire or ongoing. Skills will atrophy or the rep never had much to begin with.....came from an industry where volume of calls predicted success and they just outworked everybody. I never understood how difficult pharma was until I got into device. In pharma I had to sell against a cheap generic and if they used it the doctor made less money because it reduced the need for surgery. I just had to take the doctor’s word for it when they said they would use it or use more and wait for the data to verify. And the only person who benefits is the patient. In my current role if a doctor uses my device the surgery is less invasive, more precise, faster, and it cuts the number of days a patient is in the hospital. The doctor can then do more surgeries, make fewer errors, make more money, and the hospital saves while patients experience better outcomes. If they don’t use my device I get a real reason why which gives me a fighting chance to address the concern instead of some bullshit.

Will you work harder in device? Yes. Be managed out if you don’t perform? Yes. See your quotas go up after you crush them over and over again to the point one stops hitting their number? That happens too and then it’s time to move on....but you make a lot of money in the process.

In conclusion, you won’t convince me a good drug rep isn’t a good sales rep. Seen it proven too often.

 

This is actually very helpful- thank you. I am looking to make the jump to med device and wondering how different it will be. Another question- med device seems to pay much lower base w high commission potential- is that the case for you?

 

75 k base.....made around 160 k last year in bonus. Top 25%. This year I’m tracking around 165-175 k in bonus. Took me awhile to get there. To be honest....I’m looking to transition back to pharma. Preferably in Oncology or Biologics. The reason is work life balance...and my manager (most managers in this industry) are nut jobs. Yes...I know there are crazy managers everywhere but its a little over the top in device. The better I do the more I am relied upon to pull everyone else’s weight. It just never ends. Either you stink and face heat or you do well and they squeeze you for more. There is a reason you don’t see many highly tenured reps that stay at one company.

I’ve made more money than I could have ever imagined. But I won’t lie...it’s stressful. You have to decide what’s important to you.

And don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t sell if you are a high performer. That person either is testing you to see how you handle objections, came from a volume of calls based performance background and is married to that mindset, or a loudmouth who is too arrogant to consider a different perspective.

 

Wow, there is actually a productive and meaningful conversation occurring here. Kudos to that.