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I have an opportunity to interview for a sales position with Merit Medical. Can you tell me more about the company, products, and competition? What are the biggest challenges? Are you truly rewarded for your efforts? Who are your main competitors? All serious responses are much appreciated! Thanks!
 


It is a good niche company with good, quality products. The sales managers as well as VP are really good for the most part. The CEO, Fred L, is a complete tool. Good at managing a company, but is a complete dictator, feared and hated at the home office, married 5+ times, etc. All and all it is a good company. Not much pressure and middle of the road for pay
 




It does sound like a good solid company. The pay is just OK as you suggested which is somewhat surprising and disappointing considering the call points and customer base. Is there potential to continue to make more money the longer you are there?
 


Used to be so before we got strapped with Biosphere products. Embosphere OK, but boy have we been fed a huge line of crap about hepasphere. I cannot believe fred fell for all of the lies about this product and the supposed clinical trial. My IRs think it is a joke and will not support it. Fred--why did you drink this coolaide???? You're smarter than this. We're doomed with this product.
 




Don't do it. No health insurance. If you have a PPO or HMO, you're better off staying where you are. Merit has a high deductible savings account (HDSa) and it really is very bad. Awful if you have a family. I would read about HDSAs before you make the jump. I am a sales rep but am looking for another position because of HDSA. It's breaking my balls.
 


Or, you could be like the Merit rep in my neck of the woods that sells the Alimax stents and doesn't get out of bed. This guys hasn't been seen for over a year. Imagine if he worked...
 


Stay away from Merit Medical...! A terrible work culture, Fred is a tool and is mildly insane...the company has been around for 25 years and grown to only $250 million...during the fastest growing era for healthcare...if the company had been handled by a great CEO during that stretch, it would have been worth many billions. Even though it's publicly traded, Fred treats it like a privatley held company...his son Justin will be the CEO in 10 years time...nepotism...
 


Amen to the last post. Fred's son is a vp, his brother-in-law is a vp, his 5th wife is the PR director. They have a GI division (not good). The president of this division's son is in HR for Merit one of her other sons is in marketing for Merit. The most incestuous place I have ever seen. I was only there for about 18 months, but regretted ever going there. The atmosphere at the home office was like death. Poor people.... scared to death of Fred and his infamous blow-ups.
 


Anonymous said:
I have an opportunity to interview for a sales position with Merit Medical. Can you tell me more about the company, products, and competition? What are the biggest challenges? Are you truly rewarded for your efforts? Who are your main competitors? All serious responses are much appreciated! Thanks!
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I work there currently. What territory are you considering?
 




Merit is a terrible company, Regardless of where the territory is, Florida, California, New York, it is a terrible company to work for...the products are commodities and they are not an innovative company.
 


I just got a call from a recruiter about the San Francisco position with Merit.... is it me, or is the whole IR world just a sucky world with all the smack talk from all companies in that sell into this arena...

Whether its Merit, Bard, Teleflex, Argon, Arrow... It just seems like all these positions are low pay, dead end jobs...
 




any new thoughts about the company, culture, compensation, base, and realistic sales goals. I also just learned about a position and tried of all the embellishments on interviews with company's and then find the "real" story once you start.
 


Not sure if things have changed, but Merit was always pretty low pay compared to other competitors in the same space IR, Cath Lab, OR.

The poster a few posts up named some of the other low paying companies, but it is possible to make good money in the IR space (ev3, Gore, Terumo, Spectranetics, Boston Sci). Just depends on which procedures the IR guys are doing in your territory and what competition they face from the IC's.
 


Merit is a pretty darn good place to be a sales rep. I had the chance of working for them for about 5 years before I left for another job in management. The CEO is a sales oriented guy which plays really well for the sales force. The Chief Sales Politician - Marty Stephens - is a bit of a riot and joke but the regional managers are cool so it all balances out. Not sure why people sit here and talk about Fred L. like he's a loon. Have you ever met a CEO who wasn't? I had a number of calls from him after I closed deals. In hindsight it's better than the monster I work for now - Medtronic - but there's no room (yet!) to return.
 


alright, so the company was a sales rep oriented company up until the last year or so, the ceo is very focused on what he has goal wise, to be a billion dollar company...he has tasked the exec vp with this goal, making all positions expendable.

bottom line is Merit used to be a sales oriented company, but has moved away from this

if you are looking to get into Medical sales, this is a good place to start if not, stay with your current employer or look elsewhere, they are not going to reward you for your contacts within the call points or reward you for multiple years of success

the pressure has been ratcheted up from low to high...
 


sounds like a typical medical device company to me....lots of sales pressure...a goal to get somewhere....a demanding CEO....and a vp that wan't to get to a billion. merit is still in my top 3 of places i'm trying To get into. can't wait to be part of the crazyness!
 



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