The medical sales field is a very unique field, bringing together the high-stakes world of healthcare with the competitive business arena. As medical technology continues to advance and regulations within the healthcare arena become more complex, the need for highly skilled sales personnel within the field has never been more critical.
However, finding a candidate that possesses the ideal combination of medical and business acumen is a daunting endeavor. The traditional method of attracting fresh talent to the field is not only ineffective but also a very wide net cast within a very small pool. The requirement for specialized recruitment is no longer a nicety for medical sales companies within the U.S.; rather, it is a necessity.
The Dual Nature of Medical Sales Talent
Medical sales personnel are not run-of-the-mill salespeople, to say the least. To be successful within the medical sales field, a person must have a strong foundation in human anatomy and physiology, as well as a strong understanding of medical procedures, in order to effectively communicate and relate to surgeons, doctors, and hospital officials. A qualified candidate must be able to prove themselves capable of processing complex medical data and presenting the material in a way that is appealing and relevant to the recipient.
Furthermore, a medical sales representative must also have a high level of emotional intelligence. It is a very high-stakes world within the OR, and a successful medical sales representative must be able to relate to the surgeon and hospital officials on a personal level in order to develop a relationship based on trust. Finding a person up to the task, as well as meeting the required sales quotas, is a discerning endeavor indeed.
Strategies for Identifying Top Talent
To find these types of professionals, it is necessary to go beyond the typical job aggregators and instead utilize niche job boards that specialize exclusively within the healthcare and life science industries. Additionally, conferences and medical device trade shows are a goldmine for networking opportunities to find top talent within the industry. This type of environment allows a hiring manager to see these types of professionals in action and understand how they interact with medical devices and other professionals within the industry.
By establishing a presence within these types of events and spaces, the company is sure to become familiar to these types of professionals, as they are engaged and passionate about the industry.
Assessing Clinical and Commercial Skills
In the medical device industry, resumes and traditional interview strategies are only so effective. In order to assess a candidate, interviewers must go beyond traditional interview strategies and utilize situational interviewing to assess the candidate’s ability to sell medical devices to a skeptical medical professional. This type of interview, where the candidate is placed within a hypothetical situation and asked to work through the situation, is extremely effective within the medical device industry and can easily distinguish between candidates that simply memorized the product specifications and those that actually possess the ability to sell the product to a skeptical medical professional.
The Strategic Advantage of Recruiters
One key advantage that medical sales recruiters have over internal HR departments and traditional recruiting agencies is that they have an extensive network of passive candidates, meaning that they have established relationships with top performers within the industry, many of whom are currently employed and not actively seeking new opportunities. This saves internal HR departments and recruiting teams an immense amount of time and ensures that only qualified candidates make it to the interview stage, greatly reducing the likelihood of bad hires.
Trends Shaping the Future of Hiring
The future of hiring within this particular field is trending towards data and technology. There is an emerging future for artificial intelligence to come into play to match candidate profiles against specific territory needs based on data from previous years. There is an increasing future for recruiters to seek out candidates that have specific experience working within digital communication tools, as this type of virtual sales engagement continues to grow and expand within the market. Those companies that are able to adjust to the evolving role that technology plays within the hiring process will be able to attract the most innovative candidate.
Securing The Future of Healthcare Sales
The future of many medical device and pharmaceutical companies rests directly within the people that represent that particular entity within the market. A recruiting agency specializing within this particular field is an opportunity for companies to build strategic partnerships that can lead to future business success. This is an opportunity for companies to build the teams that they need to succeed within the ever-changing and complex future of the healthcare market.
