Medical Sales as a profession is an attractive proposition to many people. It is also a difficult career to break into and very competitive once you are working in it.

Medical Sales is broken down into two major areas: Pharmaceutical Sales and Product Sales.

Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives concentrate on selling drugs whilst Product Sales Representatives could be responsible for a range of product lines, from a type of dressing to beds or laboratory analyzing equipment costing thousands of Euros.

High earning potential is perhaps the primary motivator for professionals opting for Medical Sales as a career choice. Individuals from both Medical and Sales backgrounds are most likely to enter the field but there are stumbling blocks to getting your foot in the door from either discipline. If you do not have either a Medical or a Sales background your chances of getting to an interview are exceedingly slim.

The reason for this is that it costs approximately €70,000 for a Company to put an inexperienced Medical Sales Rep on the road. A Sales Representative is very expensive for a company and therefore there is a price on every Representative's head. It stands to reason that with such a high price tag, hiring errors have to be kept as low as possible. For that reason having either a Medical or a Sales background alone is rarely enough to secure a position.

Medical Professionals generally lack any sales experience and conversely, Sales professionals from other fields will lack Medical knowledge.

Hiring companies need to know that any candidate trying to secure a position with them is committed to the job and is capable of doing it well. Nothing shows a Sales Manager your ability like having a strong sales record in the field. Therefore Sales Managers will always favour experienced Medical Sales reps over "rookies".

If you have no experience however, all is not lost.

Personality and appearance count hugely in any sales environment. There are some key traits that you need to possess.

Some of these traits are:-

Communication skills: Along with a strong aptitude for imparting information, the ability to listen is vital and is often underestimated.

Passion: Are you passionate about your career? If you are not turned on by your job your customers will not be interested in what you have to say. Enthusiasm is infectious.

Self confidence: Confidence will make an interviewer or customer trust and warm to you. Arrogance will have the opposite effect.

Honesty: If you do not know then admit it. Blaggers will not get far in this industry.

Sincerity: This links in with being passionate about the job. Someone who is quick to smile, is warm and approachable will be quicker to form good working relationships. You cannot fake this one. You are genuine or you are not.

Resilience: "If at first you don't succeed.... ". It is a tough job and the interview process can be equally gruelling (up to four stages). You have to be able to learn from rejection. It will make success even sweeter.

Diligence: Effort and hard work need to be one of your core ethics and will always be rewarded.

Organisational Skills: Good time management makes your workload easier and maximises actual selling time. This applies to many areas from daily appointment scheduling and territory management to prioritising what is most important or profitable.

"Even with a Life Science background and a good personality 'fit' we find that most 'rookie' candidates we represent will have to undertake some further practical steps before getting an interview" says Jackie Brown, MD of Jackie Brown Medical Ltd.

These steps are as follows:

* Joining the MRII (Medical Representatives Institute of Ireland) as a student member.
* Shadowing at least one Medical or Pharmaceutical Sales representative and writing a formal report on the day of what you have learnt.
* Undertaking as many relevant training courses as possible. Availability will be dependent on location and quality can vary hugely. Get some advice on which course to do before spending your money.
* Keep an eye on the industry in the media. Be aware of current issues, trends and reports.
* In a job that will require you to be on the road it is imperative that you have a full clean driving licence.
* Lastly, if you are using recruitment agencies do so with care. Handpick no more than three and make sure that they will not send your CV anywhere without your consent and ensure you get a job description and Company name. If a company receives your CV from several sources it reflects badly on you as a candidate, looking as though you are flinging your CV out everywhere. It certainly shows no particular regard for that particular job.

It is a recruitment agency's job to guide you through the process and prepare you as well as is possible for an interview. Make sure that you do not settle for less than that.

For further advice, contact the team at Jackie Brown Medical Ltd.

Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Phone: 00 353 (0)1 2016363

Web: http://www.jackiebrownmedical.ie