Medical & Capital Equipment Sales Jobs

Medical capital equipment sales jobs, which entails selling into physician's offices, medical clinics, surgery centers, laboratories and hospitals, is one of the most challenging types of medical sales jobs. While pharmaceutical sales representatives may limit themselves to merely discussing the clinical advantages of their drugs during therapy, representatives who sell medical equipment must actually take orders for the product, and have the ability to "close the deal".

Because the art of closing the sale is one of the most difficult qualities to find in medical sales representatives, these positions often are among the most highly-compensated ones in the entire industry. What are the qualities and experiences required to gain entry into this lucrative portion of selling into the healthcare field?

First, a four-year degree from a reputable university is generally required. Some capital equipment companies require an M.B.A., since their sales representatives will spend a significant amount of time calling on hospital administrators and executives. Next, a prospective candidate will need at least two years of experience selling "big ticket" items, such as office equipment and copiers. Previous experience selling into the hospital environment is often preferred. Many representatives who enter this field start their careers selling medical disposables, in medical device sales or even through pharmaceutical sales and then advance into the world of selling capital equipment.

The selling process for this field is much more complex than for other jobs in medical sales. In many cases, there will be multiple decision-makers involved in the buying process, requiring the sales representative to cover many bases in his selling efforts. In addition, the selling process may be long in duration, with some deals requiring up to a year or more to actually close. If hospitals are the customer, annual budgets for making new capital expenditures must be part of the equation. Successful representatives selling in this marketplace will be required to develop an active pipeline of potential customers, each at some stage within the sales process.