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HQ Inside Interview: Medical Device & Supply Consultant

The following is a SalesHQ exclusive interview with a Medical Device & Supply Consultant as part of our running series examining the day-to-day roles of sales professionals.

HQ: What do you do?

JB: I’m a Medical Supply Consultant

HQ: What does that mean?

JB: Well, I sell equipment to surgeons.

HQ: So why are you wearing scrubs?

JB: Because I go into the operating room while they are doing a procedure to help with my equipment.

HQ: But you didn’t go to medical school, how can you help a surgeon??

JB: Sales in the medical supply field is very broad. It can mean that you sell capital equipment to a hospital buyer, it could be selling disposable masks that are used in the O.R., or it could mean that you are a trauma rep and are paged along with the surgeons when an emergency case comes in. My job is titled “Medical Supply Consultant”, but I am basically a facial trauma rep. I sell facial trauma plates and screws to surgeons who treat facial trauma (plates and screws are used to fixate broken bones in the face to facilitate proper healing), which happens to be Plastic surgeons, Neuro surgeons, Oral surgeons and Head and Neck surgeons(E.N.T).

HQ: So how do you sell to these surgeons? Are you really selling them something?

JB: Yes, but I think the word sales is misleading. What you are doing is defined as sales, but not in the sense of being a car or insurance salesman. It’s more of a relationship sale in that you have to build a relationship with the surgeon before they let you in their O.R. You show them your product and go over the features, but you don’t close them, you don’t have them make a check out to you. You gain their trust with your product knowledge and your conversational skills. This is how you “sell” them. You prove yourself to be an asset in the operating room by being able to provide advice and information regarding your product when called upon.

As O.R. personnel, you have to take courses relating to correct etiquette and demeanor annually. The patient signs a consent form, and the O.R. director has to give permission for each and every case. Getting used to the ebb and flow of the operating room takes time, and learning your role takes even longer. Your job is to help facilitate the use of your product. What does that mean? Well, after the incision is made, I let the scrub tech know that they will be using my set to treat the fracture. I tell them they need to get the drill ready and whatever instruments of mine that will be used. My set is very complicated, so I go over each piece that is necessary so that the scrub tech knows when and what they will be passing. This speeds up the efficiency of the procedure to ensure the patient is under anesthesia for a limited period of time. When it comes to using my set, the surgeon sometimes asks for a recommendation of a plate to use depending on the brake. Sometimes they don’t, but I’m there in case they ask which helps promote my set and myself as a responsible and knowledgeable rep.

Some people are angered when they hear that a company representative is in the operating room during a procedure. All company representative are fully trained in O.R. etiquette and more importantly their product. After being in this field for three years, I can honestly tell you that if I were to have a procedure where a device was to be used, I would request a company representative if there wasn’t already one present.

HQ: Do you have a quota?

JB: A medical supply rep has quotas like most sales reps. I’m constantly given new products to implement in my territory which requires a lot of studying and technical memorization. You always have to be up on the latest medical journal articles relating to your product, and be able to articulate these to surgeons if it is relevant. You need to be on top of your game at all times, because if you appear to be ignorant of your product, you and your product will not be utilized by that surgeon.

HQ: What is the key to success for a Medical Device/Supply Consultant?

JB:If building relationships is something that you excel at, and you can learn and digest technical medical information, the medical supply field is a great line of work to be in. It can be very lucrative, very exciting, and rewarding knowing at the end of the day that you helped improve patient care on a certain level.

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