Medical sales representatives or ‘reps’, sell prescription drugs, medicines and medical equipment to GPs, hospital doctors and other health professionals such as pharmacists and practice nurses.

Medical sales reps often specialise in a particular type of product or therapy area, such as oncology, diabetes or respiratory health. They usually cover a wide geographical area.

The work usually involves:

• making appointments to see existing clients and potential new customers
• presenting products to doctors, pharmacists and other clients
• persuading clients to buy the company’s products
• providing an after-sales service
• meeting sales targets
• organising or attending medical conferences
• keeping records of sales and customers
• feeding back information about customer needs to head office
• keeping up to date with product knowledge and the latest clinical data and research, to be able to discuss medical matters with health professionals.

Medical sales reps may also be known as medical sales executives or business development executives.

Hours and Environment

As a medical sales representative you will normally work Monday to Friday. Your working day may be longer than standard office hours because of the travelling time involved. You may also need to socialise with clients in the evenings and attend conferences.

You will have a home or office base, but will spend most of your time out on the road meeting clients. You may sometimes have to spend nights away from home.

A driving licence is essential, and you will often be provided with a company car.

Skills and Interests

To be a medical sales representative you will need:

• excellent sales and negotiation skills
• excellent communication and networking skills
• good planning and organisational skills
• self-motivation, drive and initiative
• an outgoing and confident approach
• commercial and business awareness
• the ability to understand and present clinical data
• adaptability, to cope with frequent changes in products and healthcare systems.

Entry

To become a medical sales representative you will usually need either:

• a degree in life sciences (such as biology, pharmacy or biomedical sciences)
• a background in nursing, or
• a background in sales or marketing, with an understanding of what medical sales involves.

Many employers ask for a science degree, but this is not always essential. If you do not have a science degree or a healthcare background, you will need strong experience in sales or marketing. You will also need to show that you can learn about medicines and therapy areas in detail, so you may find it helpful to have A level/H grade biology.

You are strongly recommended to spend some time ‘shadowing’ an existing rep before looking for your first medical sales job. You could get in touch with medical sales reps through doctor's surgeries or pharmacies, or by contacting pharmaceutical companies directly.

See the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) careers website for a list of pharmaceutical companies (details in the Further Information section below).

Training

Your employer will usually provide a structured in-house training programme in their products, therapy area and sales skills when you start.

You must pass the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) Medical Representative’s Examination within your first two years in the job. Your employer may include this as part of its in-house training programme, or you could study through the ABPI’s distance learning programme. See www.abpi.org.uk for more information.

You should also keep up-to-date with new products and research developments throughout your career. The ABPI provides various seminars and short courses to help you do this.

You could also work towards general sales qualifications, such as NVQ Levels 2 and 3 in Sales, and Level 4 in Sales Management, or qualifications from professional bodies, such as:

• Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM) Level 3 Advanced Certificate in Sales and Marketing
• Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Certificate in Professional Sales.

See the ISMM or CIM websites for more details (see Further Information).

Opportunities

As a medical sales representative, you will work for pharmaceutical and healthcare manufacturing or research and development companies. Work is available all over the UK, although a small number of reps may cover a large geographical area.

Jobs are advertised on employers’ own websites, with specialist medical sales and pharmaceutical websites and recruitment agencies, and in the local and national press.

With experience, you could progress into area or regional management, or into marketing, product or account management, or sales training. Head hunting is common for reps with a good track record.

Some of the main employers are large multinational companies, so there may be opportunities to work overseas.

Annual Income

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Typical starting salaries are £18,000 to £20,000 a year.
With experience salaries may range from £25,000 to £35,000 a year.
Senior level staff can earn between £40,000 and £55,000 a year.

Many companies offer a basic salary plus bonuses or commission, with other benefits such as private health insurance.

Further information

12 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2DY
Tel: 020 7930 3477
www.abpi.org.uk Moor Hall
Cookham
Maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 9QH
Tel: 01628 427500 Harrier Court
Lower Woodside
LU1 4DQ
Tel: 01582 840001