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How to Break Into Medical Device Sales (Step-by-Step) — Transcript

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0:00Medical device sales is one of the most
0:01sought after career paths because of the
0:03income potential. You can make multiple
0:05six-figures without needing lots of
0:06experience, the day-to-day autonomy and
0:08freedom and flexibility. You basically
0:09get to be an entrepreneur but with the
0:11stability of a W-2. It has some of the
0:12most long-term career potential because
0:15you're in a healthcare recession-proof
0:16industry, but you can also ascend into
0:18so many other facets of medical device
0:20sales. And it's also personally
0:21rewarding and fulfilling because you're
0:23playing a direct role in healthcare
0:24partnering with physicians and surgeons.
0:26And finally, it's exciting and it's
0:28dynamic. You're not stuck behind a desk
0:29all day. You're out and about. You're
0:30face-to-face. You're in a new
0:31environment each day. But those are also
0:33the exact reasons why it's so difficult
0:35to break into medical device sales
0:37because everybody wants to be in medical
0:39device sales. So, from somebody who
0:41broke into medical device sales with
0:42nothing but retail experience and who
0:44helps people of all backgrounds every
0:46single day to break into medical device
0:48sales in as quickly as 6 weeks, I'm
0:49going to break down the exact three
0:51steps that you need to take in order to
0:53land your first high-paying medical
0:54device sales role and to break into the
0:56industry like an absolute pro. If you're
0:57new here, this is the Break Into Medical
0:59Device Sales YouTube channel and
1:00podcast, the best place for all free
1:02information pertaining to breaking into
1:04the medical device sales industry from
1:06industry experts. So, the process that
1:08we're going to break down today are the
1:09same three steps that everybody needs to
1:11break into the medical device industry.
1:13So, what I'm talking about is not some
1:15secret magic formula that's exclusive to
1:17me. This is exactly the process that
1:19everybody needs to go through in order
1:21to break into medical device sales. The
1:23only difference is we're going to talk
1:24about how to do them at a high level,
1:26okay? So, the first phase is all about
1:27positioning your personal brand. The
1:29second phase is all about networking
1:30effectively into medical device sales.
1:32And then the third phase is about
1:34nailing the interview process. And it
1:36sounds very simple at a bird's-eye view,
1:37but I'm telling you just from my
1:38experience of doing this day in and day
1:40out with people of all skill levels
1:41breaking into medical device sales. If
1:43these three things do not work in
1:44tandem, you will not break in, okay?
1:46These need to be all done at an
1:48exceptionally high level in order for
1:49you to do this. To elaborate on these a
1:51little bit further, phase one is all
1:52about building your personal brand so
1:54that way you look the part as a medical
1:55device sales rep before you even open
1:57your mouth and even before you start
1:58networking. Phase two is all about
2:00actually getting referrals from the
2:01inside of medical device sales so they
2:03actually give you job opportunities
2:05instead of the other way around. And
2:06then finally, the interview process
2:08speaks for itself. Medical device sales
2:09interview process is a beast and if you
2:11don't know how to navigate it, it can be
2:13extremely challenging. So, let's go
2:14ahead and dive into phase one first.
2:15Now, what do I mean by personal brand?
2:17No, I'm not talking about dancing on Tik
2:19Tok. I'm talking about specifically your
2:20resume, your LinkedIn, and your industry
2:22knowledge and acumen, okay? And some of
2:24the many mistakes that I see is using a
2:26generic one-size-fits-all resume. They
2:28you know, most people will just pay some
2:30guy on Fiverr to make like a sales
2:31specific resume, which again, that does
2:34that is a little bit better than just,
2:35you know, not having any sales
2:36terminology in your resume, but keep in
2:37mind that medical device sales is very
2:39industry specific. This is a different
2:41sales environment and it's not just
2:43about showing numbers on your resume.
2:44It's about actually talking about the
2:46specific transferable skills in the med
2:48device, right? Now, the second mistake
2:49that I see is treating LinkedIn just
2:51like an online resume, right? At the end
2:52of the day, your LinkedIn profile is
2:54actually the only glimpse that these
2:56companies and recruiters will see of you
2:58before they get to talk to you. Um that
3:00is of course unless you have your
3:01presence on some sort of recruiting or
3:02agency platform like the folks here at
3:04Med Device Sales Academy, but with that
3:05being said, your LinkedIn is the only
3:07representation of you before they speak
3:09with you. And then one of the biggest
3:10mistakes here is actually no industry or
3:12sales acumen specifically about medical
3:15device sales. You see, it's okay to not
3:16have experience in medical device sales,
3:18but keep in mind that you're going to be
3:20going up against five, six hundred other
3:22people that are also beginners to the
3:24industry. So, if you have more knowledge
3:25of the industry and specifically the
3:27sales process in the industry, this
3:29helps you to stand out so, so much
3:31because you can speak to it during the
3:32networking and interviewing phases,
3:34which makes you sound like you already
3:35know and understand the business, which
3:37would make you an effective rep. Things
3:38like the products, the sales cycle, or
3:40how med reps actually sell day-to-day,
3:42it shows like right away. Some fun facts
3:44your recruiters typically spend about
3:45five seconds on your resume, but most
3:47will look at your LinkedIn before they
3:48actually ever talk to you. And the most
3:50important question that you're going to
3:51be asked throughout every single phase
3:53of this entire process is why medical
3:55device sales. So, it's really important
3:56that you have a good answer for that.
3:57Now, I'm just going to pause here for a
3:58second and really emphasize something. A
4:01good resume and a good LinkedIn alone
4:03will not allow you to break into this
4:05industry. This is literally the least
4:07important part out of everything else
4:08we're going to talk about here today. I
4:10have seen people with terrible resumes
4:11and LinkedIns break in. I was one of
4:13those people. And by no means just
4:15having a good resume and LinkedIn will
4:17allow you to get opportunities. Now, I
4:19will say on the flip side, resume and
4:21LinkedIn is above average, sometimes
4:23you'll get pulled into opportunities
4:24alone just from that. We've had several
4:25clients that Med Device Sales Academy
4:27literally just get pulled into
4:28interviews because they were blown away
4:29by the resume. We made it very, very,
4:31very industry specific. So, we're going
4:32to talk about that now. So, here's what
4:33you do want to do in this phase one of
4:35things. The first is you want to build
4:36an industry specific resume, okay? You
4:39want to reframe your wins in the
4:41language that med device sales managers
4:43actually care about, right? So, these
4:44are things like quota attainment,
4:45territory growth, B2B selling, and
4:47clinical exposure. Now, I would strongly
4:49suggest that you do dive into what
4:51medical device sales is really like. And
4:52I actually mean the sales process, not
4:55just day-to-day. Because selling to a
4:56hospital or a health care facility is a
4:58more long-winded, sophisticated sale.
5:01And if you don't understand how that
5:02works, it's going to be very difficult
5:04for you to talk about how your
5:05experience has prepared you for that.
5:06Just to really drive this point home,
5:08guys, I post a lot on LinkedIn and a
5:10national director of sales from the UK
5:11reached out to me. So, we had a
5:13conversation and I asked him point-blank
5:14for beginners that are interviewing in a
5:16medical device sales, what helps them
5:17stand out? And he said, "Vince,
5:18everybody's coachable, hungry,
5:20enthusiastic, they've got a pretty
5:21smile. But none of them talk about the
5:23damn sales process." He said, "That's
5:24what I want to see. I want to see that
5:25they understand what it takes to
5:27actually get deals done and revenue
5:29produced." So, fortunately for you, if
5:30you're on this channel, this podcast,
5:31we've got plenty of free information on
5:33that. Now, the next thing to do is
5:34engineer a med device ready LinkedIn.
5:37Now, again, very industry specific, I'd
5:39suggest that if you have no clue where
5:40to start, just to study other medical
5:41device sales reps. But having a good
5:43headline, a good banner, a good
5:44professional bio and summary, these are
5:46important. While they will not land you
5:48the job by any means, they still
5:49represent who you are. And they still
5:51are the only glimpse that a company will
5:53see of you before they invite you to a
5:54conversation. You want to look like a
5:55credible candidate, and you want to make
5:57sure that all that super industry
5:58specific terminology that you put into
6:00that resume, we also put on our LinkedIn
6:02all over the place. And then finally,
6:03the third phase here is to develop real
6:06industry and sales knowledge. I'm
6:07talking about really understand how
6:09medical device sales works. You don't
6:11need to be an expert, but the more that
6:12you know about how to actually move the
6:14needle in medical device sales, the more
6:15you're going to stand out versus a
6:17million other beginner candidates. So
6:18now let's move on to phase two, and this
6:20is by far the most important component
6:23of this list. Just to really emphasize
6:25the power of networking in a medical
6:26device sales, almost all jobs are landed
6:28by referrals. When I broke into medical
6:30device sales, the job I landed was never
6:31even posted. I recently shared a video
6:33on this channel from Phil. He was a
6:34Starbucks barista that broke into a
6:35multi-billion dollar medical device
6:37company in 6 weeks. That job was never
6:39posted. We have clients and students
6:40that are pulled into interviews as
6:41quickly as 2 weeks, not because they
6:43applied, but because they networked so
6:45effectively. Your objective here is to
6:47build contacts from within medical
6:49device sales so they invite you to
6:50opportunities. Because randomly applying
6:52for jobs is the best way to fail. So let
6:53me actually talk about some of the
6:54biggest mistakes that we see on the
6:56medical device networking front and how
6:58you can position yourself better. These
6:59are by far the most common mistakes.
7:01First are spray and pray applications,
7:03which is just applying to hundreds of
7:04positions on LinkedIn and indeed and
7:06just waiting. Terrible strategy.
7:07Remember guys, you're going for a
7:09multi-hundred-thousand-dollar per year
7:10sales job. You need more effort than
7:12that. Again, by the time a job is
7:14posted, there are hundreds of
7:15applicants. I've given so many examples
7:16of this on this channel. And in addition
7:18to that, in most circumstances, the
7:19company posts it just as a formality.
7:21They already have an idea of which
7:23candidates are the best fits by the time
7:24they post it online. HR just needs to
7:26post it. Now another mistake is reaching
7:28out to people with absolutely no
7:29strategy. This is probably the biggest
7:30culprit for those spinning their wheels
7:31trying to get into medical device sales
7:32for years. And it's this like random
7:34spray and pray message technique where
7:36they just reach out to any and every
7:37rep, and they say the same thing that
7:39everybody says. Guys, take it from
7:41somebody who gets these messages 50 to
7:43100 times a day, "Hey, I really want to
7:44get medical device sales. I was hoping I
7:46could pick your brain and ask for
7:47advice." It's like, dude, like everybody
7:49sent me that message. The best messages
7:50kind of get right to the point, they
7:52show research, they show relevance, and
7:53they also give reasons to respond. They
7:55find some common ground and establish a
7:56connection, a personal connection. The
7:58third biggest mistake, and this is the
7:59one that makes me cringe, is reaching
8:00out to people and literally asking for
8:02jobs. They go right to hiring managers,
8:04they just ruin their first impression,
8:05they go right to recruiters thinking a
8:07recruiter's going to help them. Guys,
8:08just to touch on this, the way that
8:10recruiters get paid is based on the
8:11compensation of the reps that they
8:13place. And they also want to maintain
8:15their reputation. So, it makes way more
8:17financial and career professional sense
8:20for recruiters to only work with
8:22top-level talent, not beginners. And
8:24they tease people all day, they just
8:26take conversations, that's what a
8:27recruiter does. They take conversations
8:28all day, every day saying, "Oh, yeah,
8:30well, you know, I'm hiring for this
8:31company." But, they have no incentive to
8:33place beginners into the industry. They
8:34want to place A-level talent because
8:36that's how they get paid. And if that
8:37person doesn't perform, they don't get
8:39paid. So, I'm sorry, if you're a
8:40beginner to the industry, there's a very
8:42low chance a recruiter's going to help
8:43you. 70% of medical device hires happen
8:45through referrals, not job boards, and I
8:47can tell you the best jobs come from
8:49referrals, not from postings. The
8:50average med device job seeker sends out
8:52about 200 applications. However, one
8:54single referral can outweigh every
8:56single one of those applications. So,
8:57how do we actually network effectively?
8:59How do people in med device sales
9:00academy get dozens of reps inviting them
9:02to job opportunities? Here's what we do.
9:03First off, is actual strategic targeting
9:06of the companies and the positions that
9:07you're going after. Here's the thing, a
9:09great way to not make any progress is to
9:11pursue the same positions that 500 other
9:13people are going for. The Striker
9:15associate role, the Medtronic associate
9:17role. Of course, they're going to have
9:18500 applicants. Now, you can still
9:20target those companies, but be more
9:21strategic about which divisions you're
9:23going to go for, especially the ones
9:24that are the best fits for you
9:25specifically. Then, the next thing is to
9:27do intentional rep outreach. It's one
9:29thing to reach out to reps looking for
9:31advice on breaking in the industry, it's
9:32another thing to specifically target the
9:34reps based on their positions, their
9:36roles within the company, their
9:37geographies, and actually tailor the
9:39conversations to them in a way that gets
9:41them to actually respond and not just
9:42ghost you. Great way to do this is to be
9:44part personalized, part business, but
9:46also to build relationships. We're not
9:48here just to ask for jobs, we're here to
9:49ask for industry insight and ask really
9:52good questions. So, if you go through a
9:53lot of the free content on this channel,
9:54on this podcast, you'll be a little bit
9:56more informed on better ways to ask
9:58questions when networking with reps.
9:59Now, the third thing is to build a
10:01referral network before you actually
10:03need them, okay? The power of networking
10:05is not just in the initial conversations
10:07that you have with reps, it's the
10:08follow-up over time. A rep and a
10:10connection that you talked to today
10:12might not invite you to opportunities
10:14for months down the line, but it's still
10:15a great opportunity nonetheless. When I
10:17broke into medical device sales, I
10:18actually I interviewed for a position, I
10:20didn't get the role, but from all the
10:22networking that I did at that company,
10:24several other reps knew me, liked me,
10:26they saw me as a great future candidate,
10:27and then immediately invited me to
10:28future opportunities. So, follow up, but
10:30also add value during your follow-up.
10:32Don't just make it like a "Hey, just
10:33touching base. It's been 2 weeks." You
10:35want to create reasons to follow up.
10:37"Hey, I'm updating you on my journey
10:38because you introduced me to this person
10:40ABC." Target companies, reps, and
10:42positions strategically that are
10:43actually a fit for you, your background,
10:45and your desires. Connect with them at a
10:46personal level with really great
10:48questions, understanding how they broke
10:50into the industry, what they do, but
10:51then make yourself stand out during
10:53those connections by demonstrating
10:54yourself as a valuable rep that you're
10:56positioning yourself for in the future.
10:58You don't want them to just see you as a
10:59friend, you want them to see you as a
11:00performer that will be a good asset to
11:02the team in the future, and that it's
11:03really about how you can up those
11:05conversations. And then finally, stay
11:06top of mind. There's a student that we
11:08have here at MedDevice Sales Academy who
11:09actually came up with this really
11:11creative LinkedIn posting strategy. And
11:13he started doing this constantly and
11:14constantly and constantly, and before
11:16you knew it, he actually had companies
11:17and reps reaching out to him saying,
11:18"Dude, did you apply because I want to
11:20interview you." Now, that's not
11:21completely necessary, but the point is
11:23to stay relevant, to stay top of mind,
11:25and the only way that you do that is by
11:26being strategic, being vocal, and being
11:28valuable. So, now let's talk phase
11:30three, which is mastering the med device
11:31interview process. Biggest mistakes,
11:33winging it instead of preparing. This is
11:34an obvious one. And here's And here's
11:35the thing, the med device sales
11:37interview process is very, very unique.
11:38This is not just a standard 1-2-3 meet
11:41with a manager, meet with HR, done. This
11:43is usually a complex interview process
11:45involving field rides, ride-alongs,
11:46business sales presentations, panel
11:48interviews. And without properly
11:49networking and preparing for this, it's
11:52really easy to bomb this. I talked to so
11:54many people that have been trying to get
11:55into med device sales for 2 to 3 years,
11:57and they're getting interviews, they
11:58just can't get through the interviews.
12:00It is extremely important to capitalize
12:01on these interviews, and you really need
12:03to prepare the right way, and you do
12:04that by understanding the full interview
12:05process. And then also networking.
12:07Networking is really valuable for this
12:08because they give you the answers to the
12:10interview. The second is talking like a
12:11candidate and not a rep. It's funny,
12:13most people go into these interviews
12:14expecting to have the corporate jargon.
12:16And of course you do want to be buttoned
12:18up, but at the end of the day, they also
12:19want to see your genuine personality and
12:21that you're a personality fit for the
12:23company, the team, the culture. And then
12:25also representing yourself in front of a
12:26physician. At the end of the day, you're
12:28a sales rep. You need to demonstrate
12:30yourself as such, not a business analyst
12:32who's robotic and corporate. And then
12:34the third mistake is there's no
12:35follow-up, there's no leave behind,
12:36there's no closing. The med device
12:37interview process, the biggest area of
12:39opportunity to show that you're a
12:41salesperson in the med device sales
12:42interview process is the follow-up and
12:44the closing of each interview. So
12:45there's anywhere from four to six
12:46rounds, but one bad round is enough for
12:48you to lose the opportunity. And keep in
12:50mind, even if you make it to the final
12:51round, you're typically still up against
12:53two to three other candidates. My very
12:54first final round interview process in
12:55medical device sales, I did not get the
12:57job. So what do we do? Okay, of course I
12:58have more lengthy videos on the
12:59interview process, but for right now,
13:01here's the thing. First, have a great
13:02interview prep system. You want to learn
13:04the medical device sales interview
13:05process to a T, know what to expect, and
13:07prepare for them individually. This is
13:09not a one-size-fits-all approach. The
13:11best way to understand this is by
13:12networking with people at the company,
13:14so you gather all this information, and
13:15then when you have all this information,
13:17you can leverage it the right way
13:18strategically throughout the interview
13:19process. Now, the second solution is to
13:20build custom-tailored interview assets.
13:22This is a lot more important than you
13:24think. The med device sales interview
13:25process typically expects that you have
13:27at the bare minimum a 30-60-90, a brag
13:30book, and sometimes a business plan
13:32presentation where they want to see
13:33exactly what you're going to do when
13:34they drop you in the territory. Again,
13:36without this, you're just like everyone
13:37else. And they do want to see a brag
13:39book. I was the type of guy who was, you
13:40know, a little bit more timid and humble
13:42when I first broke into medical device
13:43sales, so I was nervous about doing
13:45something like this. But they do want to
13:46see your achievements. They do want to
13:47see how you've been a top performer in
13:49your previous role. So don't be afraid
13:50to talk about that and demonstrate that
13:52wherever you go, you get results. And
13:54then finally, close the interviews like
13:56sales meetings. This is so crucial, and
13:58it's like a bare minimum expectation in
14:00medical device sales interviews now. Ask
14:01for the next step, handle any objections
14:03or concerns about you moving on to the
14:04next round, follow up intentionally.
14:06This is the only area of the interview
14:08process where you actually get to
14:09demonstrate you're a sales rep. So
14:11prepare, bring assets, and close every
14:13single interview. So all in all, those
14:15are the three phases that everyone needs
14:16to take in order to break into the
14:17medical device sales industry. This
14:19isn't rocket science, and it's not
14:21reinventing the wheel. This is the same
14:22process that everybody uses to break
14:24into the industry, but it's a matter of
14:25doing it at the highest level because
14:26it's no longer enough to just skate your
14:29way through any of these. It used to be
14:30that way, but now it is 10 times more
14:32competitive. The job market is thin,
14:35it's tough. So in order for you to
14:36actually succeed, all three of these
14:38need to be working in perfect harmony to
14:39the highest level. But when given
14:41consistent effort, opportunities can
14:43open up very, very quickly. We've had
14:45Med Device Sales Academy students go
14:46through this process 2 AT and have way
14:49too many opportunities on their plate in
14:50just weeks. But if I could boil it down,
14:52position yourself the right way, look
14:53the part before you even open your
14:54mouth, network your way into the
14:56industry so you have a Rolodex of
14:57medical device reps that see you as a
14:59future fit and invite you to
15:00opportunities. And then when you
15:01actually get that opportunity, you need
15:03to capitalize on it on the first try,
15:04and you do that through proper
15:05preparation and closing. So I hope you
15:07found this whole video valuable and
15:09informative to you breaking into medical
15:10device sales. I can tell you this, once
15:12you get on the other side of this
15:13industry, so many doors begin to open up
15:15in your life both financially and
15:16professionally. Now, if you're actively
15:18looking to break into medical device
15:19sales as quickly as possible, we have
15:20two options for you. The first is to
15:22join MedDevice Sales Academy. This is
15:23our one-on-one consulting and coaching
15:25program to fast-track your process in
15:27the medical device sales industry in as
15:28little as 6 weeks. And we do this by
15:30optimizing all three of those things in
15:32tandem, auditing everything that you do
15:34one-on-one every step of the way, and in
15:35addition to that, bringing opportunities
15:37that come to us that we can share with
15:38the community. We've had students get
15:39pulled into opportunities at Smith &
15:41Nephew, Medtronic, Zimmer Biomet,
15:43Hologic, Intuitive, of all backgrounds,
15:45bachelor's, no bachelor's, sales
15:46experience, no sales experience,
15:47clinical experience, nurses. So, if
15:49you're interested in breaking into the
15:50high-paying world of medical device
15:51sales as quickly as possible, click the
15:53link in the description below and fill
15:54out a short application to schedule call
15:56with the team to see if that's a fit.
15:57Otherwise, if you're just looking for
15:58some free information, this podcast,
16:00this YouTube channel, it is by far the
16:02best place to be on the internet for all
16:03things breaking into medical device
16:05sales.

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Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to choose a caption track available on the video.

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YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, caption language selection, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.