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An actor would not dream of going on stage without rehearsing his lines. Professional golfers spend time on the driving range before teeing off on the course. Concert pianists don’t go in front of an audience until they have practiced the recital piece to where it is second nature.

What about medical sales representatives and those who are trying to get hired in medical sales? From my experience, too many people from the two groups that I just mentioned don’t think that preparation is necessary. For those representatives who have been in the field for a while, complacency develops that causes them to believe that they can just “wing it” and close the sale. Medical sales candidates frequently make the mistake of believing that there is nothing to be done to prepare for a job interview other than cosmetics — get a haircut, brush your teeth, and put on a business suit.

What is the outcome from this lack of preparation? I am talking sales performance and interview performance far below that which brings the desired results.

The sales presentation that you stumble through with a bunch of “aaahhs” and “ummms” as you are searching for the right words to describe your product or service usually falls flat. The sophisticated medical buyer senses what seems like insincerity and a lack of knowledge making you someone they won’t want to do business with.

Medical sales candidates who have endured a few interviews understand that these are often more than casual conversations. Situational questions will be asked and answers that are anything less than clear, concise, and relevant allow you to continue your job search. I don’t care how much charisma you think you have — you need to prepare for each interview in advance and doing it properly will take you many days of practice. If this is news to you, you may have just learned why you’re not being offered a job.

How can you tell if you are ready for the sales presentation or the interview? Rehearse with a sales colleague if you’re already working a territory. If you’re a job candidate, find someone who has experience with medical sales interviews. Go through the presentation or mock interview from beginning to end and invite honest feedback from the other person. Keep it real — no laughing, no breaks, and no saying, “let’s rewind and try that again.” I highly recommend that you record these sessions with some type of audio recorder or better yet video yourself so you know what you look like as well as sound like. I promise you that you’ll be surprised by how you look and sound, and be prepared to be unimpressed unless you have really practiced.

Professionals practice before they go “on stage.” When you are in front of a customer or in front of the people who are doing the hiring, this is not the time to be learning where you need more work. If you want the prestigious medical sales job, and you wish to earn the income that medical sales professionals earn , then do what professionals do before they go on stage – practice!

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 24th, 2008 at 9:35 pm and is filed under Getting Hired, Medical Sales Skills. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.