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Recently met up with a salesperson who pivoted his career into Pharmaceutical sales a few years ago after dealing with the rollercoaster ride that can be SaaS sales.

Now he’s in a stable company where he plans on remaining in (and growing with) for the rest of his career.

Background

After graduating from college, he joined an advertising agency where he was lucky enough to work on their pharma team, In this role, he gained exposure to the industry and what it’s like to drive drug launches & patient advocacy.

Without knowing how truly great the industry is (and how strong a fit it is for his personality and skills), he left and had two short stints at tech companies, the second of which resulted in a dreaded layoff.

After taking some time to decompress & plan, he jumped back into the world of pharma at a company that partnered with large pharma & biotech companies to ensure they had the right patients to run clinical trials.

Definition of a clinical trial

Clinical trials are research studies that test a medical, surgical, or behavioral intervention in people. These trials are the primary way that researchers determine if a new form of treatment or prevention, such as a new drug, diet, or medical device (for example, a pacemaker), is safe and effective in people.

This was a great role for him because it provided the training he needed to gain confidence & knowledge to secure his dream job as a Territory Sales rep for a leading pharma company.

Securing the right role

I learned that pharma companies have territories that cover the entire United States, however, opportunities could vary greatly depending on where you live geographically.

For example, if you live in Massachusetts, you will likely have a lot more options than if you lived in Toledo, Ohio because pharma companies naturally have more territories in dense areas (and each territory covers a smaller geographic area).

The person I spoke with lives outside a major metropolitan area which made it more difficult to get a role but he was willing to take an internship (if necessary) or possibly move to a new city if that’s what it took to get his “in”.

This is really important to call out for outside sales jobs. Unlike fully remote sales jobs (or sales jobs that have a hub where they hire lots of salespeople), outside/field sales means you have to live in your territory.

With some networking (and a little luck) this salesperson was able to secure a role at a leading pharma company without having to move!

Day-in-the-life

He’s a road warrior and his job is to meet with (and build relationships with) every single primary care physician in his territory that could prescribe the drugs he represents.

He is the “middle man” between corporate and patients/doctors and is the main person they turn to when they have questions or need to be connected to someone on his corporate team.

A typical week includes setting up lunch appointments with various doctors offices each day to discuss product and answer any questions the doctor or office staff might have.

Here was something I found very interesting:

Given he has a fairly large geographic area (and parts of his territory are fairly rural), there are often times when there are no good lunch spots close to the office he’ll be visiting which means it's important to plan and coordinating in advance.

One of the differences between his job today (and 10-20+ years ago) is that doctors are under A LOT of pressure to plan their days accordingly and are essentially under a “stop watch where every second they aren’t talking to patients….they are losing money.

Therefore, these lunch sessions are critical to getting any time with the people he wants to build relationships with.

Career growth

He is still relatively new to his role, but even so, his compensation rivals a SaaS Account Executive but offers more stability & consistency in earnings.

The average tenure for a sales rep at a major pharmaceutical company is ~20 years!

Some stay in the same territory for their entire careers, others will stay in the same territory but sell different drugs/brands as they earn promotions, and others will make other internal moves.

There are so many paths available but the important thing is the company is stable, they pay & treat employees well, and is typically seen as a lifetime career move which is VERY different from most other industries (especially SaaS).

What he loves most about his job:

• Incredible work-life balance (he makes his own schedule & is very autonomous)
• Lots of opportunities to learn, grow, and get involved in various corporate projects & initiatives
• Very stable & consistent earnings with no fear of layoffs
• He has a partner in his territory so they tag team offices/strategize together to ensure they are successful

His advice for folks looking to get into pharma sales:

• You do not need to be a science nerd! He was an athlete and never really thought this is where his career would take him
• “It’s not about the grades you make, it’s about the hands you shake”. He spent a lot of time networking on Linkedin and building his personal brand to put himself in a position to earn this highly coveted position
• If you can afford it, taking a step back into an “internship position” at a company you’re targeting may be a great way to show your commitment and be in a position to earn a role when it opens in your territory
• Be comfortable with the idea of having to move to a new geographic area to secure an opportunity