Top Ten Pharmaceutical Companies in the
World
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Pfizer |
GlaxoSmithKline |
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Sanofi-Aventis |
Johnson & Johnson |
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Merck |
AstraZeneca |
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Novartis |
Roche |
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Bristol-Myers Squibb |
Schering Plough |
Pharmaceutical Sales Jobs
Before you apply to the companies listed above or pursue the pharmaceutical
sales position please read on….
Here is a typical pharmaceutical sales opportunity advertisement –
Pharmaceutical
Sales Jobs
|
| Qualifications: |
| Applicants must possess a
Bachelor's Degree preferably in a scientific discipline. A minimum
of three (3) years of related direct sales and/or marketing
experience is required. Excellent communication skills
(verbal/written) and proficiency with a computer including Excel and
Microsoft Word are also required. |
The reality is that they don’t require a technical or
science degree and they don’t always care so much about your sales experience.
They do care about your ability to get in front of and stay in front of the
doctors. If you only have a business degree and you don’t want what I call a
true sales opportunity (one where you have to ask for the business/purchase
order – unlike pharmaceutical sales where you can ask the doc if he will write
your script but you won’t know for another month whether or not he really did
write it and you did, indeed, make a sale) then this type of opportunity may be
for you. Pharma reps do make good salaries, have a potential of a 20-25k
commission, drive company cars and attend great national meetings.
Why you should consider clinical diagnostics
laboratory sales rep rather than pharmaceutical sales?
What’s not to like? Well, it is difficult to set
yourself apart from others through performance, great performance can be due
more to physical attributes, territory alignment and good old fashion market
timing. Even if you have the technical background and an understanding of the
challenges that the physician faces, the pharma company can’t have you adlibbing
– you have to stick to the script! And because it is hard to stand out, it is
hard to move up the ranks. Add to the mix that there are thousands of reps (over
30,000 reps in the top five pharma companies) working for the top pharmaceutical
companies. In comparison, in the clinical diagnostics arena and the
biotech/research products sales arena, the top 5 companies combined would have a
little more than just 1000 representatives. Be one of the few, not one of the
many!
“It’s been a rough 2007 for Big
Pharma workers. Crippled by mounting competition and slowing pipelines, the
country’s largest drugmakers have announced plans to shed a record number of
jobs this year – more than 30,000 at last count” Dec 13, 2007; Big
Pharma’s Tough Medicine by John Simons, Fortune Magazine
It is difficult to stand out in sales forces of that
size and with that type of selling dynamic. So when these 2000 layoffs hit the
street looking for jobs they will have no certainty of winning out against other
interviewees. But in the lab products arena you can set yourself apart through
drive, intelligence, skill sets, technical understanding and sales savvy. In
this industry, a successful representative is tracked by executive recruiters.
There are always great opportunities for the proven capital equipment or reagent
sales representative in this market. If any of this hit home…please check out
more information about these opportunities by clicking the link "Visit
our Clinical Labs Sales Jobs page."
Check out my podcast
comparing pharmaceutical sales, medical sales, diagnostic sales, healthcare
sales, and others…
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