This article will hopefully break down the jargon and save a great deal of embarrassment in your job search.
Any form of sales to industries related to medicine, can generally be called medical sales. Looking within different parts of these industries, the words‘medical sales’ can take on multiple different meanings. The term‘ethical sales’ is used to define sales into the pharmaceuticals industry. This term derives from the tight legislation relating to the sales of prescription drugs. Any claims forwarded in a sales pitch must strictly be supported by factual clinical evidence. So the typical car salesman pitch would not be permitted in this environment!
Job titles like territory sales manager, territory business manager and territory manager are amongst a plethora of subtitles associated with pharmaceutical medical representatives. Confusingly there are instances of well known companies using the term ‘medical salesman’ in this context. But these are rarities. The same job titles listed above are frequently used in healthcare sales jobs, usually in the wound care and disposables departments. The source of confusion here is that the job titles here would only apply to sales managers in charge of an actual team of sales people in the pharmaceutical industry.
Medical sales jobs relating to the area of hospital selling have their own book of job titles, which include key account manager, hospital representatives and hospital specialists.
The healthcare jobs bracket also includes the sale of medical equipment. This term fortunately, is self explanatory and refers to equipment surgeon’s use, whether it is a small thermometer or a large brain scanning tool.
There are numerous other sales roles with their own heading within pharmaceuticals. An NHS Liaison is someone who sells to key organisations that are part of the NHS. Again there are variations of this role such as, Healthcare liaisons and business development officers.
There are an array of job titles for sales into the general supply chain. National Account managers are responsible for selling to retail chemists, and there are few of these roles available these days. Typically these people are responsible for managing and developing sales in national chemists like Lloyds and Boots.
The final part of the medical sales job terminology puzzle relates to jobs as pharmacists, GPs and nurses. Seeing as they ensure the provision of patients’ health, they are known simply as healthcare jobs. Note that the term ‘healthcare jobs’ is interchangeable for jobs in aforementioned the healthcare sales sectors.
Hopefully this helps confused job hunters. It is paramount that anyone wanting to work in a medical sales job must read the job description carefully. Always remember not to judge a job by its title.
