There’s a huge range of phrases that have different interpretations depending on how and where they are used. Then there are the phrases that refer to different things in different situations. This article is designed to offer some general assistance in understanding the many terms and phrases you will chance upon as well as the variety of uses they have in different circumstances.
Medical sales is a broadly used term alluding to any type of sale to medical related trades. Within the disparate parts of medical related business, phrases in Medical sales contrast again. In the pharmaceutical industry the term ‘ethical sales’ is the phrase takes the place of Medical sales. This is in reference to the very strict regulations and rules that are in operation to control the sales of medicines available by prescription. ‘Pitches’ for sales are must adhere closely to regulations and can only quote actual clinical evidence of the products benefits. It can only work because Medical reps are unable to go around making wild, unsubstantiated claims.
Medical reps in pharmaceuticals. This group has a range of sub titles including territory manager, territory business manager and territory sales manager. A renowned company used the heading Medical salesman for its sales people but this is an exception. They wanted to set themselves apart from other pharmaceutical businesses that adopted a ‘soft’ method of selling for which they had contempt. Titles for healthcare sales jobs, for instance the area of disposables (gloves and needles) and wounds (bandages and dressings) could also be the above. This causes some confusion as these titles tend to be applied to sales managers who control sales teams
Under this heading you would also find jobs in healthcare sales. The selling of capital equipment such as MRI scanners and x-ray machines as well as surgical equipment comes under this generic term.
The pharmaceutical industry has many other sales positions and many of these have their own job titles. Reps who sell to the NHS’s key organisations such as PCTs through to Whitehall, hold the title NHS Liaison. This may also come under the umbrella of Healthcare Liaison or business development roles.
Sales of generic supplies also have a number of titles to choose from. Those selling to retail chemists – retails sales reps - are pretty much obsolete. Those that still work in this area are now known as National Account Managers. They are responsible for management and development of sales in chemists found nationally, such as Boots and Moss as well as to wholesalers.
The titles RBM (regional sales manager); ABM ( area sales manager); RM (Regional manager) and BUM, (Business Unit Manager) are among the wide variety of names given to sales manager jobs.
Hospital selling job titles are just as varied. There are those you might expect such as hospital specialist or hospital rep as well as Key account manager.
Finally the sector that relates to Medical jobs must be mentioned. Doctors, pharmacists and nurses all come under this banner that is usually known as Healthcare jobs since they involve providing healthcare. However this heading is often interchanged for jobs that fall within healthcare sales sector that was previously discussed.
To conclude, jargon and abbreviations abound within the areas of these industries and can cause a lot of confusion. It makes sense when applying for roles to pay specific attention to the job description as opposed to the job title in order to decide on how suitable it is.
