Has anyone looked into this switch or made this switch? I know most of us don’t have sales personalities but I think I could be a good fit.
The reason I’m looking into this is bc I might not live in California forever… and if I’m not making that sweet CA salary I don’t want it no more.
Pretty much I want to make sure I can make good money if I move (the likely places would be Chicago or TX just for reference.)
Posted Jun 22, 2022, 2:41 PM UTC
I used to work in a lab, transitioned to med sales(ortho implants) and now in a lab equipment sales position. To start off, you’ll have to grind it out as an associate (i.e working under a rep) for 1.5-2 years. Depending on the territory, you’ll probably make around $70k during this time. Once you transition to a closing role (i.e carrying a quota) it’ll really depend on what you sell. I would say if you’re selling capital equipment into clinical labs, for instance, you can probably clear $120-150k depending on how well you do and the company. Feel free to PM me!
Med sales usually requires extensive b2b sales experience since the commissions and sales are so huge.
So the hard part would be getting my foot in the door? At my biotech company a few people have moved up into sales, they highly value a science background.
You could try at your company to see if they'll let you make the switch. Have you ever worked sales prior though? It is quite the jump. I used to do telecom commissioned sales (which included some b2b) prior to working in the lab so I have an inkling of what the job entails tangentially.
Yeah I’m guessing it’s not a common transition within our field