Guess who’s about to be poached?

PPD Search Managing Director Elizabeth Pettit, who has specialised in the Australian pharma and medical device recruitment space for 17 years, said although commercial roles are diminishing they are still an integral part of the industry.

“Certainly, I think there are less sales roles in pharma than ever before, however, for sales reps who can demonstrate their worth and achievements, there are opportunities,” she told Pharma in Focus.

“If pharma reps want to transition to medical device sales, this is the time, as many device companies are desperate for people in sales.

“Research is key here – knowing why they want to transition and what they can offer over a long-term device rep.

“Maybe it’s a fresh approach, pharma companies usually train their people very well, they are disciplined in their sales tactics and execution, if they can articulate all of this and be confident about what they can deliver, this is the chance to move across to medical devices.

“However, they need to make sure they know why they want to be in medical devices and have a strong proposition as to why they should be hired by a device company and how they will address any gaps going from pharma to devices.”

In March, Biogen shed staff as part of a global restructure. Novartis is currently doing the same on instruction from global head office, while Pfizer and AstraZeneca  have both recently shown sales staff the door.

Pettit said she doesn’t believe the sales rep is dying but they need to upskill and demonstrate their ability to pivot to the new way of selling, particularly in the area of digital engagement.

“Companies are changing the way they promote, market and sell medicines to doctors,” she said.

“I speak to many leaders in the industry and they tell me that they now look for sales reps with strong technical skills to ensure they are comfortable talking to doctors virtually, being able to get their message across on video to continue to influence prescribing habits.”