5 Overvalued Sales Rep Must Haves

Most organizations in the ophthalmology/optometry market segment use recruiting firms, staffing firms, etc. to fill open sales positions. Said openings are often the result of a promotion, team expansion, or a replacement. Oftentimes these organizations have sales rep must haves the search firm needs to abide by when trying to find candidates.

Obviously, these organizations have the right to demand what they want in candidates as they’re the ones calling the shots and paying the recruiter. Which brings us to our conversation of the…

5 Overvalued Sales Rep Must Haves

• Location

  Every sales rep manages a territory that may cover multiple cities, or multiple states. Example 1 - A sales rep may cover Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, etc. Example 2 - A sales rep may cover Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Wyoming, Idaho.

  Ideally, in the first example you want a candidate based in Manhattan or where a majority of the business or business potential lies. So, if the candidate lives in the Bronx that should be okay. In the second example a candidate should live in Seattle, WA. However, if you have a candidate living in Washington that may be 45 minutes from downtown Seattle or just over the border from Portland, OR that should be okay too.

  More often than not sales reps calling on Ophthalmologists and Optometrists are used to travelling. Therefore, as long as the candidate lives in the territory their exact location really shouldn’t matter. What matters is finding the right fit for the role.

• Relationships

  First, we can all agree that relationships are just as important in business as they’re in life. A lot of sales rep roles in the ophthalmic market often require that you have existing relationships in order to be considered as a viable candidate. On the face of it that makes sense. More on that in a second.

  Second, even if you do have existing relationships that does not mean you’ll provide results faster than someone who does not have the same relationships. Sure, you may get in the door easier, but it’s not a guarantee they’re going to buy your product. Why? If the Ophthalmologist/Optometrist does not need or has to have what you’re selling to provide patient care the relationship is a moot point. A discussion on industry relationships was had in a previous blog post.

• Job History

  Ideally organizations want stable or clean job history. No “job hoppers.” I get it. We really no longer live in a world where that’s possible. A lot of the job hopping if you will is due to organizations constantly reducing headcount which the sales rep has no control over. Also, if a sales rep has been at an organization for a long time, they may not be the best candidate. Reason why is even if they were to change companies they may be so used to how their last company did things, thus may not be able to adapt. If they can’t adapt, then you have to go through the recruiting process all over again. Wastes time and money.

  Further, staying at an organization for 5 years in 2022 is like staying at a company for 10+ years in the 1990’s or 2000’s. Lastly, the job history is not and I mean is not a reflection of how viable a candidate is. And that’s even if you’ve been hiring people for decades. It’s about people, not what’s on a piece of paper.

• Resume Aesthetics

  A resume is a sales rep must have in this industry just like any other. It really doesn’t matter what they look like. You could spend tons of money to get a professional head shot and put it on your resume, use all kinds of colors, and spruce up anything to make it sound better than it is. That’s not going to make you stand out. All that matters is what you do and what you’ve done is clear and scannable. That means call points, product(s), accomplishments, dates of employment, etc. Then, based on what you see might this person be a fit based on the criteria for the role? How the resume looks should never be a factor in determining whether someone is a viable candidate.

• College Degree

  I understand the reason behind having a college degree, but it’s 2022. All that really matters is applicable experience. Which means to get the candidate you want this shouldn’t be a must-have. Does the college degree give you the ability to sell medical devices/pharmaceuticals in the eyecare industry better than someone who doesn’t? No. Does it give you the ability to develop rapport and build relationships better? No. Candidly speaking, every sales rep starts from the same place - no experience, then acquires said experience over time. Meaning, they’re taught how to sell on the job. Yeah, I know there’s more formal education as it relates to selling, but really you spend tens of thousands of dollars on a college degree in order to be trained how to be a sales rep. Could you not train the person to be a sales rep without a college degree? Everyone can be trained to be a sales rep. In fact, everyone is.

  They’re a lot of viable candidates who have experience working in the ophthalmic industry who are technicians in a clinic per se which means they know the ins and outs of how ophthalmology clinics operate. Most sales reps that are trained to sell in this industry don’t really know how the practices operate and they’re successful. It would make sense to train a technician who has this institutional knowledge how to sell. Don’t you think?

There you have it. The 5 overvalued sales rep must haves in the Ophthalmology/Optometry market segment.