A good job description goes a long way towards attracting the right candidate for your company. Especially for a front-facing position such as Pharmaceutical Sales Representative, it is important to hire employees who are personable and will fit well with your company’s culture, in addition to on-paper qualifications. While a vague posting is likely attract applications from anyone who thinks he or she would be great at sales, a focused and specifically phrased description cuts down on irrelevant applications. This Pharmaceutical Sales Representative job description sample provides a good basis for drafting your own posting.
Pharmaceutical Sales Representative Job Summary
You will work with our sales team to develop sales strategies and approaches. The majority of your day will consist of liaising with customers and sell our pharmaceutical products to them.
Pharmaceutical Sales Representative Job Responsibilities and Duties
- Serve existing accounts by contacting customers for new orders and communicating the availability of new products.
- Create new accounts by reaching out to potential customers, attending trade shows and networking with other professionals.
- Evaluate and update sales methods for optimal success.
- Develop and implement strategies for product presentation.
- Record and monitor sales activity and market information.
- Meet customer needs by promptly attending to problems, complaints or requests.
- Stay current with industry developments by participating in professional education, reviewing publications and keeping aware of market changes.
- Work with sales team to develop strategies and approaches to maximize sales.
Pharmaceutical Sales Representative Skills and Qualifications
- 2-3 years of customer service experience
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- High degree of motivation
- Proven record of ability to pursue and close sales
- Innovative approach to problem-solving
- Pharmaceutical knowledge and experience strongly preferred
Company Profile
Southeast Co. is a manufacturer of various pharmaceutical products marketed in the United States. Our customers include hospitals and healthcare centers, as well as smaller physician offices. We are committed to providing our customers with outstanding product and keeping them updated on exciting new developments in pharmaceutical products.
Writing a Job Description Best Practices
- Following the general outline of the above Pharmaceutical Sales Representative job description sample is a great start to producing you posting. For times when closely following the sample may not be enough to communicate your needs, reviewing these simple best practices guidelines will help you come up with an effective and well-written job description.
- Do organize the contents of your description to make it easy for applicants to quickly read and understand it. Include separate sections for job responsibilities, company information and candidate requirements. Marking each line with a bullet point adds visual clarity and catches the eye of job seekers who may be hurriedly skimming postings.
- Do present candidates with a list of job duties and their importance and frequency. You applicants should get a clear idea of how a typical day on the job would go.
- Do use clear and concise language, avoiding trade jargon and excess verbiage that makes your meaning difficult to understand.
- Do be specific about job duties that may not be typical. For example, while most sales representatives expect a lot of local travelling, be clear if you will also require regular overseas travel.
- Do provide a company description that will give a good idea of your workplace culture. Sales representatives work closely with their team members as well as members of the public, making it important to attract candidates who are a good fit in terms of personality and sales techniques.
To attract Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives who will be able to establish rapport with your client base and commit to meeting and exceeding sales goals, be sure that your job description provides the information they need. Taking some pains with the phrasing of your posting will pay off when you find yourself with an outstanding pool of applicants to choose from.
Pharmaceutical Sales Representative Job Responsibilities
In the highly aggressive world of pharmaceutical sales, every minute matters — and every minute you spend screening applicants rather than on-boarding new hires is time your competition has to get a leg up on you in a crowded market. Streamline your recruiting process and improve applicant quality by writing a better pharmaceutical sales representative job description. Describe the role and responsibilities in such a way to attract those top performers capable of boosting your market share.
You want your sales team to be product evangelists; to capture those types of candidates, you need to be an evangelist yourself in your job responsibilities section. Be bold and unflinching in using dynamic, vital language to; give your pharmaceutical sales representative job description more life by writing with action verbs and strong statements. Use punchy bullet points, ideally no more than 6-8, to convey a role that will tap jobseekers’ talents and challenge them to succeed.
Take a look at our sample pharmaceutical sales representative job responsibilities:
- Call on customers in the healthcare sector through hospital, practice and nursing home visits
- Present physicians and other care providers with the benefits of company pharmaceutical brands
- Provide medication samples and other persuasive materials to boost share of assigned brands within territory market
- Conduct “Lunch and Learn” and brown-bag sessions with care providers and decision-makers regarding practical applications of medications
Pharmaceutical Sales Representative Job Specifications
The fastest way to bog down your recruitment search is to post a vague, open-ended pharmaceutical sales representative job description. If you leave job criteria open to interpretation, you can end up buried under stacks of applications from unqualified candidates. Narrow down the qualifications required for the role and let applicants know without a doubt the minimum requirements; this way you can avoid wasted time on unsuitable candidates.
Your job qualifications and skills section should be clear on critical subjects such as amount of travel required. Even the best candidate won’t fit the job if they can’t commit to often necessary travel requirements or don’t have access to transportation. Expand on your criteria with other key necessities, including background checks for someone working with sensitive drugs or minimum education level. By adding five or six specifications to your pharmaceutical sales representative job description, you can much more easily determine who is or isn’t the right new hire for you.
See our list of example pharmaceutical sales representative job specifications:
- Ability to commit to 80% travel within a statewide assigned territory
- Valid driver’s license and access to transportation (fuel expenses compensated)
- Must pass background check; credit check required for secondary screening
- Minimum of a high school diploma; university degree preferred
- Expertise with Salesforce and CRM software