If you have been on the field for this long and you are still enjoying your Job and feel fulfilled then kudos to you. However if you are an “Older Rep” and you feel like you are stuck in a cycle of repetitious boredom, seeing the same customers over and over again to the point that they have practically become your extended family members, You probably have many peers who have moved into managerial Roles or even your former junior colleagues, Whenever a new joiner sees you, they think you are already a Manager and they call you Sir or Ma all the time. Then you are what I want to classify as an Older Medical Representative or Older Med Rep.
Being in this position can be very frustrating at times, you have probably participated in many Interviews for “Manager” roles to make that next step in your career but you are repeatedly passed on. You may have been complacent in the past and you recently realized you need that step up and sometimes it feels like it is now even more difficult. This article is not a “how to” on getting promoted, if you want some tips on that you can read my previous article “The career path of a Medical Representative”. You daydream a lot about resigning and doing something different, but you cannot, even though you no longer enjoy the Job, you need it. Chances are you are married, you have kids, and you need the steady income to ensure that you can continue to provide for your family. If you can relate to this then I hope you find the following tips on staying motivated useful. If you are an Older Rep and you need your Job, It is important to know that as long as you are still stuck then you have to ensure that you don’t let your performance decline. Being a high performing Employee such as a Med Rep is already challenging considering the current climate of a challenging economy and rising rate of unemployment.
If your performance is in decline you are always at risk of being replaced or let go, even if your performance is consistently good as an Older Rep you are already at risk of having a younger Manager try to get rid of you because he/she is finding it awkward or uncomfortable working with you. Even though you are feeling stuck it is very important to make others see you as a valuable member of the team. You have to be the person that every Manager wants in their team regardless of how many years of experience you have. So here are 5 tips based on my experience to help you stay Motivated as an Older Med Rep.
1. Have a Personal Goal or Milestone Your objective as a Med Rep is to record a good sales performance and meet all your assigned KPIs. However as an Older Med Rep you need to have Personal KPIs or Milestones for yourself and work towards meeting them. At this point you are very experienced, you know all your customers you have developed a routine at work, sometimes you know a customer so well that all you need is a phone call to close a sale. You might even have an experienced driver he basically does part of the Job for you. This means one way or the other you have some extra time on your hands. Use it to achieve your personal goals. This could be getting an advanced degree like a Master’s degree, another Master’s degree or a PhD. It could be starting a side hustle (Business) or owning a home, losing weight or any other project you desire. Being successful in your life outside work can do wonders for your self-confidence. Imagine being stuck in your Job but then receiving the Keys to a house or apartment that is yours or graduating with an advanced degree. If you are where you want to be in your personal life and not so at work you will feel better than if you were stuck in both aspects.
2. Work with Younger Reps Make it a habit to on-board and mentor fresh Med Reps in your Team. At this point on the Job, Most Managers will spend less time with you on coaching calls unless they absolutely have to, they rather spend more time with a younger colleague. Make sure you volunteer yourself as a co-manager, a coach for the younger Rep. Showing a younger colleague the ropes or exposing their ignorance or teaching them something that they don’t know that will help them on the Job will help build your confidence, keep you motivated and also help build your leadership skills. If your coaching helps to impact the performance of a Younger Rep positively then this can build your reputation with your Manager or with the team in general and may be considered in that next Managerial position Interview.
3. Change your territory or Change your Portfolio If you work in a Company with a diverse portfolio, where Med Reps are divided into different Teams promoting different products e.g. Antibiotics Team, Oncology Team etc. Talk to your Manager and push for a change promoting the same set or type of products for a long time can be very monotonous, changing your portfolio could spark a new challenge and depending on how diverse the Portfolio is, could expose you to new customers. If this option is not available then consider changing your territory i.e. move to another part of the same State or better still move to a different State. This is a particularly challenging option especially if you have a Family, this effect can also be achieved by becoming a Med Rep in a different Company if that opportunity arises.
4. Be on top of your game. This is very important particularly for non-sales tasks like Monthly Reports, Channel plans, Forecasts, CRM details etc. basically any task that requires a deadline. Particularly if you have a Manager who is a peer or was a junior colleague in the past. You do not want to be a weak link in the team, make sure all your deliverables are on time, in full and according to requirements. Any Task that is predominantly in your control should be met without any excuse. Considering that you have been doing this for a long time it should not be too much of a challenge. If your Sales Performance is decent, what you will notice is that you will potentially enjoy less supervision and more freedom from your Manager. Once he/she sees you as the experienced Rep who is dependable and can be trusted to deliver on tasks. This will also help you avoid those awkward conversations that Managers need to have with their Reps to discuss performance related issues.
5. Don’t give up. Keep applying for that Job no matter how many times you were unsuccessful in the past, keep learning new things every day, keep developing yourself. Try to enjoy life outside work, cherish your Family time and seek counselling if needed. I know it’s not easy to stay motivated but if you give up then it further deteriorates your chances in making that next step. You want to avoid having a reputation of being that person in the office that everybody perceives should not be here anymore.
I hope this knowledge will help out 1 or 2 individuals who fit the profile of an Older Medical Rep in the Pharma industry or any other, executing these tips like many other activities in life is not a guarantee for success but I believe they can help, I certainly wish I could go back in time and tell this to my younger self. I do not claim to have all the answers but these are thoughts purely based out of my experience in the Pharma industry.
Mayowa Oyeyipo (B.pharm, MBA)
Sales & Marketing Professional
