Medical device sales are hot right now. One firm to consider if you're looking to break into the business is Encore Path, which is hiring between 10 and 15 salespeople every month and is seeking those with empathy more than experience.
The company, which licenses and sells an arm rehabilitation device for stroke victims called Tailwind, is shopping for salespeople across the country, mostly in New York, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Washington State.
Encore Path was founded by Kris Appel, who knew she wanted to own her own business, but didn't know what to sell. "I found stroke research that was being done at the University of Maryland's medical school, and loved it," she said. "I licensed it in 2007 and arranged my first funding round with angel investors last year."
Representatives call hospitals as well as patients directly to sell the device. They work out of home, do all training online, and the compensation is commission-only. But rather than medical device hotshots, Appel wants people who have a personal familiarity with strokes or stroke victims so they understand what an ordeal it can be.
"We want sales experience as well as empathy," she said. The Baltimore-based company currently has 29 people, and plans to grow rapidly.
Former pharma reps need not apply.
"Pharma people are spoiled with the benefits and travel budgets, to them its shocking that I am not offering this, and they don't even know how to find their own leads," said Appel. Ouch.
Write to Shareen Pathak