Benjamin Bossard

I have a Bachelors in Business from Doane University and was working for Lincoln Public Schools as a Braille Transcriber for many years. After 9 years, I started my own Braille business to produce and sell Braille products while keeping my full-time job with LPS. Eventually I realized that I wanted to change careers and become a Medical Device Sales rep.

I have long been interested in anatomy and biology and have always envisioned myself being involved in the medical field and having a role in potentially adding quality of life to patients in some meaningful way. I view medical sales as a good way to achieve this.

Searching online, and through LinkedIn.

For several months I noticed the placement postings on Linked-in, twice a month or so. Being able to see the company names where students were recently placed alongside pictures and names of recent graduates, this gave me a good impression of MSC.

I enjoyed learning about the various Pathologies and history of products developed to address these problems. Then Comparing and Contrasting the current devices on the market through presentations. Also I was impressed with the opportunity we had to use some actual devices in the SawBones Lab.

It gives you important foundational knowledge while giving you the opportunity to improve your speaking and presentation skills. What I found most valuable was getting in the Sawbones lab and working with the actual plates, screws, hip stems, and knee replacement parts to gain a better understanding of the surgical procedures through hands-on training.

I didn?t really try before attending because I knew it wouldn?t be good.

I went to NASS in Chicago hoping to make valuable connections there. I met the VP of Medacta USA and he put in a good word for me. Eventually (about a month later) I spoke with the Area Director who set me up with an interview with the Regional Sales Manager in the Chicago area. They flew me out to Chicago and I had dinner with him and his Logistics Manager. Eventually I was asked about my experience at MSC. He asked me to name one product that I gave a presentation on. I said the Oxford Partial Knee. He said, ?Sell me the Oxford Partial Knee? So I started speaking about all that I could remember about the Oxford Knee including the mobile tibial bearing. When I finished talking, he seemed impressed and said ?You sold me, you remember quite a bit, that?s good?. Later on, it was just us in his office and we had a good conversation and I could tell that I was on my way to landing this job. So I was told to expect to hear back with an offer. But then, there was a delay because of ?logistics?, I was told. A couple weeks later, I had a FaceTime interview which went quite well. The whole process took about three months which felt like a really long time. But I?m glad the wait is over now.

After graduating from MSC comes the job campaign process. This period of time involves searching, applying and interviewing and it is more mentally and emotionally challenging than I imagined. It can be very difficult and anxiety-inducing for a long time. Patience is a must.

Always be focused on the Features, Benefits, and Value to the patient/surgeon when speaking about a product. Also, to exercise patience throughout the Sales process.