STAR Medical


career insights

October 2007

Following a varied career of many years in ‘big pharma’, David Brown moved to Ipsen, where he now works as Business Unit Director, Endocrinology and Oncology. Pf asked David what attracted him to the company and what has kept him there for the last ten years.

What do you think has been your best move, role- or company-wise?

Joining Ipsen was undoubtedly my best move. Moving to Ipsen was a fascinating and refreshing experience. The opportunity to become more involved with the business and help shape the direction of business has been interesting, challenging and a great learning experience.The product portfolio is second to none and being able to clearly identify the benefits delivered to patients is extremely satisfying.

What attracted you to Ipsen?

Ipsen has a terrific culture and everyone is treated as an individual not a number. Previously I’ve experienced the frustrations which surround organisational issues in large organisations which can lead to slow decision making processes and even poor business decisions.

Ipsen is really focused on high-tech pharmaceutical products for use in specialty disease areas. Everyone involved in the sales and marketing activities of our brands is truly involved in the whole promotional programme and the inclusive culture was certainly a key attraction

What do you enjoy about your current role and what do you find challenging?

My current role is to lead the sales and marketing team, which provides many different challenges.These range from day-to-day tactical activities related to Code of Practice approvals and daily management tasks, through to being involved with the strategic direction of the brands and my Business Unit. It’s a very busy role which has many demands placed on it from a variety of angles, but it is also this diversity that provides real enjoyment.

What advice would you give to an ambitious sales person hoping to progress their career?

Take every opportunity for self-development, since breadth of experience is really important. Many individuals thinking about development think about a training course, but there are many other ways to enhance your experience and develop your competencies. Working across functional teams and learning from others around you is an excellent way of gaining further experience. Be smart, work hard, be positive and take a genuine interest in people.

When it comes to the crunch, are you able to convey your true potential? Lucy Randle advises on how to make the best of an interview.

Research
  • A lack of research could mean that you will fail to convincingly express your interest in the company.
  • Thoroughly research your potential new employer: look at their website, ask your recruitment consultant about them and, if discretion allows, talk to everyone you know who has dealings with them.
  • Find out about the company values and objectives, look into any published financial information such as share prices and ascertain who their competitors and affiliates are.
  • Ensure that you really do understand the role that you are applying for and practice pronouncing the names of the products! Make sure you understand how the products work and what they are for. Research the geography of the territory and its customers.
Preparation
  • Double-check with your recruitment consultant that you have the correct date, venue, time and name of interviewer. Look up your route or book your tickets for the journey well in advance of the big day.
  • Try on what you’re going to wear and ask a friend or partner their opinion of it. Do this a week or so before the interview so that you have time to go shopping or to the dry-cleaners if necessary!
  • Ask your recruitment consultant to talk you through what to expect from the interview they may have dealt with this manager before and be able to advise on how best to impress them.
  • Practice answering competency questions; memorise some examples of key successes; get your brag file up-to-date and well organised; think of at least two or three questions you might like to ask.
The Interview
  • When you meet the manager, smile and extend your hand for a firm handshake.
  • Maintain a positive attitude throughout, don’t criticise current or previous employers or colleagues.
  • Know your CV inside out: be ready to answer questions about why you have left previous jobs and, more importantly, why you would be good at this one!
  • Use your brag file to illustrate the examples of successes that you give.
  • Listen carefully to questions and give concise answers.
  • Always ask a question and always close.
TIP

The STAR team is constantly being exposed to useful and innovative ideas relating to aspects of employment and recruitment. Each month, a member of the team will share a favourite tip with you.

Steve Davis - Recruitment Consultant for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Think of a job interview as a first date, where you are both trying to decide if there is a match. Thinking this way means: you come across as curious, not desperate; you are genuine; you are more likely to ask questions to help you assess whether you want the job.

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Territory Sales Manager

Location: N. Thames

Salary: £30K plus bonus

Notes: <p>Territory Sales Manager<br />Continence Care<br />North Thames<br />Permanent<br />&pound;30K plus bonus<br />1008-20<br />STAR's recruiting for a Territory Sales Manager opportunity within a leading European company. You'll develop effective relationships with key primary care and acute trust contacts to maintain existing business and create new clients within your territory.&nbsp;<br />We'd like to hear from candidates with a strong background in medical sales and dealt with both PCTs and clinical staff. You must have the confidence to discuss your products with your clients and an extensive knowledge of operating in the NHS environment.<br />If you would like to be responsible for your own territory and are driven to succeed, we would like to hear from you. If you would like to know more please call Nick on 01225 336 335 or email nick.loades@starmedical.co.uk</p>

Territory Sales Manager

Location: South West

Salary: £30K plus bonus

Notes: <p>Territory Sales Manager<br />Continence Care<br />South West<br />Permanent<br />&pound;30K plus bonus<br />1008-19<br />STAR's recruiting for a Territory Sales Manager opportunity within a global company who have a heritage of more than 190 years. You'll develop effective relationships with key primary care and acute trust contacts to maintain existing business and create new clients within your territory.&nbsp;<br />We'd like to hear from candidates with a strong background in medical sales and dealt with both PCTs and clinical staff. You must have the confidence to discuss your products with your clients and an extensive knowledge of operating in the NHS environment.<br />If you would like to be responsible for your own territory and are driven to succeed, we would like to hear from you. If you would like to know more please call Richard on 01225 336 335 or email Richard.morris@starmedical.co.uk</p>

Account Manager

Location: South West & South Central London

Salary: £33-36K

Notes: <p>Account Executive<br />Capital Equipment<br />South West &amp; South Central London<br />Permanent<br />Salary &pound;33-36K Plus benefits<br />1008-27<br />STAR's recruiting for an Account Executive to maximise profitable rental opportunities with contracted accounts, drive new contract business and penetrate sales opportunities in acute units in South West &amp; South Central London.<br />It's an important sales role in the assisted woundcare close therapy side of the business; you'll need to be a results orientated, self driven individual with a proven track record in sales. The ideal candidate will be an excellent communicator, face to face and over the telephone, with a natural ability to get on with others.<br />You must have capital sales experience, preferably within the pressure care market. &nbsp;A Tissue Viability qualification or wound care background is very desirable.<br />You'll be driven, focused and financially aware to meet your targets. You must be interested and motivated by the evolutionary process and able to think outside the box, whilst adhering to protocols and parameters. &nbsp;You need to be personable, with a good attitude to work, with excellent time management skills.<br />If you'd like to hear more about this exciting opportunity, call Stewart today on 01628 581240 or email your CV to us stewart.musselle@starmedical.co.uk</p>

Product Manager

Location: Basingstoke

Salary: Competitive

Notes: <p>Senior Product Manager<br />&nbsp;<br />Neurology<br />&nbsp;<br />Basingstoke<br />&nbsp;<br />Permanent<br />&nbsp;<br />Competitive Salary<br />&nbsp;<br />1007-77<br />&nbsp;<br />STAR's recruiting for a Product Manager opportunity based in Baisingstoke. &nbsp;This is an exciting opportunity to be working in a highly specialised therapeutic market place.<br />You'll be responsible for the day to day programme support for products in UK and Ireland consistent with agreed strategies and expenditure.<br />In collaboration with Marketing, you will be responsible for all aspects of creating and implementing a market access plan for your assigned products. You'll be responsible for optimising results by developing and implementing effective programmes, consistent with EU and global strategies. Developing pre-launch and launch plans with commercial and medical management teams will also be key for new products in this role. You'll provide a regular input at brand team meetings and to patient outcome surveys for the products. As part of this role, you'll manage the marketing budgets to ensure that it remains consistent with the agreed budget plan and demonstrate an effective spend/sales ratio.&nbsp;<br />The ideal candidate will be educated to degree level or equivalent in life sciences and have experience in product launches and market access strategy. &nbsp;You'll be able to prioritize and deliver key projects within agreed timescales. A self starter and team player who has worked at a management level, &nbsp;you must have experience of secondary care products.<br />You'll be an excellent communicator, have good time management skills and be able to build strong relationships both internally and externally. We'd like to speak to people who have a strong scientific knowledge base and are organised and able to be flexible in a changing environment.<br />If you're interested in this opportunity please email a copy of your CV to samantha.wise@starmedical.co.uk or call Samantha on 01628 581 240</p>

Product Manager

Location: Watford

Salary: Up to £60K plus bonus

Notes: <p>Product Manager<br />Watford<br />Permanent<br />Up to &pound;60K plus bonus<br />Competitive Salary<br />1008-22<br />STAR's recruiting for a Product Manager implementing effective strategy to achieve increased sales of prescription only medicines to pharmacies.<br />You'll be responsible for commissioning market research into ideal promotional platforms and key messages for your products and create launch and development plans using this information. A large part of your role will be to identify and maximise new marketing and sales opportunities as well as a rolling strategic plan for your assigned products. Monitoring of your sales team's activity and performance against assigned targets and budgets.<br />The ideal candidate will be educated to degree level or equivalent in a marketing area, with comprehensive experience in pharmaceutical sales and marketing. You'll need excellent verbal and written communication skills to succeed in this role, combined with the ability to both self-motivate and collaborate with relevant teams to achieve given targets.<br />If you would like to know more about this role, please call Samantha on 01628 581 240 or email a copy of your C.V. to samantha.wise@starmedical.co.uk</p>

Associate/Brand Manager

Location: Berkshire

Salary: Up to £45K

Notes: <p>Associate/Brand Manager<br />Immunology/Gastroenterology<br />Berkshire<br />Up to 45K plus benefits<br />Permanent<br />1008-26<br />STAR's recruiting for a new Brand Manager opportunity. In this role you'll be developing and implementing sales strategies to maximise return.<br />You'll be creating, implementing and managing impactful marketing programmes at a sales force level. Responsible for ensuring that the budget remains within agreed limits, you will liaise closely with the sales management and sales teams to ensure full engagement with pre determined campaigns and brand plan. With this in mind you will need to develop effective ways to implement company strategy and assess ROI through KPIs.<br />We would like to hear from candidates who are educated to degree level or equivalent and have experience in project development and implementing strategic marketing plans, with good knowledge of the marketplace. Demonstrable sales record in the Pharmaceutical or Healthcare sector. You'll have the ability to grasp complex information and react accordingly within your key customer environment. You must have excellent interpersonal skills and previous experience of digital media communication would be an advantage. Computer literacy in and fluency in English are important assets for your role.&nbsp;<br />If you are a self starter who would like to work in an growing company we would like to hear from you.<br />If you'd like to know more please call David Alexander on 01225 336 335 or mail your CV to david.alexander@starmedical.co.uk</p>

Hospital Sales Specialist

Location: East Midlands

Salary: Competitive

Notes: <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Hospital Sales Specialist</p> <p>East Midlands&nbsp;(Nottingham, Leicester, Derby, Lincoln)</p> <p>Circa 48K</p> <p>Oncology</p> <p>Permanent</p> <p>1008-25</p> <p>We have an exceptional Hospital Specialist vacancy available with a company devoted to the discovery and development of innovative diagnostic and therapeutic products, with a promising pipeline to match!</p> <p>On a daily basis you'll secure meetings and develop relationships with key NHS and private customers in your area including doctors, registrars, nurses, pharmacists, managers and other oncology unit staff.</p> <p>You'll position and sell the product by providing detailed, useful, tailored information about its benefits, based on your product knowledge, which you'll have to keep up to date.</p> <p>To be successful in this role, you should be able to demonstrate proven success in hospital sales. Ideally, you'll have oncology, and strong PCT experience. We would like to hear from you if you're currently a Hospital Specialist, with experience in a niche area. Key Account Management experience is would be advantageous, as well as a good understanding of clinical papers and ability to use them to sell effectively. A life science degree or equivalent or qualification in nursing, pharmacy or a related field is an essential to this position.</p> <p>If you'd like to hear more about this exciting opportunity call Nick today on 01225 336335 or email your CV to us at <a href="mailto:nick.loades@starmedical.co.uk">nick.loades@starmedical.co.uk</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

Area Sales Manager

Location: North of England

Salary: Up to 33K

Notes: <p>Area Sales Manager<br />North of England (North West, North East and Scotland)<br />Permanent<br />Up to &pound;33K<br />1008-24<br />STAR's recruiting for an Area Sales Manager, delivering profitable sales against agreed targets.&nbsp;In this role you will be responsible for effectively promoting and selling products according to internal and external customer needs. Adhering to operating procedures and maintaining awareness of activity in your territory and ensuring that customers are up to date on technical developments. You'll be seeking out new business opportunities as well as maintaining current client relationships. Delivering monthly product, activity and sales reviews to Management will be an important part of your role as maintaining a positive image and consistency of business is vital.<br />The ideal candidate will be educated to degree level of equivalent with demonstrable selling skills into hospitals and the NHS. Knowledge of pharmacy and aseptic units would be a huge benefit to you in this role, as well as an in-depth knowledge of the NHS, capital equipment and disposables. You'll need experience of creating and conducting presentations as this will be a large part of your role.<br />If you are a highly motivated self-starter, please call Stewart on 01628 581 240 or email a copy of your C.V. to stewart.musselle@starmedical.co.uk</p>

Territory Manager

Location: Coventry, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Luton, Oxford, Reading, High Wycombe, Hemel Hempstead, Slough

Salary: Competitive

Notes: <p>Territory Manager<br />Woundcare &amp; Skin<br />Coventry, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Luton, Oxford, Reading, High Wycombe, Hemel Hempstead, Slough (Postcode CV, NN, MK, LU, OX, RG, HP, SL, WD, AL, EN, SG)<br />Competitive salary<br />Permanent<br />1008-31<br />STAR has an exciting new Territory Manager opportunity, in which you'll be responsible for driving sales and market share by building relationships with NHS personnel and customers, ensuring high performance is delivered at all times.&nbsp;<br />You'll be working in our client's Woundcare &amp; Skin division, selling a range of intimate healthcare products.<br />We welcome applications from individuals with experience of working in a sales environment, ideally medical devices or healthcare, and of client negotiation at senior, clinical level.&nbsp;<br />A Bachelor degree or equivalent qualification is very desirable, and experience of working with supplies/procurement would be extremely advantageous.&nbsp;<br />If you'd like to hear more about this exciting opportunity, call Nick today on 01225 336335 or email your CV to Nick at Nick.Loades@starmedical.co.uk</p>


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STAR Medical

STAR House / 4 Kelso Place / Upper Bristol Road / BATH BA1 3AU

Tel: 01225 336 335 / Fax: 01225 326 398 / Email: solutions@starmedical.co.uk


STAR Medical Ltd. is registered in England & Wales Reg. No. 448 7307.
STAR Medical Contracts Ltd. is registered in England & Wales Reg. No. 577 0769.
Registered address 4 Kelso Place / Upper Bristol Road / BATH BA1 3AU.