Realistic info for Stryker Instruments division

I am in final stages of interviews for an instruments sales job and looking for some real info about the job/company. It does no one any good to give me a BS reply or try to be cute and funny, I appreciate any sincere answers.

I am not afraid of hard work but don't want to sacrifice my time with my kids and work 60+ hours a week. Is it possible to succeed in this division with those desires?

Also, I understand there is no salary but there are recurring sales of the disposable products. What is a realistic expectation per month from that?

Thanks everyone for the help.

 

every territory is different. when starting out you will work your tail off as you earn business. of course, you're expected to grow and increase sales, so your workload may continue to get much larger despite increased efficiency as you're more comfortable in your role. some hospitals may make it easy for you while that account 1.5 hours away may need to have their hand held many times a week (ie getting all of the instruments back in the correct locations). if you have an account that throws instruments around and loses things who is responsible to ensure the trays are ready for the next mornings cases?

40 hours? doubt it. 50-60? reasonable week. up to 80? possible with trials and other accounts running. i've worked over 60+ hours on average in a past position. something has to suffer (relationships, qt with the fam, your midsection, hairline, etc). definitely won't be getting in a lot of mid-week workouts or attending many practices.

 

You have got to be kidding me. I am with Stryker Endo and RARELY ever see the Intstruments rep. it is pretty widely known at Stryker that Instruments reps don't work very much and make great coin. You basically have no competition so if you are working more than 40 hrs a week you are doing something wrong, my fiend.

 

Again, depends on territory and what they're selling within instruments. OP, what specific division are you referring to?

Think about the NSE side. To say "no competition" is misleading. Do the drill reps compete with Medtronic Midas drills? What about Anspach / Synthes / Depuy? Do people selling Sonopet compete with CUSA?

 

Thank you both for the info.

Wasn't aware of different divisions within instruments....would be selling the power tools, cement mixer and the new gel suture compound as well as all the replaceable items.

I like the "40 hour, nice coin" comment

 

There is no competition. Greatest gig in all of medical device sales. If you are lucky enough to land this, take it no matter what territory you are given.

 

Again, thanks for info. Also wondering about recurring sales. What is a reasonable amount to expect per month. Giving up a nice monthly salary and wondering what to expect on a monthly basis in between larger capital sales.

Also wondering about paying all my own expenses. My territory would be quite large and gas could be expensive. Stryker really pay for nothing??

 

No expenses, but recurring usage will be enough to pay any base you already have. What territory are you interviewing for? Hands down, best gig in all of device sales. Great money, great products....management is headed the wrong way, but other than that, you're insane not to take the job.

 

Wow, pure comedy. Get off your high horse... Endo's numbers are terrible for this very reason. If you aren't seeing your surgical rep it is because of one of two reasons, either you aren't working very hard, or he/she is a bad rep.

 

This is funny. The surgical division of Stryker is the most overpaid, underworked division in Medical sales. They have no competition. None. All of the items in their bag that would require actual salesmanship in a market with legitimate competition were divested when they split off NSE and Nav. If, and it is a big if, another ortho company decided to put the same type of focus on Orthopedic power equipment that Styrker Surgical for more than a year or two, you would see some pretty funny stuff. Power for Synthes, Zimmer, JandJ,et al has ALWAYS been an afterthought. Linvatec shit the bed and bailed out .

Instrument reps in most places have relationships with Nurses and OR managers. Very few have any real relationships with the docs. Fortunately for them Stryker's power equipment is just much better than anyone elses because if they actually had to compete on a level playing field, it would be a bloodbath. They are order takers. If another company with shitty product does threaten them, they default to dropping their price or trying to lean on a national contract.

To management's credit, they continue to push forward with new systems to stay ahead of the tech curve. They had a couple of very smart ex sales guys in upper management once that created that culture in order to take out Hall and keep them down. It has stuck.

 

Power Tools are not the only product is Surgical's bag, many of the products are actually fairly commoditized. Let me ask you a honest question, if most of your products were not directed at the surgeon, but at the staff, where would you spend more of your time? Surgeon power is declining at a rapid pace, and is only going to get worse as more and more become employees. While I do think it's important to have a relationship there and to make sure they will back you if needed, they are not the only players.

Supply chain is driving the bus, so before you go crapping on every rep you see in talking to materials management or the nurses, you might want ask your why.

I have quite a few friends in endo, and the attitude for the other divisions of Stryker is amazing. Just my opinion, but I actually think working together has some benefit.

 

Recently went on a surgical instruments ride along with a syk rep and the basic tools were the power and canulla. Other ones he sold to the surgeon were were cast cutter, tons of arthro and lapro instruments, sports med kits with cross pins, sutures and dilators etc and a bunch of other ones I forgot. Lots of tools in their arsenal, fun environment and experience.