From College Student to Medical Device Sales (Before Graduation)

0:00Dude, it's super inspiring because you

0:01don't have experience. Like, you don't

0:03have sales experience. You weren't even

0:04out of college. You finally get your

0:06first offer. What did that feel like?

0:07>> Obviously, hard to put into words. Now,

0:09I have the job. I am a medical device

0:11salesperson. I want to be the best one

0:13at the entire company. I want to be the

0:15best version of myself.

0:16>> So, like originally, what was your

0:18experience like? Like attempting to get

0:19into Medice like

0:20>> you have no traction for a very long

0:22time and then you feel like why am I

0:24doing this? Maybe I should look at like

0:26another another career. probably the

0:27first three months it was just like

0:29nobody like I'm not even like making it

0:31up like I have probably zero people

0:32answering and I'm talking reaching out

0:34to dozens of people every single day

0:36>> now you're stepping into med device man

0:37how does this change you know like how

0:39does this change your your life and your

0:41career path moving [music] forward

0:42>> um it's nice knowing that I now

0:44officially have the power to work hard

0:47and to reap the benefits from the

0:49[music] hard work I put in just uh

0:50comforting knowing that because I know I

0:52will work hard

0:53>> what advice do you have to beginners

0:54looking to break into the med sales

0:56industry

0:56>> I mean obviously I could give a lot of

0:57advice, but just to leave like anybody

0:59with one.

1:02>> All right, welcome back to Break into

1:04Medical Device Sales, the podcast

1:06dedicated towards helping you break into

1:08the high-paying world of medical device.

1:11Sent across from Austin, who received

1:13his first medical device sales offer

1:15with a multi-million dollar company

1:17before graduating college in a quick

1:19time frame. So Austin, I'm excited to

1:21dive into your journey here together on

1:23how you did this, what advice we have

1:24for beginners looking to break into the

1:26industry and to talk about how possible

1:28it is for people without experience to

1:29break into medical device sales. So you

1:31ready to dive in, man?

1:32>> Absolutely. Yeah.

1:33>> Awesome. All right, brother. So let's go

1:34back, you know, what were you doing

1:36before medical device sales?

1:38>> Um, I was in the infantry in the army

1:40right after high school. I joined the

1:41army and um after that I just went to

1:44college and you know standard went to

1:46the army went to college but I I knew I

1:48always wanted to be a medical device

1:50sale um but I didn't know how to how to

1:52do it. So there was the our professional

1:54selling program at our school at our

1:55college the the head professor of it. I

1:57went to her and told her listen I just

1:59got an internship at like a medical

2:01device company. Do you know anybody or

2:03is there anything you can tell me help

2:04me get in? And then she just I don't

2:06know her. She gave me the phone number

2:08of some uh sales director at like a

2:10large company. He told you to call him

2:12at like I don't know 3:00 like today. I

2:14was just like, "Oh my good, I don't know

2:16what to say." But I called him. I kind

2:18of embarrassed myself, but um he

2:19appreciated the gesture. He knew I was

2:21like new to it. So he got me in contact

2:23with like a manager there. Then that

2:25manager met with me for coffee and then

2:27he kind of just, you know, taught me the

2:29rope, the dos and don't. And uh ever

2:31since then, it's just trial and error.

2:33You just keep doing it over and over and

2:35over, reaching out to people. uh you

2:36don't stop. I'm talking like 30 to 50

2:39people a day just spam me on LinkedIn.

2:41Connect connect.

2:42>> We shouldn't dab into the technical

2:43stuff, right? But let's go back for a

2:45quick second here. I mean, why did you

2:46even want to pursue medical device to

2:48begin? Like, how did you know that this

2:50was the career path for you coming out

2:51of college where you're like, this is

2:52where I want to be.

2:53>> I was an athlete and I was in the

2:55infantry in the army and I just knew

2:57that, you know, I kind of like sitting

2:59at a desk just wasn't something I would

3:01have fun doing. And it's um I didn't

3:02find like a ton of meaning in it. And I

3:04also like help other people which is the

3:06reason I was in the army. I'm really

3:08interested in just humans in general,

3:10the human body. Um, and I wanted to be

3:11in the medical field. I didn't want to,

3:13you know, go all the way through medical

3:14school. I knew how long that would have

3:16taken and I already was starting college

3:18kind of late. So then I kind of found

3:19out about medical device sales. You can

3:21kind of contribute people's health and

3:23you also get autonomy doing it and

3:25you're kind of out in the field talking

3:26to people, not sitting in an office. So,

3:28uh, that's kind of what initially

3:30attracted me to it.

3:31>> I agree with you wholeheartedly, man. I

3:32mean, medical device is a world where

3:33you basically get to run a business with

3:35a W2 paycheck and um you know, you still

3:38get that impact of helping people in

3:39healthcare, but without having to go

3:40through 20 years of med school and 200k

3:42in debt, right? How did you even find

3:43out about it?

3:44>> About just medical device in in general.

3:46I knew I wanted to be in sales. So, I

3:48did a sales internship like my last four

3:50months in the army and I was just

3:51looking around at different industries.

3:53I knew that like tech sales, one of the

3:54big ones. Wasn't that interested in tech

3:56sales, but I still want to do something

3:58in sales. So was applying the rules

4:00there and just the more and more you

4:02scroll LinkedIn. I like one day I just

4:03saw like I forgot which company it was.

4:05It was one of like those big medical med

4:07device companies and I like read the job

4:09description. I was like oh wait but you

4:10can actually be a salesperson and sell

4:12to hospitals. I kind of just always

4:14assumed hospitals just like have

4:15equipment there. It's just just there. I

4:17never think that there's an actual sales

4:19team behind it. So I mean honestly it

4:20was kind of just browsing LinkedIn

4:22finding out about it and then um

4:24reaching out to people that actually are

4:25in it.

4:26>> All right. Cool. I'm curious what made

4:27you want to get into sales to begin with

4:29cuz it sounded like you were already

4:30interested in sales and then you kind of

4:31like found out about medical device as a

4:33byproduct.

4:33>> I want to be in sales. I want to work

4:35speaking. What I want to do every day is

4:37speak with people um and help people.

4:39And on top of that, I'm also a very hard

4:41worker. I enjoy having a sense of

4:44autonomy and I like when people put

4:46trust in me to do something because I

4:48work so hard. I like people to show me

4:49that they can trust me. I like backing

4:51up like what I say I'm going to do with

4:52my actions. My grandfather, who was like

4:54my role model, always told me that sales

4:56is the closest thing you can be to a

4:58business owner without actually being a

4:59business owner. And I think that's

5:00definitely very true.

5:01>> For sure. I, you know, it's funny. I

5:03recently looked at like the top 10 six

5:05figure careers for people out of college

5:07with the bachelors. You know, due to

5:08this long-winded list, like, you know,

5:09construction manager, like consultant,

5:11airline pilot, all that stuff. And I'm

5:13like, every single one of these jobs,

5:14like none of them have any autonomy,

5:16none of them have any upward income

5:18potential. And you know all of them like

5:21force you to get good at just like one

5:23specific skill which means down the line

5:24it's not transferable into anything else

5:26whereas you know med device you dude you

5:28learn to become an entrepreneur like you

5:30learn all of this intricate B2B sales um

5:33you learn the clinical side of business

5:35as well. So are like all right med

5:36device seems really interesting and then

5:38you start networking with people to to

5:40learn more about the industry. So what

5:41was your original networking strategy

5:43like?

5:43>> Uh well first you just reach out to

5:45someone who's usually an associate at

5:47the company. You connect with them on

5:48LinkedIn. Try to connect with a ton of

5:50people at a company you're actually

5:52interested in. That's the big thing

5:54because people are going to hear in your

5:55tone, your voice. They're going to know

5:56if you you actually mean it. Oh, I'm

5:58interested in the company. Well, why why

6:00are you interested? Like, what are even

6:01what are our products? I actually did my

6:03own research the companies I'm

6:04interested in. Reached out to associates

6:06there. Talked to about 8 10 of them on

6:08phone um to tell them about my story,

6:10ask about theirs, and then always ask

6:12for the next step. Is there anyone else

6:14you can connect me with? And then

6:15they'll um sometimes they won't,

6:16sometimes they will. They'll connect you

6:18with the manager. And then the same

6:19thing you did with um the associates you

6:21do with the manager because people are

6:22people. They know they they want to hear

6:24why you're interested in what they're

6:26doing. They want to hear your story.

6:27Know that you need to ask questions. The

6:29number one thing is they didn't know

6:30that you're um actually listening to the

6:32questions. You can't just like have five

6:34questions generated and then you just

6:36ask them and then that's it. The next

6:37day reach out to them and say, "Oh, when

6:39you told me about XYZ, here's what I

6:41noticed." You know, just being a genuine

6:43person just like anything else in life.

6:44You know, dude, so many things that you

6:46just said for like a master class in

6:48medical device networking because um

6:50like let's just talk about that for a

6:51second, dude. Like first off, you said

6:53starting with the associates, right?

6:55Starting from the ground up, right? Like

6:57work your way up the ladder first. Don't

6:58just go right to the hiring managers or

7:00the the senior reps, right? Like very

7:02accessible people, people that are they

7:04recently broke into the industry. They

7:06probably are more eager to help, right?

7:08Also doing your research, like huge.

7:09Like it's so common for me to get hit up

7:12from people Austin where they're

7:13interested in Medice and like they just

7:15reach out to me and they say I'm

7:16interested in Medice. Do you have

7:16advice? And it's like dude like you

7:18should be approaching me specifically

7:20about my company, my product, like what

7:22we represent, etc. And like that just

7:23differentiates you from so many other

7:25people. You also just talked about the

7:26consistency, man. It's just like right

7:28out of the gate, you were just like,

7:28"Yeah, man. 30 people a day."

7:30>> And like that right there will separate

7:32people that are going to break into this

7:33industry versus not. Like the volume

7:35that you need to commit to uh is

7:37serious. And then finally like really

7:39listening and taking notes. So I mean

7:40that all of that was gold right there. I

7:42mean you probably don't even realize it

7:43but that's like right there is like 50%

7:45of what people are not doing. You know

7:46what I mean? So

7:47>> I appreciate that

7:48>> 100% man. I mean so like originally what

7:50was your experience like like attempting

7:52to get into med device? Like what was

7:54your first few months like in trying to

7:56get in and did you get any traction?

7:57>> So in kind of it's you have no traction

8:00for a very long time and then you feel

8:01like why am I even doing this? Maybe I

8:03should look at like another another

8:04career. But it's just like really you

8:06have no traction at all and then one day

8:08someone will tell you something and then

8:10it just all clicks and then you just

8:11keep doing that over and over and over

8:13and it all compound. I know the first

8:15I'd say three maybe four months probably

8:17the first 3 months it was just like

8:19nobody I'm not even like making it up

8:21like probably zero people answering and

8:23I'm talking reaching out to dozens of

8:25people every single day and then um I

8:26didn't know like someone I know has a

8:28friend and that friend was on the phone

8:30with me. I actually knew the person.

8:31They're just from my hometown growing

8:33up. they're in the the medical device

8:34industry. She just told me what she said

8:36to everybody that she was interested in

8:38speaking with. I kind of just said what

8:40she told me to say. Obviously, my own

8:42words. And then after that, it's just

8:43like I had three people respond to me. I

8:45was like, "Oh." And then I just got a

8:46little bit more creative with like what

8:48I was sending. And really, again, it's

8:49just consistency. In sales, it takes

8:51like an average of like seven touch

8:52points even. I get someone to buy

8:54something anyways. So, that's what you

8:55need to also do in this. When I am

8:57ignored, I message the person again. So,

8:59like you don't harass people, of course,

9:00but you follow up. And I do think they

9:02do that on purpose sometimes to see how

9:04you're going to react.

9:04>> Dude, you have to do the job to get a

9:06job, right? And you know, it compounds

9:08so much like you doing that consistently

9:10for weeks to months like eventually

9:12these contacts pop, which I think we're

9:13going to talk about, but like one of the

9:14things that I focus on a lot with my

9:16like students and clients is in that

9:18initial outreach being far like very

9:20effective. like you just mentioned when

9:22you initially reach out to people in

9:23medical device in network and LinkedIn

9:26so many people do that and therefore

9:27they become very immune to helping

9:29people because you don't separate

9:30yourself from like 30 to 40 people like

9:32we really focus on like with that first

9:34outreach message making it as openable

9:36and respondable as possible because you

9:38see like how much more that would

9:39accelerate you breaking in if you had a

9:41more effective like networking on day

9:42one right you didn't have any experience

9:45either right like you had no sales

9:46experience you had no clinical

9:47experience so did you even think it was

9:49possible for you to break in

9:50>> I knew it was poss possible. Um, I knew

9:52it would be very, very difficult. It's

9:53one of those things like anything is

9:55technically possible, but you know, it

9:56was kind of like that. I just knew if I

9:58worked hard cuz I've just seen it happen

10:00to too many other people in this

10:01industry. Uh, the more I started

10:02learning about it, the more obviously I

10:04learned that, yeah, you can break in

10:05with that experience. After a certain

10:07amount of time, it started to feel like,

10:08dang, I don't know if like this is

10:10really true, but um, you just got to

10:12trust yourself. Um, trust the work that

10:13you put in. Again, I'll say it over and

10:16over. Consistency. Consistency. Think

10:18the world the world is your mirror.

10:19whatever you put into the world, you get

10:21out of it. So, I I wouldn't say ever

10:23really feared that I was not going to

10:25get in. The only like the only thing is

10:27I I sacrificed a lot of free time like

10:29in my last year of college. I do not

10:31regret it at all, but it's just

10:33something you have to accept. If you

10:34sacrifice certain things like in your

10:36social life, just the the amount of time

10:38you spend whatever it is watching

10:40sports, you'll get a return on that.

10:41>> I mean, just think of the ROI on that,

10:43man. You know, like you sacrifice

10:44watching a few games of sports each

10:46week, right? And now you've just changed

10:48the trajectory of your career for the

10:50rest of your life or a career that will

10:52pay you multiple six figures like give

10:53you an incredible resume and incredible

10:56experience, right? So did anyone tell

10:58you when you started networking and

10:59trying to break in, hey man, you need

11:01more experience, you need sales

11:02experience, you need B2B experience or

11:03whatever. Like did you ever get So yeah,

11:05talk about that.

11:06>> Yeah, I mean all the time. I wouldn't

11:07say all the time to be honest. A lot of

11:09most people are like pretty helpful.

11:10Like they don't just say like go get

11:12more experience. I mean that has

11:13happened a few times. Obviously not

11:14naming anybody or any company but I mean

11:16like I had like some person told me to

11:18go it was something along the lines I

11:20had to get some degree from some type of

11:22medical school just training on like the

11:24the human heart. I don't it was some

11:26type of heart certification you have to

11:27get from a medical school and um you

11:30know I didn't do it not cuz I don't

11:31think oh I don't need to know that cuz

11:32you do you need to have a clinical

11:34knowledge. I understand it to know that,

11:36but I just believe that somebody would

11:37end up taking a chance on me if I just

11:39remain persistent. And I know that all

11:40these companies train people anyways. I

11:42knew my opportunity would come if I just

11:44stuck with it. But every once in a

11:45while, they would tell you to get more

11:47experience. What you just don't put your

11:48head down. You just move on to the next

11:50opportunity and keep believing in

11:51yourself.

11:51>> Did you get discouraged at all when

11:53people would tell you come back with

11:54more experience or hey man like we don't

11:55have any openings right now or it just

11:57would or you got ghosted?

11:59>> To be honest, no. I didn't get

12:00discouraged because at this point when

12:02people did tell me did start telling me

12:04that I need more experience uh by this

12:06point I've already made connections with

12:08a lot of people. So I've I've also had a

12:11lot of people tell me that I don't need

12:12experience. They would just say the only

12:14thing they would say is like just wait

12:15to apply later closer to graduation. So

12:17I know there are people at certain like

12:19companies that do believe me. So um

12:21that's like the only validation they

12:22need. All you need is one yeah in the

12:24end of the day cuz you're only going to

12:25accept one job at the end of the day.

12:26You might get rejected 10 times, but if

12:28you get one single offer, that is all

12:31you need to change your life. Like

12:32that's just one offer. And if you just

12:34keep that at the forefront of your mind,

12:35that will keep you going throughout this

12:37journey.

12:37>> So, uh I I admire the resilience, man,

12:40cuz you already just had the conviction

12:41that I'm going to do it anyway, even

12:42though people are telling you I can't.

12:44Um but that's really what it takes.

12:45Like, how long were you networking

12:47before it started to pan out into, hey,

12:49Austin, you should come interview with

12:50us?

12:51>> I would say if you're saying how long

12:53before I ever like was told, need to

12:54come interview with us. Well, I started

12:56it took me four months.

12:57>> Okay. Four months from I had no idea

12:59what I was doing. I never talked to any

13:01medical device person ever to uh the

13:03first time someone mentioned like me to

13:05interview later. It was very like

13:07informal like you'll just you know Yeah.

13:09Like I'll put in a recommendation like

13:11closer to graduation we can have you

13:13interview. But um yeah, that that took

13:14about 4 months of non-stop.

13:17>> Wow. All things considered though, man,

13:19you didn't even have the networking

13:20cheat sheet, right? Like at the time you

13:22and I didn't connect until you were

13:24already like beginning to interview. So

13:25the point is is like you didn't even

13:27have like the highest level networking

13:29strategy. I think that's just a

13:30testament to your consistency, right?

13:32Cuz there are a lot of people Austin I

13:34talk to every single day that have B2B

13:36sales experience that have like good

13:37experience and they've been networking

13:39for 6 months and they have zero track

13:41and you did it in four and that was

13:43without the playbook. Like that was just

13:45pure trial and error like just go hard.

13:47I'll I'll just beat my head against the

13:49wall until it works. Right. So you and I

13:51synced up and and I know that you were

13:52pulled in the interview process, right?

13:54Like so what was your interview strategy

13:55after we linked up and you know how you

13:57were able to you know crush those first

13:58few rounds.

13:59>> Yeah. Just um not to change I think I

14:01was nervous at first to be honest. I

14:03know like you did help me out with

14:04helping me organize like my story. I'm

14:06confident in my ability to tell my

14:08story. Um I believe all of the hard work

14:10I've done in the past you know getting

14:12this opportunity. Uh, I'm confident in

14:14that, but I just don't know how to

14:15organize that sometimes, especially

14:17because it was my first interview ever

14:19with a medical device company. I was

14:20nervous and I know you kind of just

14:22helped me. You didn't tell me what to

14:23say, of course, cuz that would obviously

14:25wouldn't work. I told you my story. You

14:27kind of organized it in sections. It's

14:29like, don't talk about this before you

14:30talk about this, you know, kind of got

14:32everything in order and that helped me a

14:33lot. And then I would say after that,

14:35that helped me crush the first

14:36interview, which was the big thing cuz I

14:38needed that confidence

14:39>> momentum.

14:39>> Um, yeah, I needed that momentum and it

14:41carried over. But really throughout the

14:43entire process after that, it's all

14:45about doing all of the things that got

14:47you there. You don't change anything. I

14:49would say there was only one moment in

14:51all the interviews I went through.

14:52Probably one moment where I was like,

14:54"Oh my gosh, like I just I sounded like

14:56a fool." Like right there. I sounded

14:57really unintelligent. But the only time

14:59that happened is when I just veered away

15:01from what was working and being

15:03authentic. I started talking about, oh,

15:05like I accomplished XYZ. Here are the

15:08numbers. Like just sounded very robotic.

15:10And it's like that's not why these

15:11people were ever interested in me. So

15:13like why would I change that? You just

15:14need to listen listen listen to everyone

15:16you connect with. And again actually do

15:19what they what they say. Actually listen

15:21take notes and do it. If you just listen

15:23it doesn't do anything for you. So it's

15:25um the more people you connect with the

15:27more valuable advice, the more different

15:29ways of looking things you're going to

15:30get. So I would just say it all

15:31compounds. Do that in the interview

15:33process. Be yourself cuz they uh people

15:35want you know unique workforce. They

15:37don't want every single person

15:38interviewing say the exact same stuff.

15:40That wouldn't really make any sense. So,

15:41um, just be yourself. Be confident in

15:43yourself and they'll be able to hear in

15:44your voice.

15:45>> The the story, you know, the why medical

15:48device and like why you Austin, right?

15:50That it seems so corny and it seems so

15:52unimportant, but that's arguably the

15:54most important thing like the most

15:56important answer that you need to have

15:57down going into the interview process

15:59and even the networking process. It's

16:01like they don't want to hear the

16:02copypaste corporate answer. like they

16:04don't want to hear the I'm financially

16:06motivated, I'm hungry, I'm enthusiastic,

16:08I'm a hard worker, right? Like everybody

16:09said that, right? But like being able to

16:11actually like really drive a compelling

16:13why is like the reason that they

16:15remember you and they feel compelled to

16:17want to move you on, right? Like they

16:18don't want a copy paste rep. They want

16:20like a human being. It's funny, man.

16:21There was this guy that I was helping um

16:23you know get prepared to like start

16:24networking with companies and interview

16:25and whatnot and he sends me his why,

16:28right? And it's this long like corporate

16:30like chat GPT like I want to you know

16:33maximize like healthcare you know it was

16:35all this stuff and I'm like dude I was

16:36like I know you you want a freaking

16:38Porsche GT3 dude like like you're

16:40financially motivated like let's be

16:42realistic let's be human here let's

16:43actually talk about why you're

16:44financially motivated and like drive on

16:46the human points that really drive your

16:48emotions right like they want to see

16:49that you're a real person a human being

16:50but also somebody that like they don't

16:52need to babysit right and that you have

16:54an emotional reason that like gets them

16:56to remember you so and I know like you

16:58have like a strong passion, belief and

17:00conviction behind yourself and they

17:01probably saw that were like my guy you

17:03know so moving through the interview

17:05process you finally get your first offer

17:07you know what did that feel like

17:08>> I mean it's hard to obviously hard to

17:11put into words uh I was very it was

17:13shortlived like the celebration like you

17:15know on the on the spot I had to hold in

17:17my smile and like remain professional

17:19but I mean that just I've been waiting

17:21for years for that to happen and it

17:22happened at a place that I love very

17:24much it's a great place I'm just very

17:26happy about it obviously you called my

17:28people, told them, got the job. But, you

17:30know, when I was going back home, I kind

17:32of was just just like that. I was

17:33already thinking about, all right, now I

17:35have the job. I am a I am a medical

17:37device salesperson. So, I wasn't really

17:39like accelerating it that much after

17:40that. It was more thinking about now

17:42what do I have to do? So I like I

17:43already reached out to like my manager

17:45and just asked her, "Hey, like you know,

17:47I'm finishing up like finals right now

17:48in school, but you know, as soon as I

17:50get all this wrapped up, I want to just

17:51like, you know, connect with you and

17:52talk about what I need to do in training

17:54to what you want to see out of me

17:56because yeah, I got the job, but it's

17:58like any job if you don't do it well,

17:59you're not going to have it anymore. So

18:01I want to be the best I want to be the

18:02best one at the entire company. I want

18:04to be the best version of myself. Um, so

18:06now that's all my mind is on now. Just

18:08learning all all the clinical knowledge

18:10I'm going to need to know how to sell

18:12more consistently, all the fundamentals.

18:14>> Dude, it's super inspiring because you

18:15don't have experience. Like you you

18:17don't have sales brands. You weren't

18:18even out of college. Um, you were an

18:20athlete, military. These are things that

18:22they love. Like a lot of med device

18:23companies see that as a very appealing

18:25thing because you're disciplined, you're

18:26hardworking, you're competitive. But I

18:27just think it's inspiring because I

18:29can't tell you how often people will

18:30reach out to me and say, "Vince, I don't

18:32have experience. So before I try to get

18:34in med device, I'm going to get this

18:35other job that I don't want for 3 years

18:38and just keep pushing my goals back. And

18:39I'm like, you don't need to do that.

18:40Like if you just implement the right

18:42strategy and put in the effort now, you

18:43can get into med device now, right? So I

18:45just love that you already made that

18:46decision and drew the line in the sand

18:48and you were like, I'm getting it now.

18:49I'm not waiting 3 years. So I think

18:51that's awesome. Just out of curiosity,

18:53right, you were networking a bunch like

18:55leading up to this first offer. So did

18:57you have other opportunities available

18:58to you by the time that this happened

19:00just from compounding from all that

19:01networking? Yes, I did. And um I ended

19:04up I was invited to three interviews

19:06ultimately. One of those three being the

19:08one that I that I took as you know it's

19:10place I wanted to be the most very

19:11interested in the company for a while

19:13but I had two other invite outside of

19:15that and I actually was kind of in like

19:17the middle middle round at another

19:19company. So I obviously I was in college

19:21the amount of roles I applied to over my

19:23two years in college. I mean, it had to

19:25be like definitely well over 200

19:27different jobs I applied to. And the

19:30only three I was invited to interview at

19:32were ones where I had a referral from.

19:34So, I just you can't just like apply to

19:36a role on LinkedIn. Uh just doesn't work

19:37that way. People want to know the people

19:39that they're hiring.

19:40>> Yeah, you're absolutely right, man. The

19:42the spray and prey like I'm going to

19:44apply to 200 jobs. The uh you know, I'm

19:46just going to blast message people on

19:48LinkedIn with no clear strategy. Like

19:50that never works, dude. Um I get hit up

19:52from people all the time. and they're

19:52like, "Hey, can you like tell me what I

19:54need to fix on my resume or LinkedIn?"

19:55And I'm like, "Dude, that is the least

19:56of your worries." Right? Like fixing

19:58your resume, LinkedIn is not going to

20:00get you a job at med device. Like,

20:01that'll help get the ball rolling. But

20:03the networking and the interviewing,

20:05like networking and interviewing are

20:06what you need to master. It's funny,

20:08man. Like, just that 20 to 30%

20:09difference between like being a 10 out

20:11of 10 networker and interviewer and

20:13being like a seven out of 10 networker

20:15or interviewer is the difference of

20:17getting the off, you know? Like it's

20:18very easy to lose an opportunity once

20:20you get the momentum. So, you capitalize

20:22on it. you had multiple opportunities

20:23from like multi-million dollar,

20:24multi-billion dollar companies just

20:26compounded for all the efforts that you

20:27put in. And I just think that's a

20:28testament to your work, man. That's

20:30awesome. Like, you should be super proud

20:31of that. Now, you're stepping into

20:32Medice, man. How does this change, you

20:34know, like how does this change your

20:35your life and your career path moving

20:37forward?

20:37>> Um, I wouldn't if I I mean, if I'm just

20:39being honest, I've kind of always been

20:41the same way. Uh, even if I was I was

20:43coming out of college and I didn't have

20:44a job, I'd be doing I'd be in a

20:46different industry working just as hard.

20:48Just because like I have this job

20:49doesn't mean I'm going to work any more

20:51hard than I would have or less hard. I

20:53just kind of operate the same no matter

20:55what. But um obviously this is the

20:56reality of like you know the financial

20:58security you've built for yourself.

20:59That's exactly why I wanted to get

21:01sales. Well, not exactly one of the

21:02reasons why I wanted to get sales. Um

21:04it's nice knowing that I now officially

21:06have the power to work hard and see reap

21:09the benefits from the hard work I put

21:11in. It's just uh comforting knowing that

21:13because I know I will work hard.

21:15>> What about like alignment with your

21:16long-term visions? you know, your

21:17long-term goals, your long-term personal

21:19aspirations, you know, do you see this

21:20getting you closer to where you want to

21:22be down the line?

21:22>> Yes. Um, definitely. Uh, because, you

21:24know, long-term, like I said, like just

21:26the whole office type of thing, it

21:28doesn't like fit like my personality,

21:30what I'm interested in. Just knowing

21:31that if I still want to be in feel by

21:34the time I'm like 50, I could still be

21:35doing that. Um, I'm still going to be in

21:37the field of healthcare as long as I'm

21:39performing well well into my um, and

21:41also like I just love have a reason to

21:43wake up every day. I like the early

21:44morning. I know just being in the army.

21:46you know, I had to wake up 5 in the

21:47morning anyways and it's still a habit

21:49of mine. So, just being able to be in a

21:51world where I get paid to do that, it's

21:53pretty awesome.

21:54>> Awesome, man. Yeah, you're going to love

21:55the first uh few years of this just kind

21:58of absorbing all of the different

21:59aspects of navigating the O environment,

22:02the sales process, building those deep

22:03relationships, learning all the clinical

22:05spaces, all the products. You're going

22:06to have a lot of fun. You know, I just

22:08my first few years out of college in Men

22:09Device was just like it was so eye

22:11opening and it's just dynamic. It's fun.

22:14you're out and about every single day,

22:15like you're not behind a desk and you

22:17have that control and autonomy. So, uh I

22:19think a guy like you is going to thrive.

22:20You're going to really enjoy it. So, I

22:22guess your story is really inspiring

22:24them. I think you just prove to people

22:25that with the right strategy, you can

22:27break in without experience. I mean,

22:29without even being out of college yet,

22:31like it's pretty incredible. So, kudos

22:33to you on that. Um what advice do you

22:34have to beginners looking to break into

22:36the med sales industry?

22:37>> I mean, obviously I could give a lot of

22:38advice, but just to leave like anybody

22:40with one thing, 100%. Like I said

22:43several times throughout this, you have

22:45to actually when you listen, you need to

22:46actively listen and do what people are

22:48telling you to do because I didn't know

22:50what I was doing and I'm sure a lot of

22:52people listening to this also don't know

22:53what they're doing. But the people that

22:55I talk to and the people that the

22:56listeners will be talking to, uh those

22:58people know what they're talking about.

23:00So if you just simply do what they're

23:02telling you to do, good things will

23:03happen. And you will notice when those

23:05good things happen. And then you just

23:06start recognizing them the patterns and

23:08you repeat it and you repeat it. you

23:09repeat it and then eventually you will

23:11get one. Yeah.

23:12>> Being humble and coachable is a huge

23:14part of being in this industry, man. The

23:16doctor doesn't want the person to walk

23:17in the room. He doesn't want he or she

23:19doesn't want the sales rep that's like

23:21cocky and annoyed, right? Like

23:23>> they want a sales rep that's going to

23:24say, "Doc, you know what's best. I'm

23:25here to make sure things go smoothly."

23:27So, start embodying that now. And

23:29clearly the reason that you were able to

23:31progress through the networking process

23:32is because of your humble attitude, your

23:34coachable attitude, man. So, um, with

23:35that, appreciate you for sharing your

23:37story, man, and giving inspiration to

23:38the folks listening here. And, uh, best

23:40of luck on you and your new med device

23:42journey, brother.

23:42>> Of course, I appreciate it.

23:43>> 100%.

23:44>> So, there you have it, guys. That's how

23:45Austin broke into medical device sales,

23:48landing his first role before even

23:49graduating college. I hope you found

23:51value in this conversation and you found

23:52that story inspiring from somebody who

23:54broke in without any experience or

23:56connections whatsoever. If you're

23:57looking for one-on-one guidance to break

23:58into medical device sales just like

24:00Austin as quickly as possible, consider

24:02joining Med Device Sales Academy and

24:04working with me one-on-one. If you're

24:05interested, click the link in the

24:06description and fill out a brief form

24:07and schedule a call with me or the team.

24:09We'll break down next steps and see if

24:10it's a fit. Otherwise, this podcast,

24:11this YouTube channel, this is the best

24:13place [music] to be for everything

24:14breaking into med device sales.