Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Onsite Medical Representative

🎯 Role Definition

The Onsite Medical Representative is a field-facing commercial professional responsible for promoting pharmaceutical products, medical devices, or clinical services directly to healthcare professionals (HCPs) and hospital decision-makers. This role combines clinical knowledge, consultative selling, territory management, and compliance-focused interactions to drive product adoption, achieve sales targets, and generate actionable market intelligence. Success requires strong clinical credibility, persuasive communication, and disciplined CRM-driven territory execution.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Junior Sales Representative / Sales Trainee
Clinical Nurse / Healthcare Practitioner transitioning to field sales
Pharmacy Sales Associate or Territory Coordinator

Advancement To:

Senior Medical Representative / Key Account Representative
Regional or Area Sales Manager
Clinical Specialist / Technical Product Manager
National Sales Manager or Business Unit Lead

Lateral Moves:

Medical Science Liaison (with advanced clinical background)
Clinical Education Specialist / Trainer
Market Access or Tender Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop and execute a territory business plan that prioritizes high-potential hospitals, clinics, and physician practices to achieve monthly and quarterly sales targets for pharmaceutical products or medical devices.
Build, maintain, and deepen trusted relationships with a broad range of healthcare professionals (physicians, surgeons, department heads, pharmacists, nurses, and procurement administrators) through regular in-person visits and professional follow-up.
Deliver scientifically accurate, compelling product presentations and clinical demonstrations tailored to the clinical needs and decision-making criteria of each HCP, using evidence, clinical study data, and real-world outcomes to support value propositions.
Provide onsite technical support and hands-on demonstrations for device installation, set-up, and troubleshooting in coordination with clinical engineering and product specialists to ensure successful product use and adoption.
Execute effective sampling and product trial programs within hospitals and clinics, monitor usage, collect feedback, and convert trials into sustained purchases through timely follow-up and service.
Manage all aspects of territory sales operations including account segmentation, call planning, weekly/monthly activity reporting, KPI tracking, and pipeline management using CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, Veeva CRM).
Negotiate pricing, contracts, and purchase orders with hospital procurement teams and clinic managers while maintaining profitability and adherence to company pricing policy and compliance requirements.
Identify and qualify new accounts and key opinion leaders (KOLs) in the assigned territory; create and pursue outreach plans that expand product adoption and referral patterns.
Conduct competitive intelligence gathering during visits — track competitor product usage, pricing, promotions, and clinical perceptions — and deliver timely market insights to the product, marketing, and strategy teams.
Facilitate and coordinate educational initiatives such as lunch-and-learns, in-service training sessions, CE-accredited workshops, and product launch events that educate clinicians and support clinical uptake.
Ensure strict compliance with regulatory, legal, and ethical standards, including internal SOPs, anti-bribery policies, and local healthcare marketing regulations; document interactions per compliance guidelines.
Report and escalate any adverse events, product complaints, or safety issues immediately through established pharmacovigilance channels and support clinical investigations as required.
Collaborate cross-functionally with supply chain, clinical affairs, field clinical trainers, and district managers to ensure timely order fulfilment, inventory management, and accurate forecasting at the account level.
Prepare and present monthly territory reviews to management, including sales performance, account status, activity metrics, opportunity pipeline, and a prioritized action plan for the next quarter.
Use consultative selling techniques to perform needs assessments and clinical gap analyses, aligning product benefits to clinical workflow improvements, patient outcomes, and cost-effectiveness.
Lead product launches in assigned territory by executing pre-launch clinician education, on-site demos, first-institution implementations, and post-launch performance follow-up to maximize early adoption.
Support tender bids and hospital procurement processes by preparing product dossiers, clinical evidence synopses, pricing models, and by attending procurement meetings as a company representative.
Provide day-to-day clinical support to HCPs during complex procedures or product use, coordinating with clinical specialists and applications engineers to optimize outcomes and reduce adoption friction.
Maintain accurate, timely, and auditable CRM records of all HCP interactions, call notes, next steps, sample distributions, and compliance acknowledgements to enable territory continuity and analytics.
Execute territory routing and time management plans to maximize face-to-face HCP contact rates while minimizing travel inefficiency and expense leakage.
Mentor and share best practices with new hires or junior reps in the region, contributing to skills development, peer training, and consistent application of sales methodologies across the team.
Represent the company at relevant medical conferences, trade shows, and local professional society meetings to extend product visibility, gather competitive intelligence, and develop referral networks.

Secondary Functions

Support cross-functional pilots and local clinical studies by coordinating site logistics, consenting processes, and data collection as required.
Provide structured feedback to marketing on promotional materials, digital assets, and HCP messaging to improve conversion and educational impact.
Assist with the administrative process of warranty claims, spare parts ordering, and service escalation to ensure uninterrupted clinical operations for device customers.
Participate in regional strategic planning sessions and help translate corporate initiatives into executable local tactics that reflect real-world clinician needs.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proven territory management and field sales execution with documented achievement of sales quotas for pharmaceuticals or medical devices.
Strong clinical knowledge relevant to assigned product categories (e.g., cardiology, orthopedics, wound care, diagnostic imaging) with ability to present clinical data to specialists.
CRM proficiency (Salesforce, Veeva, Zoho CRM or equivalent) for call logging, territory planning, and pipeline management.
Experience conducting product demonstrations, device setup, and providing onsite technical support during procedures.
Tender and hospital procurement process familiarity, including experience preparing bid documentation and supporting contract negotiations.
Basic data literacy: ability to interpret sales dashboards, KPIs, market share data, and to prepare concise performance reports for management.
Pharmacovigilance and adverse event reporting knowledge; ability to record and escalate safety concerns per regulatory requirements.
Proficient user of MS Office (PowerPoint for HCP presentations, Excel for account planning and reporting).
Valid driver’s license and ability to travel within territory; experience with remote/digital engagement tools (Microsoft Teams, Zoom) for hybrid outreach.
Inventory and sample management skills, including tracking, reconciliation, and compliance with controlled product handling policies.

Soft Skills

Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building ability to engage physicians, hospital staff, and key decision-makers with credibility and empathy.
Strong presentation and public-speaking skills — able to deliver clear, persuasive clinical and commercial presentations to specialists and multidisciplinary teams.
Negotiation and influence skills to bring procurement discussions to closure while protecting margin and compliance standards.
Exceptional organizational skills and discipline in planning, time management, and multi-account prioritization.
Problem-solving orientation with an ability to troubleshoot clinical or operational issues onsite and escalate appropriately.
High ethical standards, attention to detail, and a compliance-first mindset when interacting with HCPs and managing promotional materials.
Resilience, persistence, and results orientation — comfortable working autonomously with minimal supervision in a field-based role.
Collaborative mindset for effective cross-functional work with clinical trainers, marketing, supply chain, and regional leadership.
Adaptability to changing clinical environments, product portfolio updates, and evolving commercial priorities.
Coaching and mentoring capabilities for supporting junior colleagues and ensuring consistent territory practices.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, Nursing, Pharmacy, Biomedical Engineering, or a related health/technical discipline.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree with additional professional certifications (e.g., clinical certifications, sales methodology certifications).
Advanced clinical or technical qualification (RN, RPh, BSc Biomedical Engineering, or equivalent) for device-intensive roles.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Pharmacy
Nursing
Biomedical or Clinical Engineering
Life Sciences (Biology, Biochemistry)
Business or Marketing (with clinical experience)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–6 years of direct field medical or pharmaceutical sales experience; device roles may require 3–7 years with clinical procedure exposure.

Preferred:

Demonstrated track record of meeting or exceeding sales quotas in hospital or clinic channels.
Prior experience with product launches, KOL engagement, and tender/procurement processes.
Experience in cross-functional collaboration with clinical affairs, marketing, and supply chain teams.