Medical Representative job description
A medical representative visits doctors, chemists and stockists in an assigned territory to present a pharma company's products accurately and keep them available on the shelf.
Why the role exists
The role exists because prescribers and chemists rarely hear about a product unless someone visits them. In most Indian pharma firms the representative reports to an area sales manager, works a fixed beat of doctors and chemists, and feeds field information back to the company.
What the person does
- Plan the monthly tour programme and visit the listed doctors, hospitals and chemists on the beat each working day.
- Present each product to doctors using approved detailing aids and visual aids, without making claims the company has not cleared.
- Hand over samples and literature to doctors and record each one in the sample register as per company procedure.
- Visit chemists and stockists, check stock of the company's brands and place or follow up orders through the authorised stockist.
- Submit the daily call report and tour diary on the company app or sales force tool before the end of each day.
- Collect prescription feedback and competitor activity from the territory and report it to the area sales manager each week.
- Join continuing medical education meetings and doctor events in the territory and handle registrations and follow-up.
- Report any adverse event or product complaint heard from a doctor or chemist to the company within the time the company sets.
Skills and tools
- Product knowledge of a therapy area such as cardiac or diabetes, explained plainly
- Detailing skill: opening a short call, handling objections and closing with a clear request
- Territory planning and beat discipline across towns, villages and hospital visits
- Comfort with a field sales app, tablet or smartphone for call reports and orders
- Understanding of how stockists, chemists and distributors move stock in the territory
- Honest record keeping for samples, expenses and visits
- Travel stamina and willingness to work in the local language of the territory
- Basic understanding of the company's code of marketing conduct and why it matters
Education and experience
Preferred, never a bar: equivalent experience counts.
- B.Sc, B.Pharm or D.Pharm preferred; a graduate in another stream with strong sales aptitude can also be considered
- Experience in pharma field sales or in a medical device or healthcare sales role is preferred
- Two-wheeler use for territory work is useful; confirm any licence needs with your own adviser
- Fluency in the territory's main language and working English or Hindi is preferred
How the work is judged
- Coverage of the listed doctors and chemists against the approved tour plan
- Quality of detailing, judged by joint field visits with the manager
- Growth of the company's brands in the territory, set against the targets the company agrees
- Accuracy and timeliness of call reports, sample records and expense claims
- Stock availability of key brands at chemists and stockists in the beat
Where the role can lead
- Senior medical representative or key account role for large hospitals and prescribers
- Area sales manager with a team of representatives in a district or cluster
- Product manager or training role in marketing, with extra study and company support
Interview questions to ask
Ask every candidate the same questions in the same order and score them against written anchors, so the decision rests on the work and not the impression.
- Walk me through how you would introduce a new brand to a doctor who prescribes a competitor. What would you say in the first minute?
- A chemist says your brand is out of stock but the stockist says he has sent it. How do you find out what happened?
- How do you plan a month for a territory with a few towns and many villages? What do you do when a doctor keeps cancelling?
- A doctor asks you about a use of the product that is not in the approved literature. How do you respond?
- Describe a territory you grew or recovered. What did you change in your beat and why?
- How do you keep your sample register and expense claims accurate when you are travelling for days?
Hiring tips for this role
- Test detailing with a role play using a real product leaflet; many candidates know the brand names but cannot hold a doctor's attention.
- Check territory references with former managers and a few doctors or chemists they served, since field claims about coverage are hard to verify.
- Do not hire only on past sales figures; a strong number in a quiet territory says little. Ask how the territory was built.
- Be clear on whether the role covers only doctors or also chemists and stockists, and on whether the post is permanent, so the candidate knows what he or she is accepting.
Questions about hiring a medical representative
Many companies prefer a science or pharmacy graduate, but it depends on the employer, the product line and the facts. Check any educational or registration need with your own adviser before you write it into the advertisement.
The representative informs prescribers about products that doctors, not the buyer, decide to use. Claims must stay within approved material, samples are tracked, and the work is built on repeat visits rather than one-off sales.
There is no single answer. It depends on the therapy area, the geography and the travel time between calls. Set the call plan with the area sales manager after looking at the territory, and review it after the first quarter.
GullyHR agrees the job description with you, finds and screens candidates for the territory and supports the offer. We hire for your permanent team and do not supply contract staff.
Hiring a medical representative?
GullyHR runs talent acquisition for permanent roles. We agree the job description with you, find and screen candidates against it, and support the offer through to joining. We recruit permanent employees. We do not supply contract or temporary staff.