Your First 90 Days In Medical Device Sales (What Nobody Tells You Before You Start)

A rep called me two weeks into his first medical device sales job completely panicked. His name was Marcus T., and he'd just left a successful career in tech sales to break into medical devices.

This was spring 2024, and he thought he'd made a terrible mistake.

"I have no idea what I'm doing," he told me on our call, his voice shaking slightly. "They gave me a territory, a product catalog, and a list of accounts. That's it. I've been to three hospitals and I can't even figure out how to get past the front desk. My manager keeps asking about my call metrics and I don't have any because I can't get in front of anyone."

Marcus had landed the job he'd been working toward for six months. Then reality hit, and he realized his company's onboarding had prepared him for nothing. He knew his product specs cold. He could recite clinical data in his sleep. But he had no idea how to actually navigate a hospital, build relationships with surgeons, or handle the political dynamics of an OR.

"I'm supposed to hit quota in six months," he said. "I haven't even seen someone use my product yet. How am I supposed to sell something I've never seen in action?"

Marcus isn't alone. Most medical device companies throw new reps into territories with minimal preparation and expect them to figure it out. Some do. Most struggle for months before they either quit or finally stumble onto what works.

I'm Joseph Licata from RepPath. I'm going to tell you what happened to Marcus during his first 90 days and exactly what you need to know before you start your first medical sales job.

When Two Weeks In Felt Like Two Months

When Marcus and I first talked, he walked me through what his first two weeks had actually looked like. His company gave him one week of training. Product knowledge, clinical studies, competitive landscape. Then they handed him a territory map, a list of target accounts, and told him to start making calls.

"I drove to my first hospital thinking I'd just walk in and ask to speak with the head of cardiology," Marcus said. "Security stopped me at the entrance. I didn't have credentials. I didn't have an appointment. I didn't even know who to ask for specifically."

He spent three hours in that hospital lobby trying to figure out who he needed to talk to and how to reach them. He finally got the name of the department director's assistant and left his card. Nobody ever called him back.

The next day, he tried a different approach. He called ahead and asked for the OR scheduler. She told him he needed to contact the value analysis committee if he wanted to get his products approved. He had no idea what a value analysis committee was.

"I felt like an idiot," Marcus said. "I have eight years of B2B sales experience. I've closed six-figure deals. But I couldn't even figure out how to have a conversation with a potential customer in this industry."

By the end of week two, Marcus had visited seven hospitals. He'd spoken to exactly three people who might potentially use his product. None of those conversations had led anywhere.

"I'm starting to think I'm not cut out for this," he told me.

That's when I explained what nobody tells you before you start in medical device sales: the first 90 days aren't about selling anything. They're about learning how the system actually works.

The Reality Nobody Mentions During Interviews

Most medical device companies sell you on the income potential, the autonomy, the excitement of being in ORs. They don't tell you about the three months you'll spend feeling completely lost while you figure out how hospitals actually operate.

Marcus thought his tech sales experience would translate directly. It didn't. In tech sales, you identify decision-makers, schedule demos, send proposals, close deals. In medical device sales, there's no clear path because there are seven different people involved in every purchasing decision.

I told Marcus to forget about selling for the next 60 days. Instead, focus on three things: access, relationships, and education.

Access means figuring out how to physically get in front of the people who use your products. Every hospital has different credentialing requirements, different security protocols, different ways of scheduling time with physicians.

Relationships mean identifying everyone involved in purchasing decisions. The surgeons who use the products. The OR staff who stock them. The purchasing managers who approve them. The value analysis committees who evaluate them.

Education means actually watching your products get used. Scrubbing into cases. Observing procedures. Understanding the clinical environment where your products perform.

"That sounds like it'll take forever," Marcus said. "I'm supposed to start generating revenue."

Your first 90 days are an investment. If you try to skip this foundation and start selling immediately, you'll struggle for a year. If you spend three months building the right foundation, you'll start closing deals consistently by month four.

I remember my first 90 days in medical device sales back in 2016. I made the same mistakes Marcus was making. I wasted three months spinning my wheels before a senior rep finally explained what I should have been doing from day one.

Month One: Access And Credentialing

I had Marcus spend his entire first month focused exclusively on getting credentialed and building access at his top ten target accounts. Not selling. Not detailing products. Just getting through the door.

He called each hospital's credentialing office and started the paperwork. Some hospitals processed it in a week. Others took over a month. He learned which hospitals required background checks, which required proof of insurance, which required specific training certifications.

While waiting for credentials to process, he focused on building relationships with OR schedulers and administrative staff. These are the people who control access to physicians. If they like you, they'll help you get face time. If they don't, you'll never see a doctor no matter how good your product is.

Marcus also started identifying champions at each account. Physicians who were already using his products or were open to trying them.

"I'm four weeks in and I haven't detailed my product to a single physician," Marcus said at our one-month check-in. "But I have credentials pending at eight hospitals, and I've built relationships with six OR staff members who said they'd introduce me to surgeons once my credentials come through."

That was exactly where he should have been at 30 days.

Month Two: Observation And Clinical Education

In month two, Marcus's credentials started coming through. Instead of immediately trying to sell, I had him focus on observation and clinical education.

He reached out to the champions he'd identified and asked if he could observe cases where his products were being used. Not to sell anything. Just to learn. Most surgeons said yes because reps who actually want to understand the clinical environment are rare.

Marcus scrubbed into his first case in week six. He watched a cardiovascular procedure where his company's products were used. He saw firsthand how the products performed, what challenges the surgical team faced, how the OR staff handled the products.

"That one case taught me more than a month of product training," Marcus told me afterward.

He spent weeks seven and eight observing as many cases as possible at different hospitals. Different surgeons. Different techniques. Different clinical scenarios.

By the end of month two, Marcus had observed twelve procedures across five different hospitals. He still hadn't closed any deals, but his understanding of his products in real clinical contexts had gone from theoretical to practical.

Month Three: First Deals

In month three, Marcus finally started actively selling. But he was selling from a foundation of credibility that most new reps don't have at 90 days.

When he detailed his products to new physicians, he could reference specific cases he'd observed. He could speak to real clinical challenges and how his products addressed them. He could connect physicians with other surgeons who were already using his products successfully.

His first deal closed in week ten. A surgeon he'd built a relationship with over the past two months finally agreed to try Marcus's product in a case. The product performed well. The surgeon ordered more.

His second deal came in week eleven. Then a third deal in week twelve.

By the end of his first 90 days, Marcus had closed three deals and had active conversations with seven other potential customers. His revenue was still below where his company wanted it, but his pipeline was strong and growing.

"I almost quit in week two," Marcus told me at our 90-day check-in. "Now I finally feel like I know what I'm doing."

What You Actually Need To Know Before Day One

Marcus spent his first 90 days learning what his company should have taught him before they handed him a territory. Here's what you actually need to know:

Your first month is about access, not sales. Get credentialed. Build relationships with OR staff and administrative gatekeepers. Identify champions who will give you opportunities to observe and learn.

Observation is more valuable than product training. Scrub into cases. Watch your products in action. Understand the clinical environment where you'll be selling.

Relationships matter more than product knowledge. Build genuine connections with everyone involved in purchasing decisions, not just physicians.

Your first 90 days are an investment. If you try to generate revenue immediately without building foundation, you'll struggle for months. If you invest in access, relationships, and education first, you'll close deals consistently starting in month four.

If You're Starting A Medical Device Sales Job Soon

Marcus almost quit two weeks into his first medical device sales job because nobody had prepared him for what the first 90 days would actually look like. Once he understood that the first three months were about learning the system rather than generating revenue, everything changed.

If you're about to start a medical device sales job or you're in your first few months and feeling lost, I can help. At RepPath, I coach new reps through exactly what to focus on during their first 90 days so they build the foundation for long-term success instead of struggling for six months trying to figure it out alone.

Visit reppath.com/pages/pricing to learn more about coaching and training, or reach out directly to talk about your situation. Let's make sure your first 90 days set you up for success instead of frustration.

See you in the field.

Joseph Licata
President & Founder, RepPath