G
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Girldad4

senior AE (Account Executive)

Good Citizen
Fire Starter
Contributor
+1

Anyone transition from medical/biotech/Pharma to Saas?

has anyone here transitioned from medical/biotech/Pharma sales to an AE position in Saas? 

at the final stage right now for a saas position calling into my current niche and wanted to hear from anyone who has previously done the same.

if so, do you regret it? what do you like most about the change? least about the change? are financial opps way better? etc. 

thanks!
🧠 Advice
✍️ Sales advice
9

16 comments

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detectivegibbles
Politicker
5
Sales Director
Thought about getting out of med device hard but decided I’m a lifer this past week.

Best of luck!
Maximas
Tycoon
1
Senior Sales Executive
Way true, I was even offered a sales med role once before but I had to decline it!
Girldad4
Good Citizen
1
senior AE (Account Executive)
What made you decide to stick with medical? I’m in a similar boat… if I get this offer, in SaaS and likely stay there for rest of my career. If I don’t, staying in medical for rest of career most likely
Beans
Big Shot
4
Enterprise Account Executive
Yes.
Previously Med Dev with a consumable aspect.
Do not regret it one bit, but there is absolutely this air of superiority against you, that you need to overcome as an external hire without "SaaS experience".
Girldad4
Good Citizen
1
senior AE (Account Executive)
Great to hear. What type of medical were you in and when did you transition? And what was your first saas position and what we’re you selling into?

I’m very interested to compare earning potentials. I’ve made consistently over 200k but never more than 224k. Interested in saas to not have to travel as much and also from what I’ve heard the income potential could be. Is consistently earning over 225k realistic?
Beans
Big Shot
2
Enterprise Account Executive
It was PCR technology in the Cardio space.
First SaaS position was a mid-market rep at my current gig about 3 years ago. Now selling Supply Chain and Regulatory Compliance Software.
Our senior reps are certainly crushing those numbers.
I would say that's relatively close to my OTE although it was not my first year and a half, the sales cycle and amount of stakeholders involved with these decisions was way longer and larger than I was used to.
That said I would never go back.
Diablo
Politicker
3
Sr. AE
Not medical but B2B food. I find Saas great because I always wanted to be in it, more work life balance, remote. I miss travelling across different countries but that’s okay.
RandyLahey
Politicker
3
Account Executive
Welcome @Girldad4!
I actually started my sales career selling this hunk of crap software to BioTechs as an SDR.
I found the industry to be interesting, as the companies we worked with were researching cool shit.
But damn, it was so regulated and formulaic, that eventually the boredom killed my interest and was a key factor in moving into SaaS.
Maybe there are more interesting roles, but basically for software sales in that industry Veeva dominated.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
5
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Compliance and regulation don't go away in that world if you're selling to those companies. It's just a language you learn to speak. The experience of understanding those requirements can be a benefit in selling tech to those companies . Moving into tech (SaaS) sales with solutions that focus on Life Sciences could be a good start for someone wanting to transition.
RandyLahey
Politicker
1
Account Executive
Fair point.
Really comes down to interest; I felt my waning, so I moved.
Tons of opportunity though.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
2
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Oh, absolutely! I wasn't disagreeing, just noting that it's a possible avenue for a smoother transition. It can be very rigid, but also familiar for those who have been in the industry.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
3
🦊
😎
RandyLahey
Politicker
1
Account Executive
Hahahaha
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
2
Sales Rep
Haven't made the switch but good luck
0
Account Executive
Transitioned out a few years back, will never go back to med device.
If you are fine with more computer time then make the jump, much more control of your schedule, and from what I have seen comp in general will be higher.
GDO
Politicker
0
BDM
A driend of mine is nmaking big bucks in medical device. I woudl consider a switch. Altough those horrible hours, weekend work and long drives seem to detere me as well.

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