Vanwege het internationale karakter van ons bedrijf en onze medewerkers hebben we hun verhalen en ervaringen in het Engels weergegeven.

"Sales within Medtronic is different from that in other companies. You are selling products that are literally saving lives."

My name is Jeroen Reijers and I am from The Netherlands. I have been working as a Remote Sales Representative for the Surgical Innovations (SI) business of the Minimally Invasive Therapies Group (MITG) for two and a half years now.

Jeroen about his position at Medtronic

Working as a Remote Sales Rep for MITG-SI is quite challenging. I am responsible for a big number of customers and a very wide range of products. The customers are mostly small regional hospitals, distributors and specialized clinics. I like this diversity.

I am in regular contact with the customers, answering emails and telephone calls and talking to them via video conference calls a lot. My days are filled with numerous activities such as looking for opportunities, participating in discussions with colleagues, following product trainings and updates, reporting to management, training junior colleagues, checking sales numbers, preparing calls, doing after-sales, promoting innovations and our webshop, following up on leads, etc.

JEROEN’S EDUCATION AND CAREER PATH

I studied HEAO Economics-Linguistics at Avans Hogeschool Den Bosch. This study was very challenging, because one had to master several foreign languages and at the same time acquire a lot of commercial knowledge.

With this background, I was looking for a job within an international company. Before joining Medtronic, I didn’t have any medical experience, because I had been working for years as a financial advisor at different banks and investment companies. So for the first six months at Medtronic, I had to follow an intensive training program, including a course in anatomy, in order to get on the same level of communication with the health care professionals.

As a Connect.Me representative, I’m responsible for the whole SI portfolio consisting of thousands of items, so I had to learn a lot about the products. I must say that the training and education at Medtronic didn’t stop after six months. Medtronic is an innovation-oriented company introducing novelties all the time, and to stay up to date, we keep on learning.

Most challenging in my current role

It is very important that we know everything about the products that we sell. It takes a lot of time and effort to follow all the trainings and updates for all the products that we offer to our customers. This can be quite challenging.

What I like most in my current job

My manager is always available to answer the questions which arise during my work. At the same time, I have a lot of freedom to take my own decisions and follow my own strategy.

I like being a pioneer in Connect.Me℠ Remote Sales within Medtronic, and the COVID-19 situation proves that Remote Sales is the future.

What I like about working for Medtronic

It’s nice to be part of a big company with an important mission. For me, it’s important that our products help save the lives of patients. I am proud to be part of this process.

The company is investing a lot in training, education and personal growth of the employees. My colleagues are friendly and always available to share their experiences with new employees.

What ‘Further, Together’ means to me

For some accounts, I work together with a sales representative in the field. Then it is all about teamwork. I contact the customer with information about the entire Surgical Innovations portfolio, and when it comes to sales of a certain product group, the field rep gets involved. Together, we are very strong and can achieve more when collaborating on the opportunity.

To me, my job is all about communicating about our innovations and looking for new partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders. It means that with the help of Medtronic, we can make healthcare more efficient, modern and effective.

It gives me the motivation to do everything that I can to make sure that the surgeons get the best products delivered to the operating room in time.

My most memorable experiences at Medtronic

One of my most memorable moments working at Medtronic, was my first call with a practicing surgeon from Maxima Medisch Centrum. It was exciting because I had to present our latest innovations to him. I was well prepared and he really took the time to talk about his techniques and challenges. That’s when I realized that sales in Medtronic is different than with other companies. You are not offering something that one can easily do without, you are dealing in products that are literally saving lives.