At AstraZeneca we turn ideas into life changing medicines. Working here means being entrepreneurial, thinking big and working together to make the impossible a reality. We're focused on the potential of science to address the unmet needs of patients around the world. We commit to those areas where we think we can really change the course of medicine and bring big new ideas to life. As a Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist - Renal Metabolic Specialty in Ann Arbor MI, you'll play a pivotal role in channeling our scientific capabilities to make a positive impact on changing patients' lives.
AstraZeneca's strategy in CVMR is a patient-centric approach to disease treatment, so we are tackling multiple risk factors by uniting our cardiovascular (CV), metabolic and chronic kidney disease (CKD) areas into one integrated approach - cardiovascular and renal metabolic (CVRM). This approach means we look at the CVRM patient as a whole, rather than by disease area, because we know that cardiovascular disease is a well-known consequence of diabetes and CKD. Each of ours focus areas seek to further reduce morbidity, mortality and organ damage by addressing multiple risk factors across cardiovascular (CV) disease, diabetes and chronic kidney-disease indications. The patient-centric approach is reinforced by science-led life-cycle management programs and technologies, including early research into regenerative methods.
What You Will Do
You will develop and implement territory business plans centered on Endocrinologists, Nephrologists and other Diabetes specialty customers. These plans will focus on performance and execution impacts that properly identify and prioritize activities to accomplish short and long term business goals. You will apply knowledge of health care industry trends, applicable laws and regulations, market conditions, and the market access environment (including but not limited to pharmaco-economics and the payer/reimbursement landscape). You will analyze these factors in the development of territory business plans and in daily execution of sales calls within compliance guidelines.
You will demonstrate a deep, clear and thorough understanding of the CVRM disease state, CVRM products and relevant competitor products, including their mechanisms of action, indications, efficacy, and safety. You will collaborate with a territory matrix team on identifying business opportunities and developing appropriate tactics and strategies. By fostering team effectiveness you will share accomplished goals, knowledge and experiences. You will drive market share growth and maximize sales performance.
Essential Requirements
* Bachelor's Degree or equivalent
* At least two years of documented, full-time, successful pharmaceutical sales in Diabetes sales OR 3 years sales experience in scientific/clinical/healthcare environment OR demonstrated experience & knowledge within healthcare ecosystems
* Internal candidate must be a minimum of Career Level 2
* Account management experience
* A valid driver's license and safe driving record
Desirable Requirements
* Evidence of strong established relationships with local endocrinology and nephrology specialists
* Understanding of the business drivers, dynamics, regulations and market access environment within the pharmaceutical industry
* Skills at building and maintaining professional relationships with key customers, office staff and others in the customer influence network
* Strong business analytics to analyze data as well as develop, execute and adjust business plans
* Ability to work in matrix teams
No company relocation assistance provided
Next Steps - Apply today!
To be considered for this exciting opportunity, please complete the full application on our website at your earliest convenience - it is the only way that our Recruiter and Hiring Manager can know that you feel well qualified for this opportunity. If you know someone who would be a great fit, please share this posting with them.
AstraZeneca requires all US employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 but will consider requests for reasonable accommodations as required by applicable law.
Date Posted
13-Oct-2022
Closing Date
14-Dec-2022
AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.
AstraZeneca requires all US employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 but will consider requests for reasonable accommodations as required by applicable law.
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How to hire a pharmaceutical sales specialist
Pharmaceutical sales specialist hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring pharmaceutical sales specialists in the United States:
- HR departments typically spend 15% of their expenses on recruitment.
- It usually takes about 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
- It typically takes 36-42 days to fill a job opening.
- The median cost to hire a pharmaceutical sales specialist is $1,633.
- Small businesses spend an average of $1,105 per pharmaceutical sales specialist on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
- There are currently 71,899 pharmaceutical sales specialists in the US and 23,474 job openings.
- Los Angeles, CA, has the highest demand for pharmaceutical sales specialists, with 3 job openings.
- Wilmington, DE has the highest concentration of pharmaceutical sales specialists.
How to hire a pharmaceutical sales specialist, step by step
To hire a pharmaceutical sales specialist, you should clearly understand the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, and allocate a budget for the position. You will also need to post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a pharmaceutical sales specialist:
Here's a step-by-step pharmaceutical sales specialist hiring guide:
- Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
- Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
- Step 3: Make a budget
- Step 4: Write a pharmaceutical sales specialist job description
- Step 5: Post your job
- Step 6: Interview candidates
- Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new pharmaceutical sales specialist
- Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist
What does a pharmaceutical sales specialist do?
A pharmaceutical sales specialist's primary duty is to reach out to pharmacies, medical facilities, and physicians to discuss the latest medical drugs in an effort to secure sales. Their responsibilities typically revolve around learning and understanding everything about the products that they are offering, traveling to different areas to deliver samples, and maintaining records of all transactions. Furthermore, as a pharmaceutical sales specialist, it is essential to create marketing materials and build positive relationships with clients to accomplish sales targets, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Post a pharmaceutical sales specialist job for free, promote it for a fee
Identify your hiring needs
Before you start hiring a pharmaceutical sales specialist, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.
Determine employee vs contractor statusIs the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?Hiring the perfect pharmaceutical sales specialist also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.
The following list breaks down different types of pharmaceutical sales specialists and their corresponding salaries.
Type of Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist Description Hourly rate Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses, government agencies, and other organizations. They contact customers, explain product features, answer any questions that their customers may have, and negotiate prices. $22-53 Sales Development Representative A sales development representative qualifies leads at the sales funnel's initial stages. Sales development representatives need to conduct research for prospective clients and qualify the leads before handing them to the sales team... Show more $16-37 Sales Consultant Sales consultants are employees who work in the sales department of a company. They are usually more skilled than usual sales employees... Show more $17-46 Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:- Patients
- Sales Territory
- Diabetes
- Business Plan
- Sales Strategies
- Sales Performance
- Product Knowledge
- Sales Objectives
- COPD
- GI
- Pharmaceutical Products
- Persuasion
- Market Share Growth
- Disease State Knowledge
Responsibilities:- Organize and lead Coumadin education programs through Kroger pharmacies.
- Accomplish daily sales activities and goals while working in a pod setting.
- Train and lead development of new hire personal in CSS and primary care.
- Achieve all sales goals and exceed projected goals for Q4 2012 and Q1 2013 ,
- Attain #5 and #8 rankings nationally for TRX and NRX volume, out of 175 representatives.
- Achieve territory highs in TRX and NRX first month in field by delivering a solid patient/provider benefit sales presentation.
Make a budget
Including a salary range in the pharmaceutical sales specialist job description is a good way to get more applicants. A pharmaceutical sales specialist salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.
For example, the average salary for a pharmaceutical sales specialist in Alaska may be lower than in Nevada, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level pharmaceutical sales specialist. Additionally, a pharmaceutical sales specialist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.
Average pharmaceutical sales specialist salary
$73,003yearly
$35.10 hourly rateEntry-level pharmaceutical sales specialist salary$47,000 yearly salaryUpdated January 19, 2026Average pharmaceutical sales specialist salary by state
Rank State Avg. salary Hourly rate 1 California $93,789 $45 2 New York $90,346 $43 3 Rhode Island $78,634 $38 4 Colorado $77,955 $37 5 Delaware $75,673 $36 6 West Virginia $74,689 $36 7 Utah $74,527 $36 8 Texas $73,309 $35 9 North Carolina $73,082 $35 10 Missouri $71,040 $34 11 Kansas $70,137 $34 12 North Dakota $69,638 $33 13 Florida $65,524 $32 14 Illinois $65,455 $31 15 Pennsylvania $58,178 $28 16 Arkansas $56,690 $27 17 Minnesota $55,293 $27 18 Hawaii $42,724 $21 Average pharmaceutical sales specialist salary by company
Rank Company Average salary Hourly rate Job openings 1 AstraZeneca $130,904 $62.93 59 2 Johnson & Johnson $96,873 $46.57 105 3 Alcon $91,985 $44.22 11 4 Advanced Technology Services $74,078 $35.61 5 Highland Capital Partners $72,817 $35.01 6 Paratek Pharmaceuticals $72,320 $34.77 3 7 RemX $71,335 $34.30 Writing a pharmaceutical sales specialist job description
A job description for a pharmaceutical sales specialist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a pharmaceutical sales specialist job description:
Pharmaceutical sales specialist job description example
Post your job
To find the right pharmaceutical sales specialist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:
- Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
- Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with pharmaceutical sales specialists they would recommend.
- Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit pharmaceutical sales specialists who meet your education requirements.
- Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.
- Post your pharmaceutical sales specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit pharmaceutical sales specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
- Use field-specific websites.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
Recruiting pharmaceutical sales specialists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.
It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new pharmaceutical sales specialist
Once you've found the pharmaceutical sales specialist candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.
It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.
To prepare for the new pharmaceutical sales specialist first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.
Go through the hiring process checklist
- Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
- Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
- Define job responsibilities and requirements
- Establish budget and timeline
- Determine hiring decision makers for the role
- Write job description
- Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
- Promote the job internally
- Process applications through applicant tracking system
- Review resumes and cover letters
- Shortlist candidates for screening
- Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
- Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
- Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
- Conduct background checks on top candidates
- Check references of top candidates
- Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
- Extend offer to top candidate(s)
- Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
- Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
- Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
- Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a pharmaceutical sales specialist?
Hiring a pharmaceutical sales specialist comes with both the one-time cost per hire and ongoing costs. The cost of recruiting pharmaceutical sales specialists involves promoting the job and spending time conducting interviews. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider the cost of pharmaceutical sales specialist recruiting as well the ongoing costs of maintaining the new employee.
You can expect to pay around $73,003 per year for a pharmaceutical sales specialist, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for pharmaceutical sales specialists in the US typically range between $22 and $53 an hour.
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Updated January 19, 2026