March 25, 2024 | medical sales

How Big Is the Medical Sales Industry?

So, just how big is the medical sales industry? The manufacture and sale of medical implants, surgical tools, and other equipment is an enormous industry. Part of being an effective competitor in this industry is knowing who the major players are, where there’s an opportunity for growth, and how the industry may change in the future.

If you’re looking for ways to break into the medical device and equipment sales market, you might find a few of the following medical sales industry statistics useful.

What’s the Medical Sales Industry Market Size?

As of 2020, the medical sales industry market size was about $432.23 billion—and this is following a decline caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic, which forced many clinics to close their doors, strangled the job market (causing people to lose their jobs and health insurance), and had consumers sheltering in place at home for many months before lockdowns were lifted, proved to be a major disruption to the medical equipment sales industry.

To put this in perspective, the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a developed nation like Ireland is around $405.19 billion—Ireland being #32 on the list of countries ranked by GDP in 2019. If the medical sales industry were a country, it would beat the current #32 ranked country!

Some of the companies in this industry are true giants. For example, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), the biggest American medical device company, has a market capitalization of about $369 billion just by itself (which is more than the GDP of Denmark, the 39th-ranked country by GDP). Of course, J&J is more than just a medical device company—it sells pharmaceuticals, baby food, and more to achieve a total revenue of roughly $82 billion.

Entering into the medical device sales market means competing against numerous multi-billion dollar companies that have entrenched positions and household name status in the American market.

How Will Projected Changes in the Market Affect Medical Sales?

The COVID-19 epidemic had an enormous depressive effect on the medical device sales market. However, as things return to normal following the pandemic and the relaxation of “stay at home” orders, the medical device sales market is expected to grow once again—to an estimated 657.98 billion by 2028.

What Are Some Drivers of Change in the Industry?

So, aside from a resurgent growth in demand for services after the pandemic slump, what’s driving the growth of the medical device sales industry? Here are a couple of likely suspects based on recent trends:

  • Demand for Internet-Connected Devices. More than ever, consumers are demanding increased convenience and control in their health management. Internet-connected devices have proven to be a key means of delivering this enhanced convenience. According to Wolters Kluwer, software-as-a-medical device (SaaMD) may prove key for “patients with chronic conditions that require monitoring” since it allows them to obtain key data and share it with health professionals. Major players like MedTech are already repositioning to leverage this opportunity.
  • Increased Prevalence of Chronic Disease. Conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and other long-lasting diagnoses are helping to drive the demand for implants and devices used to treat these conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the US, “90% of the nation’s $3.8 trillion in annual health care expenditures are for people with chronic and mental health conditions.”

In particular, wearable medical devices, like smartwatches that monitor a consumer’s heart rate, exercise, and other statistics have become nearly ubiquitous alongside smartphone apps that leverage these devices to give consumers more control over their health.

One potential limiting factor for the medical device sales industry (and the pharmaceutical industry as well) is the rise of anti-healthcare conspiracy theories and movements like the anti-vaxxer movement. These conspiracy theories either greatly exaggerate or wholly misrepresent the risks of common medical operations and practices—encouraging consumers to avoid medically necessary and potentially life-saving procedures.

What You Can Do to Prepare Your Company for Change

So, now that we’ve covered how the industry is set to grow and a few reasons behind that projected growth, what can you do to prepare your company for success? Here are a few tips:

1. Invest in Training Your Sales Team

If you’re developing new products and services to keep ahead of the competition, it’s important for your sales team to know how to actually sell those products. This is where continuous training can help.

By providing training that highlights what each product is for, what the primary benefits are for the target audience, and how to handle rejections, you can improve the efficacy of your sales team. Additionally, training your sales reps in the latest sales tactics and the regulations governing them is a great way to limit liability while improving sales rep skills.

2. Consider the Influence of New and Emerging Technologies on Your Products/Services

As new technologies continue to emerge onto the market, it will be important to study how those technologies will affect your products and services—or how you could leverage them to improve your products and services.

For example, before the rise of the internet, almost nobody could have expected that there would be a market for pacemakers and other implants that could relay data to an app that consumers could access on their phones. Even after the rise of the internet, it wasn’t until the majority of U.S. adults achieved smartphone ownership that such a product became truly practical and profitable. Now, with 85% of U.S. adults owning a smartphone, apps that leverage this fact are almost a requirement.

With this in mind, it’s important to take a look at emergent market and technology trends so you can leverage them for your company’s benefit (rather than getting left behind)!

3. Prepare to Scale Your Sales Team as Needed

Demand for products and services isn’t always stable. At times, it may be necessary to scale up your sales team to keep up with peaks in demand for your products and services (or with the eventual growth in your customer base). However, there may be times where you need to scale back your sales team as well—such as during drops in demand for your products and services.

Not having enough sales team members on hand for busy periods could mean missing out on key sales opportunities. However, having too many personnel could wind up wasting your budget. This is where a contract sales organization (CSO) can help.

With a CSO, you can scale up your sales team to match peaks in demand with ease—and scale back your sales team as needed for slow periods. Or, if you accidentally overestimate how many sales reps you need, having a CSO with contract-basis sales team members makes scaling down super-easy and worry-free.

Do you need help with scaling your sales team while ensuring every team member has the right skills and motivations? Reach out to Axxelus today to get started!

As a CSO, we have years of experience in pairing highly-qualified and motivated talent with medical sales companies where they can fit in and make major contributions.

Contact Axxelus Today!

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