The phone screen should do one job: confirm whether a candidate has actually operated in a device commercial environment—or whether they have repackaged pharma or general B2B experience with the right keywords. These questions are not trick questions. They surface whether someone has lived inside cases, committees, and capital cycles.
1. Walk me through your last case-supported week
Strong device candidates describe specific accounts, procedures, and stakeholders without prompting. Listen for OR or lab presence, who they coordinated with, and what happened when a case did not go as planned. Vague answers about "supporting physicians" without procedure context are a yellow flag.
2. How did your last capital deal get approved?
Even disposable-heavy roles often touch capital committees or bundled decisions. You want to hear about economic buyers, clinical champions, timing, and objections—not only that they "closed" something. If the role is capital-heavy, lack of any committee language is meaningful.
3. What inventory or consignment responsibility did you carry?
Device reps frequently own trunk stock, loaner sets, or utilization against consignment. Pharma sellers rarely do. This question separates modalities quickly.
4. Tell me about a surgeon who initially said no
Look for relationship persistence, clinical credibility boundaries, and compliance awareness. The best answers show respect for the surgeon's decision process—not pressure tactics.
5. How do you prioritize accounts in a territory?
Device territories are often procedure-volume driven, not call-count driven. Candidates should reference case potential, key surgeons, ASC vs hospital mix, or competitive placements—not only "top decile prescribers."
6–8. Quick disqualifiers and green flags
- Ask what training they received on anatomy, product, and compliance—and how long it lasted
- Ask how they prepare for a new surgeon meeting vs. a routine account visit
- Ask what they read or track to stay current in the specialty (conferences, societies, KOLs)
Document scores before the onsite
Use a simple scorecard: procedural fluency, capital exposure, account planning, and coachability. Consistent phone screens reduce expensive onsite loops for candidates who looked good on paper but never sold in a procedural context.