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Jameil Pendleton
VP of Sales, VISEON - MedTech🎙Podcast Host, Expert Speaker & Connector - Founder 🆘 Sultans of Sales
Jameil 'Jay' Pendleton™ is a prominent figure in the medical device sales industry with extensive experience and a diverse career path. He is currently the Vice President of Sales at Viseon, Inc. and the host of the "Sultans of Sales" podcast.6 Pendleton has over 18 years of experience in relationship sales and territory management, with a proven track record of success.4
Some key points about Jay Pendleton's career and background include:
- He started his career at IBM, where he learned fundamental sales skills.1
- Pendleton took a gap year in his mid-20s, during which he traveled extensively and gained valuable life experiences.1
- He entered the medical device sales industry, working for companies like Rummer Medical and NuVasive.1
- Pendleton spent several years at Medtronic, where he held roles including Director of Strategy & Talent for the Cranial & Spinal Technologies (CST) division.14
- He is known for his active presence on LinkedIn, where he shares insights about the medical device sales industry and career development.23
Pendleton describes himself as "The Ryan Seacrest of MedTech" and holds several titles, including Advisor, LINKEDINFLUENCER, Founder of MTV (MedTech Voice), Co-Founder of Gen-R, and Keynote Speaker.25 He is also the founder of MedTech Voice, a platform focused on the medical technology industry.4
Highlights
This life is not glamorous:
- Thousands of hours spent alone.
- Checking in sets of instruments.
- In the dungeons of hospitals.
- Planning, scheduling, waiting.
- Couriers at 2:00AM.
You walk into the OR as an outsider: ⁃ Don’t forget to check in. ⁃ Vendor credentialing badges. ⁃ Cheap paper scrubs that expire. ⁃ Silly red hat to complete the costume.
Your days are wildly unpredictable:
- Cases are delayed. Cases run long.
- Never enough staff for the flip room.
- Who’s covering that add on case?
- Turning over trays for the next day.
- Footballing trays across town.
- When do you fit in sales calls?
I always laughed when my wife would ask: “Will you be home for dinner?”
“Not sure. Maybe.” 🙃
Be prepared for disruption and headwinds:
- Cases cancel, often.
- Doctors ignore you (at first)
- Doctors change their mind.
- Nurses and staff may hate you.
- Your totes may not arrive on time.
- You must smile and persevere.
*Pro Tip - if you bring food — bring enough to feed an OR-Army, and save some for the staff scrubbed into surgery when you arrive.
*I’ve never seen food disappear faster than an OR Break room. It’s like a bat signal gets beamed out and poof … it’s gone.
—
In all seriousness, your job is not to bring food and cover cases. Anyone can do that.
- Your job is to deliver unmatched value.
- Your job is to be dependable.
- To be honest and knowledgeable.
- Your job is to put the patient first.
- Your job is to be the eyes and ears for your surgeon in the room; in their market.
Your job is to be so damn good that they miss you when you’re gone.
- That is success.
- That is fulfillment.
- That is is greater than any achievement or award you will receive.
That is what you miss the most.
This life is not glamorous, but it can be so rewarding.
Get after it.
