The Proven Journey to Success in 1099 Government Sales
In this episode of the Medical Sales Podcast, Samuel Adeyinka sits down with Gage Mize, Director of Government Sales at Med Pro Associates, to break down what “government sales” really looks like inside healthcare. Gage explains how a 1099 contract sales organization supports VA and DoD facilities by representing dozens of manufacturers, from capital equipment to everyday disposables, and why understanding contracting, credentialing, and call point strategy is the real gateway to winning in this space. You’ll hear what a day in the life looks like with true autonomy, the skill set that makes or breaks reps in the 1099 world, and how top performers win by staying consultative, educational, and relentless with follow up. Gage also shares realistic earning ranges, how long it takes to build momentum, the truth about access challenges in the VA, and the mindset shift that helped him thrive early in his career.
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Transcription:
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
Hello, and welcome to the Medical Sales Podcast. I’m your host, Samuel, the founder of a revolutionary medical sales training and mentorship program called the Medical Sales Career Builder. And I’m also host of the Medical Sales Podcast.
On this podcast, I interview top medical sales reps and leading medical sales executives across the entire world. It doesn’t matter what medical sales industry, from medical device to pharmaceutical to genetic testing and diagnostic lab. You name it. You will learn how to either break into the industry, be a top 10 percent performer within your role, or climb the corporate ladder.
Welcome to the Medical Sales Podcast. And remember, I am a medical sales expert sharing my own opinion about this amazing industry and how it can change your life.
Gage Mize (Guest):
So Gage, how are we doing today?
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
Doing good, sir. Yourself?
Gage Mize (Guest):
Fantastic. Why don’t you tell everybody who you are and what you do?
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
Yeah, well, nice to meet you. First off, Samuel. My name is Gage Mize. I work as Director of Government Sales for Med Pro Associates. I also work on the commercial side of things with commercial facilities inside the four walls of the hospital in South Texas and South Louisiana.
But my main role is directing government sales for our organization across the country, working hand in hand with our reps in the field as well as our manufacturers on a daily basis.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
Okay. So let’s get into that, because that’s interesting. Government sales.
I’ve talked to a lot of reps, managers, directors, and CEOs, but government sales is unique. What exactly do you sell, and what does it mean to be in government sales?
Gage Mize (Guest):
With Med Pro, we’re a 1099 group, so we’re agnostic to distribution channels.
We represent about 39 manufacturers in the government space. Some big names are B. Braun, Hill-Rom, and Weber. We cover everything from capital equipment all the way down to disposables.
Our mantra is, we can talk to anyone inside the hospital and have a product for them anywhere inside the hospital.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
Give us more. What are the top five products your reps sell?
Gage Mize (Guest):
On the capital side, we sell a lot of stainless steel through Blickman in the OR and other areas of the hospital.
We also sell Detecto scales, crash carts, rescue carts, trash receptacles.
From B. Braun, we sell IV pumps, syringes, catheters.
And then we sell a lot of Metrex disinfectant wipes into the DoD and VA.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
If someone is listening right now and thinks this sounds interesting, what would this type of medical sales be officially called?
Gage Mize (Guest):
I’d call it government sales or government distribution.
Because we’re a contracted sales group and we work with distribution and manufacturers, I describe it as being a contracted salesperson inside government.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
And your reps that report to you are 1099, not W2?
Gage Mize (Guest):
Correct. All of Med Pro is 1099.
That makes managing a bit tricky at times, but the upside is we’re not tied to one manufacturer. I can sell ten different products in one day, or I can focus on one product for specific accounts.
It also gives us the ability to pivot. If an account does not like what we’re pitching, we can move to something else like Metrex wipes, win business there, and later bring in other products.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
For our audience, what does it really mean to be in government sales?
Gage Mize (Guest):
It means being integrated with VA and DoD facilities.
A lot of it is contracting. When you start, you need to understand contracting systems like the Federal Supply Schedule, DAPA for the DoD, and GSA for the VA.
You have to understand how they buy, where they buy, and sometimes whether they can only buy USA-made products.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
Who are your normal call points?
Gage Mize (Guest):
Everyone.
We call on logistics, biomed, materials management, OR nurse managers, directors of nursing, infection prevention, EVS. The whole hospital.
We do call on physicians too. We get buy in from clinical folks first, then go to materials or logistics to push it through.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
Since you have such a big suite of products, do reps each own a segment, or can they sell whatever they want?
Gage Mize (Guest):
They can sell whatever they want day to day.
Region to region, different products perform better, so reps often lean into what will be their biggest revenue maker, then integrate other products along the way.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
So if I work for you and I wake up on a Tuesday, I can just sell whatever I want? Or do you give direction?
Gage Mize (Guest):
We have a management team and regional VPs.
We do Monday calls with our government specialists to share what’s happening in the market, where to focus, and which manufacturers need more attention.
Tenured reps are also a resource. If someone is struggling, they can call a top rep and ask how they’re selling a product.
So you can get guidance any time, but you can also manage your own pipeline and do your own thing.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
There’s a lot of autonomy. What type of people does this role attract? Where are they coming from?
Gage Mize (Guest):
A lot come from athletic backgrounds.
Med Pro attracts people who thrive on competition and determination. Our owner, Bill Sparks, played college hockey. I played college volleyball.
In this space, you’re going to hear no fifty times before you hear yes. You need drive and resilience.
If you do not have that internal push, you won’t have success in the 1099 world, especially in government.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
Take us back to when you were an individual contributor. Walk us through your day from the moment you wake up to when you shut it down.
Gage Mize (Guest):
I’m usually up around 6 to 7 a.m., especially because I’ve got reps on the East Coast calling early.
First thing is checking emails, then planning the day.
Am I going to be in accounts, or am I in the office making cold calls. I take about an hour to get organized.
Having a plan matters, because a lot of 1099 reps struggle with time management.
If I’m driving, I route it strategically. Some days I would spend the full day in a VA, working floor by floor, hitting clinics, and building relationships.
If I’m cold calling, I focus on making sure I’m calling viable accounts tied to the products I’m representing that day, so I’m not wasting time.
I also take a real lunch break, 30 to 45 minutes. That reset helps.
In the afternoon, I level set again and might switch manufacturers so I’m working multiple lines in a day.
The end of the day varies. Sometimes you have to present at night if your champion is on a night shift, so you could be at a facility at 8 p.m.
Other days you might wrap at 3 p.m. and have dinner or a happy hour with distribution reps.
It’s fluid. Some days are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and others are 9 to 3.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
For most of your reps, is Med Pro all they do? Or do they have other lines and side gigs?
Gage Mize (Guest):
Med Pro is typically all they do.
We’re 1099, but we respect manufacturers, and we do not pick up competing lines.
Our management team is out there pitching to manufacturers and bringing those lines in, so reps are not constantly chasing manufacturers. The opportunities get dropped onto our plate.
It’s a family business. It’s also accountability driven. If someone is doing something wrong, they get called out.
There’s a lot of trust between owners, reps, and manufacturers.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
You know what a W2 role is, but you’re thriving in 1099. Why do you prefer 1099?
Gage Mize (Guest):
Autonomy is the biggest thing.
I’m not bogged down by constant pipeline calls or being hounded all day.
You can work deals how you want. You can integrate whoever you want. You can run it yourself end to end.
In W2 roles, the process is more rigid. With 1099, you can get entrenched in a facility and run your accounts like your own business.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
I hope you’re enjoying today’s episode. I want to let you know our programs cover the entire career of a medical sales professional, from getting into medical sales, to becoming a top performer, to navigating your career to executive-level leadership.
These programs are personalized and customized for your specific career and background, and trained by over 50 experts, including surgeons.
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Gage Mize (Guest):
As you get a deal in, like disinfectant wipes or a larger sale, it reinforces that you can be your own boss.
You can run your accounts without someone telling you how to run your business.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
When it comes to doing a good job in this space, what does training look like. Are you hiring people who already have sales chops, or people with drive that you can train?
Gage Mize (Guest):
Both.
Right now in North Texas, we’re hiring two reps. One comes from healthcare distribution. The other comes from B2B sales and impressed us with his drive in the interview.
We want it to be a good fit for the person and for us. We don’t want this to be a stepping stone. We want it to be a tenured, long-term career.
We do train our reps. Every manufacturer trains with us, and our regional VPs and enterprise managers do sales training too.
If a new manufacturer comes on, we’ll often go to their headquarters and train there.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
For people listening who don’t have a bachelor’s degree, do they need one to work in this space?
Gage Mize (Guest):
No. Not having a bachelor’s degree does not turn us off.
What matters is the drive, the willingness to get out of your desk, dial the phone, and do the work.
Intangibles matter a lot. Being a stand-up person, having a great attitude, strong follow up. Those things can make someone an amazing 1099 rep.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
Beyond drive, what tangible skills do you want to see, especially in someone without a bachelor’s degree?
Gage Mize (Guest):
Time management is number one. If you cannot manage your time, you fall into quicksand in the 1099 world.
Confidence is number two. You’re going to get told no a lot. You need confidence to walk into the next account and keep going.
Number three is fanatical prospecting. As a 1099 rep, you’re your own leader. You prospect at every moment you can. You ask questions constantly and look for openings everywhere.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
Talk about your best reps. What do the killers do repeatedly?
Gage Mize (Guest):
They’re educational and consultative. They’re not pushy.
They sell solutions, not products.
They identify the problem, connect it to a solution, and find the person who cares about fixing that problem.
They also have killer follow up. Time kills deals. Strong follow up keeps deals alive.
That combination makes them the one stop shop, the easy button for clinicians and facilities.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
What are the patterns you’ve seen when reps don’t pan out?
Gage Mize (Guest):
Procrastination.
You might take a few hours off and tell yourself you’ll get back to it tomorrow, but if you fall into multiple days of not prospecting, it does not hit you immediately.
It hits you 90 days later when your pipeline is stale and you have nothing to show in meetings.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
Does territory still matter in 1099, or can you win anywhere with the right mindset?
Gage Mize (Guest):
Both.
If you thrive in person and love being in hospitals and clinics, territory matters because you need to get to those facilities.
If you’re great on the phone, you can make it work anywhere, even calling into states that get less rep coverage.
With Med Pro, we have territories that allow travel within that area.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
Let’s talk VA access. Is it hard to get into the VA as a rep, and how do you get around it?
Gage Mize (Guest):
It depends on how you define access.
If you do not have contracting in place, it’s trickier. The contract is your door in.
You need the Federal Supply Schedule, GSA, or DAPA depending on the entity.
You also have credentialing systems you have to go through.
If the VA is already buying your product category, it can be easier. If they’re not, you need to set meetings first. Walking in cold often gets you slapped on the wrist.
You need a champion inside the facility. Then you can ask that person to walk you to other departments like biomed, infection prevention, and materials, and you build your contact network quickly.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
If there isn’t a contract in place, are reps discouraged from trying?
Gage Mize (Guest):
Not necessarily. They can buy off contract if they want, but it starts with building demand.
Then you can get it loaded to a contract.
Partnering with an SDVOSB is critical, because they already have contracts and the VA wants to do business with them.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
How do you train new reps who are not familiar with government sales?
Gage Mize (Guest):
It’s a combination.
At the beginning, they do ride alongs with another rep in their territory.
If we hire a North Texas rep, they might come train with me. We go into the VA and I show them how the process works and how to talk to people.
They also get training from manufacturer partners, because every manufacturer has a different approach and may use different contracting partners.
I do a lot of the training for reps on the government side.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
How does the money look in this space. Give us ranges.
Gage Mize (Guest):
Entry level is typically $60,000 to $80,000.
Solid reps can do $150,000 to $250,000.
Top reps can make a million-plus in government sales, but it can take time. Some deals take a year and a half to close. Getting entrenched matters.
The million earners are often 7 to 10 years in, and sometimes 10 to 15 years in.
Government can be steady year over year, but there can be variables like shutdowns that create hiccups.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
With the new administration, has it been easier or harder to do your job?
Gage Mize (Guest):
In some instances, it’s been harder because there’s more scrutiny on where tax dollars are spent, which makes sense.
In medical, it changes month to month. It can be good, bad, good, bad.
Funding shifts can make capital equipment harder, but it can also make cost savings conversations easier. For example, if I can show $100,000 in cost savings, facilities might bite faster.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
Are you up to date on politics because of your job, or can you stay separated and just do the work?
Gage Mize (Guest):
It helps to have general awareness.
I read posts and updates here and there. I also lean on resources like contacts inside the VA, people connected to the military, and contracting partners.
I ask what they’re hearing about funding, freezes, or releases of funds.
A lot of times, they tell me I know just as much as they do right now.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
Is your social circle mostly Med Pro, or do you have a separate life outside of work?
Gage Mize (Guest):
I’m fully intertwined with Med Pro. Those people are my friends and family.
If someone needed help in Tennessee, Montana, or California, I’d drop everything and help.
It’s a family atmosphere, and we try to emulate that from the top down.
Outside of Med Pro, I have a wonderful fiancée, Jazmin Reyes, and we’re getting married soon.
I’m also the oldest of six. Family is huge for me, and that’s one reason Med Pro felt like a great fit.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
How long have you been with Med Pro?
Gage Mize (Guest):
Just under five years.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
Take us to a moment in your career when something happened and you thought, man, I love my job.
Gage Mize (Guest):
About 6 to 8 months in, when I stopped feeling like I was drinking from a fire hose.
I started making sales, and it snowballed.
It clicked that the autonomy I have, I’m not going to get anywhere else.
I also looked around and saw reps who had been here 15 to 20 years, which is rare in medical sales. In that moment, I realized I didn’t want to do anything different.
About eight months in, I was like, I’m never leaving.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
If you could talk to your younger self starting out, what advice would you give yourself?
Gage Mize (Guest):
Stay calm.
At the beginning, there’s so much going on. If you can exude calmness and confidence, it carries over to everyone around you, your accounts, your peers, and your partners.
Samuel Adeyinka (Host):
I love it. Gage, this has been fantastic.
I hope you enjoyed today’s episode. And remember, I have a customized and personalized program that gets you into the medical technology industry as a sales professional, or any type of role for that matter.
Become a top performer in your position and masterfully navigate your career to executive-level leadership. Check out these programs and learn more by visiting our site.
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Medical Territory Manager!
I was a Regional Sales Representative for Long-Term Care pharmacy services. I had dreamed of getting into the med sales industry when I went into my career as a nurse, but the pharmacy sales job came to me, and I had just settled. Fortunately, I had a job shakeup that allowed me to determine that now was the time to pursue my original vision.
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Thank you so much, EYS! This journey has been life changing and has resulted in the successful culmination of my 18-Year ambition! 
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