Did you know many people, sometimes for good reasons, have strong negative views about selling and salespeople?
Not surprisingly pharma and MedTech sales reps are often victims of misconceptions. Despite the value generated for their companies even inside their own companies, they are associated with negative and sometimes offensive adjectives.
Having worked in medical sales for many years I think this unfavorable view is unjustified and this attitude to medical sales derives from misconceptions about selling.
So, today I will discuss medical sales and explain its complexity and importance.
The role of selling
Traditionally, the nature of selling was considered only for its basic function i.e. making the sale.
Today the selling process is much more complex and multifaced. Consequently, the medical sales rep role requires a deep knowledge of complex medical matters.
The role also involves the use of communication techniques, demands substantial personal skills, and needs to cover a wide range of customer-facing tasks.
As a result of the complexity of medical sales, Pharma, and on a smaller scale MedTech companies invest significant resources into the sales force.
Sales force training in my opinion is a key investment. Training the sales reps in the art of selling will transform them into customers’ problem solvers creating the sale as a by-product.
The reason for this strong attention to the sales force is simple: the sales personnel are the most important link with the customers.
The best product, with the best value proposition, promoted by the best-designed and articulated marketing campaign will fail if the salesforce is not effective.
This frontline role of the salesperson means that for most customers, the salesperson is the company.
I will always remember the president of a pharmaceutical saying that the salesperson is the CEO of the company in the assigned territory.
The term selling in medical sales encompasses a variety of sales situations and activities.
For example, there are pharma sales positions where the sales representative is required primarily to influence the decision-maker to prescribe the product.
The emphasis in this type of sales activity is significantly different from the sales position in MedTech where the sales representative is dealing with sales of capital equipment to hospital purchasing units.
Realistically, one of the most interesting aspects of medical sales is the wide diversity of selling roles.
Most common medical sales misconceptions
There are several wrong ideas about medical sales and a medical sales career and below are the most common ones.
For medical products, sales reps are useless
This idea considers that drugs or medical technologies do not need to be promoted because the user, often a healthcare professional, should already know them.
Actually, the reality is very different. Without the work of well-trained medical sales reps the diffusion of innovation, change, and advancements in medical practice will be extremely slow.
Good products will sell themselves
This common view about sales assumes that if you produce a superior product then there is no need for a salesperson.
Especially in medical sales, this is not true; even lifesaving products need to be supported in the market.
In addition, the sales rep’s role is not solely to sell; it includes collecting information from customers, particularly about product performance and side effects, training about best practices, support in product use, facilitating the administrative processes of the customer, etc.
Selling or promoting medical products is somehow immoral
The origin and the (sometimes founded) reasons for this frequent and damaging misconception about the sales organization stem from the image of a sleazy and unprofessional salesperson.
Therefore, people doing medical sales as a job are considered questionable. The image of the foot-in-the-door technique used in several commercial settings by door-to-door salespeople is also still present in the minds of people.
Moreover, scandals involving the sales organizations and doctors reach a high level of coverage by the media impacting the reputation of the vast majority of sales reps.
In reality, selling medical devices or drugs is not immoral per se.
Selling is an exchange between the seller and the buyer, and through this exchange, the needs and wants of the customers are satisfied. Great sales reps help the customer make a decision that’s in their best interest.
A career in sales is not worthwhile
This attitude is very common; people think selling is easy and does not require strong competencies.
Therefore, according to this way of thinking, a career in sales is a waste of time for talented people.
Denigrating a career in medical sales has the consequence that brilliant graduates from universities are not considering selling jobs attractive.
Well, a successful sales experience provides a solid foundation for a managerial career. In fact, many company leaders in Medtech or Pharma started out as salespeople.
The Internet will make salespeople obsolete
Technology has already changed medical sales, leaving some people to think that a medical sales rep is not necessary anymore with the emergence of the internet and social media. But that’s far from the truth.
Medical device and Pharma companies need sales professionals in order to grow and thrive. Face-to-face interactions with HCP, product support, and building trustful relationships are still critical to the success of any organization.
Conclusions
Being a medical sales rep is not an easy job and definitely not for untalented people. Contrary to popular opinion, selling drugs or medical technology requires several solid skills.
Some facts (practices and events) support the misconceptions about medical sales.
And there will always be some unscrupulous companies and individuals that will profit from the situation forgetting the goal of selling which is solving a patient’s problem.
Nevertheless, real sales reps still exist and first consider the safety and welfare of the patients, follows the regulations, and always has transparent and honest communication with HCP even if it costs the sale.
What do you think about these misconceptions? Let me know in the section below.
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