Abstract: Pharmaceutical marketing is a specialized area, which is distinct from general selling. It requires sound scientific knowledge about pharmaceuticals coupled with selling skills. Often emphasis is laid on the scientific knowledge but selling skills are overlooked. Pharmaceutical companies try their all might to impart scientific knowledge to their field force during induction, cycle meetings and on the job training. No doubt scientific knowledge is paramount to the selling of highly specialized products like pharmaceuticals, selling skills cannot be overlooked.
In pharmaceutical marketing a person tries to sell the product to a customer who is more knowledgeable than the seller and have scientific knowledge. All the field representatives of the companies try to woo the medical fraternity with the same "me too" products and there is virtually no distinction among the brands they sell in the same therapeutic category. One brand does not have any major advantage over the other to get into doctors' minds. Further intense competition makes the task of a representative more complicated. And thus the importance of selling skills helps a person to get his brand prescribed. Selling skills are not easy to imbibe and it requires lot of practice. But once these skills are learnt, it becomes practice and representative who practices selling skills stands apart from other "me too" people in a doctors chambers and ultimately he is able to get the doctor's attention.
Often selling skills are misinterpreted as polishing doctors with flattering words. Selling skills are more than that. Although selling skills are a part of your overall communication process with doctor, mere good communication will not generate prescriptions. Selling skills comprises of unearthing the needs of the doctors, trying to find out the unmet needs, use of probing questions regarding the satisfying features of your products and/or competitors' products, listening skills, handling objections from doctors, developing rapport with doctors, selling benefits of your products vis a vis competitors' products. If these skills used properly during the conversation, it is likely that a representative may enhance sales of his company. Doctors also give "buying signals" either verbally or from their gestures during the conversation or "detailing". A smart representative should easily understand these "buying signals" and close the call. This is the appropriate time to ask for the commitment from doctor to prescribe product. It is likely that doctor may not commit but he will certainly try your product in a few of his patients. |
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