A medical representative is employed by a pharmaceutical company to maximise the prescribing of that pharmaceutical company's products in a geographical area.
There are no strict formulae for how to maximise product prescribing - hard work is only part of the story and often working smarter is the key to success. This is why pharmaceutical companies are constantly looking for candidates who have the ability to think of (and then put into practice) new ways of approaching sales opportunities.
As an experienced representative you will know your territory, know your customers and have a clear idea which part of your territory offers the highest potential for sales. You set yourself clear objectives for every day that you work and will know exactly what you want to achieve from each customer visit.
The traditional work pattern for a non-specialist medical representative is to spend the morning in 1:1 meetings with GP's and Practice Nurses. You may need to have booked an appointment for these meetings or you may be able to see the GP "On Spec" ie. if they are not too busy.
At lunchtime you may have booked a meeting with a group of GP's/Practice Nurses or Hospital Doctors, where you will make a promotional presentation about your products and provide lunch.
In the afternoons you will call on hospital doctors to try and persuade them to use your products. In addition you will call on local chemist shops where you will try to get information on the prescribing habits of the local GP's. This information should help you plan and set yourself objectives for future sales visits to those GP's.
Finally, when all the selling is over, you will record all the information you have gathered regarding your sales calls and then plan for your next visits.
Training is an essential ingredient to becoming successful in any field. Pharmaceutical sales is no exception and you will receive a comprehensive initial training programme. This comprises 3 areas:
- Basic anatomy and physiology
- How your portfolio of drugs work
- How to become a more effective salesperson
Following on from this initial training you will receive comprehensive ongoing training, including as part of the assessment process; the ABPI (Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry) exam within 2 years of starting work as a Medical Representative.
Further information about becoming a medical sales representative can be found at allaboutmedicalsales.co.uk.
