To become an effective medical sales rep requires competence in a number of skills. Completing a medical sales representative qualification guides you through a step-by-step process to master these core competencies:
- Understanding clinical trials and health economics,
- How to get the most out of your geographical area,
- Integrate knowledge of anatomy and physiology of the human body, pathophysiology and treatment options with the best possible focus on patient health outcomes,
- How to deal with medical ethical dilemmas
- Know and understand the basics of pharmacology and medical devices. Then use this knowledge to argue benefits and risks of using health products
- Work as part of a team to improve patient access to health.
Importantly you need to master the art of targeted selling.
Targeted selling is the selling approach that we believe brings quality value to the customer quickly. It fulfils the exact needs of the Health Care Practitioner (HCP) and therefore moves you as the Health Product Sales Representative (HPSR) towards achieving your targets quicker! Keeping up to date on the latest trends can be difficult, but there are a few basic skills targeted selling skills that won’t do you any harm in understanding, regardless of whether you are a seasoned pro or new to the role of a health products sales representative.
But first, let’s look at what targeted selling is. Although this is covered more in our Selling Skills Course, targeted selling can be very briefly described as the skill of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to the people who actually want to get them. For example, understanding the difference between selling to a pharmacist and selling to a doctor.
Pharmacy sales is a ‘commercial’ discussion where you need to master negotiation skills so that you can truly persuade the pharmacist to have your product or molecule on the shelves. However, sales to doctors are a ‘persuasive’ discussion around the value of the product to the patients that the Dr sees.
Understanding these differences can help you better understand who your target is and what they would want out of a conversation with you. It takes practice, but there are many other skills that you can work on to become a world class modern medical rep.
How to improve selling skills?
To be successful in sales, you will need to master the following skills:
- Master persuasive virtual selling (get comfortable selling on-screen)
- Manage your territory
- Plan your route (Be on time)
- Do pre-call planning (Failing to plan is planning to fail)
- Personalize each message (Understand who you are talking to)
- Set call objectives
- Question effectively
- Handle concerns (don’t leave the HCP confused or unsure)
- Do post call analysis
- Use visual aids effectively
Although this list has a very broad meaning, our Selling Skills Course better emphasises and explains how to improve each one of these skills. However, here are 4 quick tips on what you can do to improve today.
Preparing your image
When it comes to sales, the most important promotional material is you– the effective Health Product Sales Representative! Remember people make up their minds about what they think of you and me in the first 7 seconds that they meet us! It takes 21 more encounters for the person to change their minds about what they think of us! Understand that the way people perceive you and your company can have a lasting positive or negative effect on the way they do business with you.
Preparing sales aids
Sales aids are also known as a detail aid or visual aid. It is a printed piece (booklet or brochure) or an electronic document containing product information. The sales aid is used by the HPSR to engage the HCP in a productive dialog about a drug.
A sales aid is usually composed of information about your products efficacy and clinical data that support claims. It contains charts and graphs, guidance for dosing and administration of the drug, and summary information pertaining to tolerability and safety. The sales aid is primarily a marketing tool that incorporates creative elements such as photos, slogans, and brand logos.
No Plan, No Result
Often, sales HPSRs walk out of a sales call, and when asked – “So, did you achieve what you set out to do?” they cannot really answer. This is because they did not have a plan in place to measure their sales call performance against. Not only is this ineffective, it prevents sales HPSRs from effectively gaining sales from a HCP. If you do not know what you want to achieve, you will achieve very little. Remember, failing to plan is planning to fail.
Whether your question is ‘how to become a medical sales representative’ or ‘how to improve my pharmaceutical sales skills’, always upgrade your skills and keep up to date with the current sales trends. Be proactive by attending seminars, connecting with as many likeminded people as possible, and keep learning through online short courses.
For more information on our Selling Skills online short course click on this link – https://www.diverseconversations.co.za/diverse-courses/selling-skills/ and if you are interested in what else we have to offer click here or email us at info@diverseconversations.co.za