There seems to be a movement in pharmaceutical sales to a more customer focused selling platform. Gone are the days of being able to walk in and give the doctor a quick sound bite marketing message such as, "Doctor you should use my product because it is fast acting, long lasting and covered on most managed care plans." What does it mean for a selling platform to be doctor focused or Doctor Centric? Based on years of studying the research that is available via surveys and focus groups as well as conducting surveys and focus groups of our own I would offer the following elements as evidence of a Doctor Centric sales platform. Read below to see if your training is Doctor Centric.
Doctor Centric Training Curriculum Includes the Following:
Understanding of MD Training
The foundation of a Doctor Centric Training Program is a knowledge of how doctors are trained. Doctors are different! Doctors are challenged their first day in medical school and that challenging process never ends. That is why doctors challenge what you say. Their professors will tell them, "I don't care what you know." "I only care what you don't know." "It is what you don't know that could kill someone and cause you to lose your license!" This is why doctors are skeptical when we present product information to them.
Doctors are also highly competitive. They start competing for grades in high school and never stop trying to be better than their colleagues. I sold surgical implants for years and when you get a group of eye surgeons together the conversation quickly moves to one of two subjects. Eye surgeons compete in two very measurable areas, how quickly they can complete a cataract surgery and how small of an incision thy can fit a foldable intraocular lens into. The faster you can complete the surgery and the smaller your incision the more skilled you appear to be. If you have a doctor who is not using the latest drug therapy or surgical procedure and most of her colleagues are, let her know that 90% of her colleagues are using this drug and having a lot of success. Doctors don't want to be seen as lagging behind!
Doctors are also highly educated and trained. They spend four years in medical school and an additional four to five years in a residency program. The majority of this training focuses on understanding the science behind diseases and obtaining the clinical skills to diagnose and treat these diseases. Doctors are scientists and must have scientific data in order to make a decision to use your product.
A Knowledge of What Doctors Do Every Day
Every time a doctor walks into a patient exam room they usually say something like, "What's the trouble? or what brought you in today?" The doctor's goal is to discover what clinical problem each patient presents with and prescribe a solution. That is accomplished through asking the patient diagnostic questions which prompt the doctor to run tests leading to a clinical diagnosis of the problem. Once the problem is diagnosed then a treatment plan is put into place. That treatment plan usually comes in the form of a prescription for drug therapy, the recommendation of a surgical procedure or some other type of outpatient treatment. This process starts with the identification of a problem after gathering and reviewing scientific information and ends with a product or service to solve the problem. A Doctor Centric Training Program helps representatives present their product as a solution to a clinical problem the doctor is seeing in their practice.
Training on How to Understand and Present Clinical Data
Doctors are scientists! They live and die by the clinical literature. For years Pharmaceutical Representative Magazine has published results of physician surveys. Every year doctors tell us the same thing. They prefer clinical studies when making a decision to prescribe certain products. In 2002 this study reported that 80% of physicians preferred clinical data when making a decision to write for a certain product. A 2008 Sermo physician survey stated that 87% of doctors wished representatives used more clinical data in their presentations. The problem most representatives face is they simply don't have time to present a clinical paper when they only get a little over a minute with each doctor. You must present clinical information to a doctor the same way they present to each other.
All clinical studies follow the same format; Introduction, Study Design and Methods, Results and Conclusion. This format is called an abstract and is consistent with the SOAP model of communicating. SOAP stands for Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan. This communication format is used by all healthcare professionals for everything from writing notes in patient charts to presenting clinical information. Organizing your clinical presentations in this format will allow you to present clinical data in a logical concise manner that the doctor will understand and relate to. I have observed representatives presenting clinical papers in 30 seconds or less using this format!
A doctor was recently asked in a Pharmaceutical Representative article what a representative could do to get their attention when they were extremely busy. The doctor replied, "Take out a recent study that compares their product to the one I am using present it and ask for my signature." When a doctor is pressed for time, and who isn't today, they want clinical data not marketing. Want to impress you doctors on your next visit? Present a recent, relevant clinical study in less than a minute and ask them to share their thoughts on the paper.
How Doctor Centric is your Sales Training Program? Do your representatives understand how doctors are trained, the four steps they go through every day to decide what treatment each patient receives and the importance of clinical data.
For help making your sales training program more Doctor Centric contact TAP Consulting at 770-596-1498 or j.price-tapconsulting@comcast.net.
Bio Jim Price Jim Price has been in the healthcare industry for over eighteen years. His experience encompasses numerous pharmaceutical and surgical sales positions As a practice management consultant, Jim has worked with physicians to improve a variety of practice issues from workflow to marketing. He has also advised hospitals on vendor consolidation and procedure efficiencies.
Most recently, Jim served as Director of North American Training and Development for Novartis Ophthalmics. In this position, he was responsible for the training and development of Sales Representatives and Area Sales Managers for the North American markets.
Currently, Jim provides contract training and consultation services for clients in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industry, including: Novartis Ophthalmics, Pfizer Consumer Health, Alimera Sciences, Alliant Pharmaceuticals, Eisai, NovaVision and Ciba Vision.
As a presenter at The Society of Pharmaceutical and Biotech Trainers, Jim has been able to share his extensive experience with other sales training professionals.
TAP Consulting was created to leverage Jim's extensive experience in physician/representative interactions. The courses offered by TAP Consulting have been designed specifically for the pharmaceutical and medical industry. Drawing on over 500 physician/rep role plays and feedback gathered from physician focus groups, Jim has been able to translate this knowledge into courses which are real time, actionable and drive results. TAP offers courses in understanding your physician customer, basic and advanced selling skills, selling with clinical reprints and leadership training. Contact Jim Price for more information on TAP services.
TAP Consulting
Pharmaceutical Sales Training And Performance Consulting
770-596-1498
price56@comcast.net
http://www.tapconsultingcompany.com
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