Medical Sales retail chemist calls

The retail chemist bit always seemed to a bit of a conundrum! We were selling prescription medicines and as such the pharmacist should play no role in the choices of products used?

Training courses for medical sales also weren't much help. The general idea seemed to be to use the chemist call to try and ascertain the local Doctors prescribing patterns. Ultimately you never know after a GP call whether or not a GP has really bought your product, where over time the pharmacist will! The problem is, if you walk off the street into a chemist and ask the pharmacist what products the GP uses, you're likely to get told to bog off! I experienced this in my early days as a rep and have witnessed it as a manager too.

Given the right approach there are a whole bunch of reasons why chemist calling can be highly productive, but the key is to build a mutually beneficial relationship before you start asking for too many favours. Here's some reasons why good rapport will help

• A pharmacist who has confidence in you 'will' reveal prescribing patterns to you, once you have built up a strong enough relationship, who is using what product in which situation.

• When you are promoting newer products, perhaps not stocked by the pharmacist, all your hard work can go to waist when the patient turns up at the pharmacy, only to find there's no stock....a quick call to the GP and your script is changed to a competitor which is in stock! Good rapport may enable you to persuade the pharmacist to stock your new product, or maybe call the GP to confirm they will be using it after your call so that they can stock up.

• A pharmacist well versed in the benefits of your product can instil confidence in the patient which may stop the patient returning to the GP and asking to change back to and older product.

• Good rapport with a pharmacist can often generate access to tough GPs who they may be friendly with.

• Many pharmacists are now key figures in local Health groups, holding positions on PCTs and having influence over general prescribing decision in your area.

The key to a medical sales rep developing your rapport with the pharmacist is to offer a valuable service. Many patients are too nervous to ask a GP about there treatment and often turn to the local pharmacist for advice. I suggest you call to keep them updated on the products you are promoting to enable them to offer patients who are prescribed your drugs the most accurate advice possible. They will appreciate this as a valuable call for their benefit and will always be interested and appreciate being kept up to date with new licences and changes in indications, new dosages and so on.

Over time, your pharmacist will begin to see you as a partner providing a useful service rather than a rep scavenging for information for nothing in return. At this stage you may begin to use the relationship to greater effect requesting information, in many cases, they will reveal this to you anyway.