I am going to try to illustrate what is the biggest challenge that you can face when trying to become a pharmaceutical sales rep.
Imagine there is a hiring manager who’s looking for somebody to fill a
pharmaceutical sales rep the position of pharmaceutical sales rep, and he is
presented with Candidate N° 1.
Candidate N° 1 is somebody who fills the requirement of the Bachelor’s Degree,
this person was a great student and had the best grades at the university, but this
person has a limitation: Candidate N° 1 has no
experience in sales.
So, the big question in the manager’s head is: Can this person sell?
Now, the hiring manager is presented with Candidate N° 2.
This person, as Candidate N° 1, also has a Bachelor’s Degree, had good grades
at the university, but in addition has some experience in sales, perhaps in Real State,
Business to Business, auto parts, you name it. This person is also showing a great history of
sales’ achievements.
Between the two of them, of course Candidate N° 2 has an upper hand because
already answers the question in the hiring manager’s head.
However candidate Number 2 has a another challenge:
Can this person sell to doctors?
Because doctors are really particular: They went to school from 12 to 15 years to learn
what they’re doing, and if somebody shows up and tries to change their prescribing habits,
that may not be so simple.
Now imagine there is a Candidate N° 3. He has a Bachelor’s Degree and some
experience in medical or pharmaceutical sales.
Now, the balance goes to this new candidate.
However, Candidate N° 3 can experience this new challenge: The hiring
manager is looking for somebody capable to sell the South part of
the city, and Candidate N° 3 has experience only in the North part of the city.
I have experienced this scenario a couple of times, and probably you’re asking, why this
detail is so relevant?
This is important because, when you’re hired to cover a new territory, you have new
accounts to take care of, with new doctors, new specialties, etc.
In this cases, even with all my years of experience it takes me from 7 to 9 nine months to
build relationships, and have the territory going.
The point is, if you don’t have any relationships with the doctors, is going to take sometime
to earn the doctor’s and your client’s trust.
So, if Candidate N° 4 shows up, and proves he has the experience and built relationships
already in the target territory (beside the Bachelor’s Degree), that becomes a plus because
to get sales going in this scenario general takes just 3 or 4 months.
As you may suppose, the company will produce faster results if they hire
Candidate N° 4, who already has contacts in the territory and can pull some strings
quickly.
This is the reason why many candidates lose their chance against someone who already has
experience in the territory that the hiring manager is trying to fill.
These are some of the challenges you may face if you’re trying to break into
pharmaceutical sales.
However, they are ways to overcome these challenges!
With my formula, you can be in the position of Candidate N° 1 or N° 2 and
get the job! even if you’re competing against Candidates N° 3 or 4.
If you really want to get a position as pharmaceutical sales, I invite you to get my training
videos and prepare to finally get the job you have always wanted!
