“During training, I was told, when you’re out to dinner with a doctor, ‘The physician is eating with a friend. You are eating with a client.’ ” - Shahram Ahari

That’s a favorite comment that Ahari, a former Lilly sales rep who now consults for Georgetown University’s School of Medicine, likes to recount when asked about his two-year stint selling Zyprexa and Prozac. The experience left him disappointed and a little jaded about drug sales, which he says taught him to ingratiate himself with doctors so that lots of scrips were written.

To share his insights, Ahari earlier this year gave an interview to Adriane Fugh-Berman, a Georgetown associate professor, who posted his remarks on PharmedOut. This week, they’ve written an article in PLOS Medicine called, ‘Following the Script: How Drug Reps Make Friends and Influence Doctors.’ Here are some excerpts:

Reps may be genuinely friendly, but they are not genuine friends. Drug reps are selected for their presentability and outgoing natures, and are trained to be observant and personable…Personal information may be more important than prescribing prefernces… A photo on a desk presents an opportunity to inquire about family members and memorize whatever tidbits they are offering…Reps scour a doctor’s office for objects - a tennis racquet, Russian novels, seventies rock music, fashion magainze, travel mementos, or cultural or religious symbols - that can be used to establish a personal connection with the doctor.

They then list eight different types of doctors: friendly and outgoing; aloof and skeptical; mercenary; high prescribers; prefers a competing drug; acquiescent; no-see, no-time, and finally, the thought leader. And they provide insights into all the methods a sales rep may use to wear down each one in hopes of getting more scrips written.

For instance, with the ‘friendly and outgoing doc,’ Ahari (that’s him to the right) says that he would ‘frame everything as a gesture of friendship. I give them free samples not because it’s my job, but because I like them so much. I provide office lunches because visiting them is such a pleasant relief from all the other docs. My drugs rarely get mentioned by me during our dinners.

Just being friends with most of my docs seemed to have some natural basic effect on their prescribing habits. When the time is ripe, I lean on my ‘friendship’ to leverage more patients to my drugs…say, because it’ll help me meet quota or it will impress my manager, or its crucial for my career. Outgoing, friendly physicians are every rep’s favoriate, because cultivating friendship is a mutual aim. While this may be genuine behavior on the doctor’s side, it is usually caclulated on the part of the rep.”

In their closing remarks, they note that if detailing were an educational service, it would be provided to all physicians, not just those who affect market share. Of course, not every sales rep may do well with this approach, atlhough the worsening pressures on drugmakers suggest more cheerleaders buff military types are being hired for a reason.

Still, most everyone should recognize that getting to know your customer is an old trick. But the authors argue this personal touch shouldn’t be abused or misconstrued when public health is at stake. Selling meds is not the same as selling vacuum cleaners door to door. And they conclude with a message for lonely docs everywhere: “Physicians must rely on information on drugs from unconflicted sources, and seek friends among those who are not paid to be friends.”

The complete article is right here and or visit PharmedOut.

[tags]Sales Reps[/tags]