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The ability to demonstrate that you offer a solution that will make an HCP’s clinical/professional life easier is the first, and probably most important, factor that goes into determining how much time you will get to meet with an HCP.

In order to do this, a sales rep needs to first:

Understand the Office Dynamics

Know the dynamics within each office and who the key person is that will be making the decision on using your product or device. Remember, it may not necessarily be the doctor who makes the final decision even if they are the one that actually signs the prescription/order.

Know What The HCP Does

To maximize and capitalize time with any HCP, have a good understanding of what that particular HCP does on a day-to-day basis. Time and time again, HCPs, of all types, tell us that many medical sales professionals do not have a good understanding of what their job involves, what type of patients they see or how the product solves a problem or issue that they come up against in their clinical practice.

Solve A Problem

It all comes down to understanding that doctors and all HCPs are problem solvers and what they really want and need are solutions.

Knowing the problems/issues those particular HCPs face in the dealing with patients will enable you to identify and demonstrate how your product/device can help.

Adopting a problem/solution-based approach, rather than a product-based approach, will make the difference and help you stand out from the other sales professionals. It will also demonstrate to the HCP that you really understand what they do and how they interact with their patients.

Remember, when an HCP is dealing with a patient, they have to go through their process (taking a history, physical exam, lab tests, investigations etc.) before they get to make a decision on what to do. Product is the very last part of that decision making process and this can only happen when all the answers are in place.

Learn More About Maximizing Time with HCPs

StayinFront provides the tools, data and analytics that enable field representatives to do more for their medical professionals, know more about their needs and deliver more targeted, one-to-one messages that help build relationships and lead to increased use of your products. Read more about how life sciences companies are maximizing time with HCPs using StayinFront TouchRX® .

Read Part 1 – Anatomy of a 90-Second Sales Call

Dr. Peter J. Shaw, Chief Medical Officer at QPharma Inc., is an expert on improving communications between pharmaceutical sales executives and healthcare practitioners. He has 25 years of experience in clinical medicine in a variety of specialties, 20 years’ experience in product launches and pharmaceutical sales training and assessment, and 10 years’ experience in post-graduate education.