The Physician Sales Call

Many years ago, I had the unique opportunity to address an annual meeting of physicians and medical office administrators. While I had a lot of experience in calling on physicians, I had little exposure to the inner-workings of some of America's most interesting corporate offices.

The physician's office landscape is much like that of any other corporation. Physician groups of anywhere from five to 50 doctors can become a multi-million-dollar business. They often employ professional administrators, highly trained human resource directors, staff schedulers, accountants and a large clinical staff. Meetings and appointments are scheduled through a specialized software program, and medical records staff are there to ensure the safety and security of all documents. Often, there is a person responsible for referrals and pharmacy calls.

And then there are the physicians. These often unreachable people are being told in what room the next “customer” is sitting and which line to pick up for the next possible emergency.

Do you have the picture yet? That's all happening on the other side of the glass window, which is surrounded by lots of payment information and notices about which insurance plans the doctors do not accept. And of course, you will find the bell that beckons the “guard” to the window where you are standing, all ready with your business card.

There is no magic formula for getting in the physician's door. Many people may offer suggestions, tips and strategies, but each office has its own personality, as different as each administrator and each doctor.

No one industry has spent more money to train sales representatives about selling to physicians than the pharmaceutical business. Ronda Dean, president of Dalton-Demorest Consulting and the former head of the Women's Health Care Division of Park-Davis, was quoted as saying that successful pharmaceutical reps keep one concept in mind: “They respect the fact that everyone who goes to see a doctor pays for the physician's time — except the pharmaceutical rep. Reps are being given a professional courtesy by the doctor. So unless they want to pay a physician for his or her time, they have to use that time wisely and be respectful of it.”

Dean compares the physician office sales call to a television commercial. She believes the sales call is similar to the commercial, and unless it offers something new and different, people will either turn it off or simply leave the room.