Pharmaceutical Sales

Pharmaceutical sales representatives are employed by drug companies. They distribute information about their companies' products to physicians, hospital nurses, and medical technicians. They do not take drug orders from these health care practitioners but instead try to persuade doctors to prescribe more of their companies' drugs. Patients then buy the drugs.
Most doctors are very busy, and sales representatives usually have no more than five or six minutes with them. In that time the representative must describe their company's newest products. They outline what a drug is designed to do and how it works. They also explain its advantages over older drugs, attempting to convince doctors as to why their product is better than others.
Sales representatives must have a basic knowledge of how the human body works. They must also have some understanding of disease and pharmacology (the study of drugs and their effects on humans), because doctors will question sales representatives about drugs and their side effects. Sales representatives must also know which drugs will be of interest to doctors in different specialties. A pharmaceutical sales representative discusses information about a drug with doctors. Representatives must speak clearly and concisely under pressure, because they only spend a few minutes at each medical site. Sales representatives are assigned territories based on postal zip codes. They make up their own itineraries, concentrating on doctors who write the most prescriptions. This information is available from surveys of pharmacists. Sales persons may leave samples of new drugs with doctors and must keep careful records concerning the samples they leave.

Sales representatives must be able to speak clearly and concisely under pressure. They must have pleasant personalities and be able to build long-lasting relationships with doctors. In addition, sales representatives must be able to accept rejection. About 40 percent of doctors refuse to see sales persons. Others will not see them when they are very busy.
Education and Training Requirements
To become a pharmaceutical sales person, a person must have a high school diploma. Most employers prefer to hire college graduates, preferably with a bachelor's degree in science. However, two years of college should be sufficient to qualify for most jobs. Drug companies provide on-the-job training, selecting trainees on the basis of their verbal and social skills. Training consists of intensive study followed by supervised field work.