Rx for the Pharmacist Sales Call

It’s tough enough to make all the doctor calls listed in your appointment book (or BlackBerry), so with time at such a premium, is it really all that important to squeeze in visits to pharmacists as well? The answer, according to Jane Williams, noted sales expert and author of Professional Pharmaceutical Selling is yes, that calling on pharmacists is important, although she notes that the amount of time you should dedicate to these calls depends on the individual pharmacist’s position and the type of store or institution with which he or she is affiliated.

"For example, the clinical pharmacist in a hospital is the pharmacist with whom the pharmaceutical sales representative needs to spend time because this person is involved in stocking decisions, is on the formulary committee, and is extremely influential with hospital physicians," Williams says.

Specifically, Williams says, when calling on pharmacists, salespeople should be looking to gain information, not only about the number of prescriptions that flow through that store, but also about larger prescribing trends they see. Additionally, pharmacists can often help identify prescribing problems that may be occurring, especially with new products, and offer possible solutions.

When asked how physician and pharmacist calls differ, Williams says that in many ways the objectives are the same: new product prescribing information should be thoroughly covered while information about practice, association, and patient feedback should also be prioritized. The one key difference is that pharmacists can also provide data about local physician writing habits and the amount of your product that is moving when compared to competitors’ products.

Despite the reluctance some reps may feel toward squeezing pharmacies into their busy days, don’t expect the pharmacists themselves to feel honored by your presence. A short list of the annoyances pharmacists mention regarding drug rep calls would include dropping in without an appointment and expecting to be seen immediately, calling during especially busy times of day and failing to respect the pharmacist’s training, experience, and knowledge. To this list Williams adds the request made by many drug reps that pharmacists stock new products before receiving any prescriptions for the product. Unfortunately, Williams notes, pharmaceutical companies frequently insist that reps make these requests.

"One way to handle this issue is to inform the pharmacists that you are promoting the products for which they should expect to see prescriptions," Williams says. "The sales representative should certainly attempt to get at least one bottle of the new product on the shelf. Secondly, and more important, the pharmaceutical sales representative should call on their wholesaler first to be certain that the wholesaler has the new product stocked. Pharmacists do not like to stock new products, especially in large quantities, because they know they can get the product overnight from the wholesaler. They also know that the patient starter kits supplied by the pharmaceutical companies will allow the patient to have their medication for at least a few days while their prescription is being filled."

As one final piece of advice, Williams reminds reps calling on pharmacists to be sure they’re not spending precious time on just anyone in a white coat behind the counter.

"The pharmaceutical sales representative should call on the PIC, pharmacist in charge," Williams says. "They should not waste their time, the staff’s time, or the relief pharmacist’s time by speaking with a person who is not a decision maker and who does not know the details of what is going on in the pharmacy."