Doctors are natural skeptics. Remember, doctors were educated in scientific communities. The dictates of medical practice and continuing medical education on evaluating evidence related to medicine states that you have to question all the claims given by all existing medical products, instruments and services out there. Given the fact that numerous products sprout out year after year, it is the physician’s role to determine that these products are safe and effective for the patient.
Various new products may claim to cure multiple ailments or produce miraculous results. Some of these medical related items can actually be dangerous. Any doctor prescribing them to their patient knows that they could be placing their license at risk. Therefore, the first thing to consider when selling to physicians is that your product, device or service is safe. In addition, it needs to be approved either by the FDA or other respective authorizing body.
Dealing with doctors naturally follows a normal business relationship.
Physicians Seek Evidence based information
The only exception is that the doctor will scrutinize your product more so than any other client. When selling to physicians, the physician will weigh it against their current medical knowledge. Again, skepticism comes with the medical profession.
Representing a product thus requires keen competence when selling to physicians. You have to know your product or service offering inside out.
One peculiarity about answering a doctor’s questions is that uncertainty or maybe is never an acceptable answer. When selling to physicians, yours answers should preferably be evidence based. You have to be able to answer most of the questions thrown at you within your expected degree of expertise. You may not be able to answer all the questions but you should fulfill the reasonable information regarding your product and its impact on the doctor’s medical practice. Another key factor to successfully selling to physicians is the Sales Rep and Physician Relationship, another article written by a physician from the Physician’s Perspective
Know Your Competition
There are many competing products and competing representatives as well. Here, competence and prudence comes into play. Aside from knowing about your product alone, it is often beneficial to learn about your competitor products as well. This way you can easily market the strengths and the advantages of your own brand.
You can specifically tell your doctor that this is better for their patients because of specific factors. Price or affordability is one of these very important factors when selling to physicians. So is efficacy and ease of application. In the event that all these factors are even in the playing field between you and your competition, there are other ways to strengthen your relationship with your physician and thus ensure your sales. This involves having excellent work ethics, being professional, attentive and courteous. Everybody loves these traits in the work place, the physician will love it as well.
Sales to physicians are also successful when Selling to Hospitals through the physician. This is often accomplished when the physician works in the hospital setting, such as surgeons in the OR setting.
This article was written by a Medical Doctor and is protected by Copyright of MedCepts.
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