When Deborah Karish wakes up in the morning, she does not have to worry about a long commute to work. Her office is in her home. As an Amgen ( www.amgen.com )
pharmaceutical sales representative, Deborah spends most of her day visiting hospitals, medical clinics, and doctors’
offices. She spends a large part of each day serving as a consultant to doctors, head nurses, pharmacists, and others who need information and advice about the complex medical products available from her company. As might be expected, she also spends a considerable amount of time conducting informative presentations designed to achieve a variety of objectives. In some situations, she is introducing a new product, and in other cases she is providing up-to-date information on an existing product.
Some of her presentations are given to individual health care professionals, and others are given to a group. Each of these presentations must be carefully planned.
Deborah uses informative and reminder presentations almost daily in her work. Informative presentations are given to doctors who are in a position to prescribe her products. The verbal presentation often is supplemented with audiovisual aids and printed materials. Reprints of articles from leading medical journals are often used to illustrate the success of her products in treating patients.
These articles give added credibility to her presentations.
Some of her informative presentations are designed to give customers updates on the prescription drugs she sells.
Reminder presentations are frequently given to pharmacists who must maintain an inventory of her products.
She has found it necessary to periodically remind pharmacists of product delivery procedures and policies, and of special services available from Amgen. She knows that without an occasional reminder, a customer can forget information that may be beneficial.
In some cases, a careful needs analysis is required to determine if her products can solve a specific medical problem. Each patient is different, so generalizations concerning the use of her products can be dangerous. When doctors talk about their patients, Deborah must listen carefully and take good notes. In some cases, she must get additional information from company support staff. If a customer needs immediate help with a problem, she gives the person a toll-free 1-800 number to call for expert advice. This line is an important part of the Amgen customer service program.
Deborah’s career in pharmaceutical sales has required continuous learning. In the beginning she had to learn the meaning of dozens of medical terms and become familiar with a large number of medical problems. If a doctor asks, “What is the bioavailability of Neupogen?”
she must know the meaning of the medical term and be knowledgeable about this Amgen product.
Deborah also spends time learning about the people with whom she works. She recently said, “If I get along with the people I work with, it makes my job a lot easier.” When meeting someone for the first time, she takes time to assess his or her communication style and then adapts her own style to meet his or her needs. She points out that in some cases the competition offers a similar product at a similar price. In these situations, a good relationship with the customer can influence the purchase decision.
Questions 

1. Would need discovery be an important part of Deborah Karish’s sales process with a new medical practice? Explain.
2. Would Deborah use the same questioning strategy with medical personnel such as the office manager or receptionist that she would with medical professionals such as nurses or doctors?
3. Describe the nature of the multi-call sales process that Deborah might use.
4. Describe what Deborah might plan to do in the first call, in the second call, and in a third call on the same medical practice.