Prescription for Success

Prescription for Success: The Role of the Pharmacy Call in Pharmaceutical Sales
By Sally Bacchetta

After the countless hours of product training and skill development and relationship building, your efforts culminate when a prescription is filled at the pharmacy.

When you consider that pharmacists talk to the same physicians that you talk to, about treating the same patients that you talk about treating, it’s obvious that pharmacists play a vital role in your success.

Why wait any longer to establish or improve your relationships with pharmacists in your territory?

A licensed pharmacist is a pharmaceutical specialist. Although physicians are experts in disease diagnosis and treatment, pharmacists are experts in pharmaceutical disease management.

Many physicians rely on pharmacists to train patients to use metered-dose inhalers, blood pressure monitors and injectable medications. Physicians also assume that pharmacists will monitor potential drug-drug interactions and recommend appropriate drug substitutions.

A pharmacist is a patient care provider. He or she is a link between patients and medical professionals, and can triage routine illnesses like a cough, cold or the flu. Patients count on their pharmacist to tell them how to take their medications, what outcome to expect, and how to react if something goes wrong.

A pharmacist is a pharmaceutical sales partner. Pharmacy support is crucial for successful pull-through programs, patient education, and supplemental physician contact. A pharmacist may be able to provide information about managed care formularies and drug pricing, as well as alert you to patient questions or concerns.

Pharmacy calls are sales presentations
Successful pharmaceutical sales reps prepare and execute pharmacy calls with the same care as they approach physician calls.

Conduct basic pre-call planning to identify your goal for the call. Do you need authorization to display prescription vouchers or coupons? Do you want to inform the pharmacy staff about a new drug launch? It should only take a few minutes to mentally outline what you hope to accomplish, but those few minutes make a difference.