Is the Pharmaceutical Sales Career Right for Me?

Citation

Alkhateeb, F. and Vance, T. (2012), "Is the Pharmaceutical Sales Career Right for Me?", International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 97-98. https://doi.org/10.1108/17506121211216932

Is a Pharmaceutical Sales Career Right for Me? was published in 2010 by author C.G. Schott. The goal of the author was to create a workbook to help candidates prepare for entering the pharmaceutical sales industry, which he has been a part of since 1992. He states that this book will help the candidate be competitive and make sure that the career is right for them. Schott is able to write from experience, having been a recruiter for several pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer. He states that several candidates that were hired had worked through his workbook. The book is 74 pages long and divided into nine sections; the first being the introduction, and the last being acknowledgements. In between, there are six workbook chapters (chapter 1 discusses closing the gap, chapter 2 probing and persuading, with principles, chapter 3 right people, right communications, and right action, chapter 4 decide, discover, and deliver, chapter 5 instigators and decision‐making machines, and chapter 6 greatness: tenacity, adaptability, and resiliency) and a self‐test.

From the beginning of the book, Schott systematically encourages the candidate to think through if the career choice is really for them. He begins with an exercise analyzing the strengths of the candidate versus the strengths that will perform well within the career. He next breaks down the components needed to make a good sell. He states that one reason the profession is difficult is that a representative is convincing a physician “to change the way they practice medicine.” In order to instigate this, the representative must establish a relationship of trust with the physician. Next, Schott introduces exercises on communication and teamwork, as these are everyday realities in the field. The workbook includes practice scenarios to encourage deep thought. Next comes an exercise in decision‐making. This includes “Brand You” versus being “just an employee”. The difference, according to Schott, is initiative.

In chapter 5, Schott begins dealing with the language and understanding of drugs. He encourages candidates to read drug monographs and compare them to drug commercials. He stresses the need for an understanding of drug literature ant trials. There is also a section on continuous learning. This chapter is important for any person interacting with healthcare, and the points within it are strong. Schott then expounds on the importance of “tenacity, adaptability, and resiliency”, and how these traits will create a rewarding, lasting career.

The strength of the workbook comes in the first and fifth chapters. These are where the candidate explores their strengths and gains practical knowledge. The self‐test at the end of the book is also a strength, as it gives concrete examples of expectations with the “correct” answers and gives some tips for job searches after the test. This book, however, is riddled with weaknesses. Most chapters begin with a trite if mildly appropriate quote and end with a Venn diagram, which adds nothing to the edification of the reader. The scenarios within the workbook have no “correct” answers, other than to state that if you were the right candidate, the answer would be obvious. There is little logic leading up to these scenarios, and without more knowledge than is provided in the book, the answer is not clear, as these are open‐ended and could feasibly end in a variety of ways.

This workbook is a good guide in applying for pharmaceutical sales and would be handy for practicing for interviews, as some of the scenarios are common enough that a similar question may be asked in the interview setting. Despite the author's claim, however, this book may not be the best guide in determining of the career is the correct one for a person, as it may discourage many people who have the potential for success in this demanding field. There are, on the acknowledgements page, suggestions for further reading. These other books may add to the basis of this workbook, and make it a more productive read.