Direct Selling to Women Physicians ­ A Checklist of Do’s and Don’ts

These tips can apply to
other professions as well

With the number of women physicians on the rise, traditional methods of direct-to-physician sales may require some updating, states MomMD.com, a leading career site for women in medicine. Recent qualitative research revealed a checklist of do’s and don’ts for pharmaceutical sales reps dealing with a female doctor.

“For the most part, our physician members were reasonably satisfied with their experiences with pharmaceutical reps visiting their practice,” says Sethina Edwards, president and founder of MomMD. “However, there were some shocking errors made by both male and female sales reps; some of which were inappropriate and detrimental for selling to the rapidly increasing body of women physicians.”

MomMD prepared the following checklist to keep things professional.

Do not:

• Ignore Women Physicians

  There were many stories of drug reps walking right past a woman physician to find the male physician’s office. Worse still, was ignoring offers from female physicians to sign a form, replying that “only the doctors signature will do!”

• Be Inappropriate

  Unless informed otherwise, don’t call female physicians by their first name and try to become their buddy! Female reps are especially guilty of trying to become ‘best-friends’, say some of our members. One firm even resorted to sending only ‘mommy reps’ to a pregnant physician! Some male reps have even commented on how ‘young’ the doctor looks or remar ked on the female doctor’s appearance. An absolute no-no!

• Be Aggressive

  No matter how enthusiastic you might be about the product; be aware of coming across as pushy. One member described being addressed, “OK, woman” in front of her staff. Another describes a rep making multiple appointments to discuss ‘new information,’ leading to a complete ban from the office.

• Assume…

  That the female physician is NOT an influential colleague or partner in the practice.