How Drug Reps Make Friends And Influence

This article touches on how a drug rep makes friends and influence potential customers. It basically talks about building a relationship. 

You'll find that this article is quite short, but in reality, the connection is established, not on paper, but on the field where you sit with your prospects eye-to-eye. 

The article might be short, but there's no shortcut to building a strong bond.

It takes time, probably a lot of times, and it's worth every second.

At the end of this article, you'll be aware of how active listening goes a long way in building good ties with HCPs (health care providers) and their support staff.

Listening Behavior

Listening is a visible activity, and it is also a distinct skill. It is speculated that we spend 70% of our waking time listening, but hearing and listening are different. Few people really listen. Most people hear.

One part of listening well is noticing clues - verbal and non-verbal.

The other part is showing the speakers that you are paying attention to them. It can be done through body language and verbal reinforcement.

Quick question: What behaviors of others tell you that they're paying attention?

Listening behavior shows that you empathize with the speaker. It encourages them to continue and clarify the message being communicated.

You show that you empathize and encourage speakers to carry on through 'attending body language' such as eye contact, mirroring, and appropriate gestures.

It also involves the use of 'minimal encouragers' such as words like 'Yes,' 'ah-ha,' 'right,' etc.

You clarify what was said through questions and paraphrasing. Paraphrasing doesn't mean repeating words for words, but repeat the gist of what's being said.

Here's what you can do right now to observe your listening behaviors and improve where necessary.

Talk to someone, and ask to observe whether you:

• use appropriate eye contact
• faced the speaker
• mirrored speaker's body posture
• use non-verbal encouragers (nod, hand gestures, smile)
• show empathy
• use minimal encouragers
• paraphrasing
• clarify with question or comments

Making friends with HCP and their support staff employs skills that you might already have at your disposal. Perhaps, this article is just about making you more focused and aware of those skills. 

For example, do you remember the customer's name and pronounce it correctly? 

How well have you listened?

Once you have understood your prospects, then, you can use that understanding to help them get what they want. Prospects don't care about you until they know you care about them. 

You must understand them before you could be understood. 

These summarize how drug reps make friends and influence. 

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