Not every field visit is a double visit.
Sometimes the rep asks the manager to come to a key doctor on purpose. A head of department, a doctor who has gone quiet, an account that matters for the whole territory.
That is a different call. The manager is not there to observe. The manager has a part to play.
The risk is that the manager plays it too well. The doctor enjoys talking to someone senior, the conversation drifts upwards, and the rep leaves with less standing than before.
How I try to handle a joint call:
- Agree roles in the car park. Who opens, who asks, who closes. The rep leads.
- The rep opens, introduces me and says why we came.
- I add one thing. A question or a form of support that only a manager can offer.
- I listen for the bigger need. Service, education, access. Things beyond the next call.
- I promise only what I can deliver, and I deliver it through the rep.
- The rep closes and agrees the next step.
Afterwards, the follow-up goes out from the rep, with my support behind it. If the doctor calls me next time instead of the rep, I have done the call wrong.
“The doctor should leave trusting the rep more, not the manager instead.”
Lesson 6 of 16 in Step 3: The field day, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.