A doctor you have called on twelve times is not necessarily a user.
Research on how innovations spread describes adoption as a series of stages, not a single decision. In pharma, I find it useful to think of four steps.
- Aware: she knows the product and what it is for.
- Trialling: she has tried it with a few patients and is still judging.
- Regular user: it is her routine choice for one patient type.
- Advocate: she shares her own experience with peers.
The mistake is treating every doctor as if they were at the same step. You detail an aware doctor like a user, or you keep pitching a regular user who only needs support.
Know where each doctor really is. Then make each call about moving them one step, not about repeating the whole story.
“Know which step each doctor is on, and sell only the next step.”
Lesson 15 of 19 in Step 6: Objections and influence, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.