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The Pharma Career Ladder · The medical rep · Step 4: Preparing the visit · Lesson 4

The detail aid is not the call

Let the doctor's need choose the screen

By Ahmed El Menshawy · 20 years in pharma, from medical rep to country manager in the UAE. Founder of RepPharma. LinkedIn
Published

The detail aid is a tool. Too many reps use it as the call.

Every aid is designed for a whole market. It has to cover every indication, every message and every safety line. That is its job. Your job is different: to find what this one doctor needs today and give him that.

When I watch a call, I can tell in the first minute which kind of rep I am with.

  • The script rep opens the tablet first. The prompt rep asks first.
  • The script rep swipes every screen. The prompt rep finds the one that answers the doctor.
  • The script rep reads the headline. The prompt rep says it about the doctor's own patients.
  • With the script rep, the doctor watches the screen. With the prompt rep, he watches the rep.

Everything you show must stay inside the approved material. Inside those lines, you choose what matters.

“Show him one screen he asked for, not ten he did not.”
The detail aid is not the call: Let the doctor's need choose the screen

Lesson 4 of 7 in Step 4: Preparing the visit, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.

More lessons in step 4: Preparing the visit

Lesson 1The call before the callTwo minutes of preparation in the car parkLesson 2Preparing for the cycle meetingArriving with questions, not excusesLesson 3One message, not fiveWhy a single claim outperforms a full detailLesson 5Talking to a specialistDepth, evidence and humility with an expertLesson 6Talking to a GPBreadth, patient types and practicalityLesson 7The nurse is not a gatekeeperTreating the clinic team as customers

Preparing the visit, in RepPharma

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