Doctors do not think in brands. They think in patients.
When a rep opens with the product, the doctor has to do the work of finding a patient it fits. Most of the time he does not bother. When the rep opens with the patient, the doctor finds a face from his own clinic in seconds, and he is listening before the brand is even mentioned.
Three examples of the patient type opening:
- "Doctor, think of the patient in his fifties, on metformin, whose sugar is still not controlled."
- "The patient who takes three tablets a day and keeps forgetting the evening one."
- "The patient who still reaches for his reliever inhaler several times a week."
Each one names a problem he already sees. None of them names a product. That comes next, and very often the doctor asks for it himself.
One condition: the patient you describe must sit inside the approved indication. The opening earns attention. It never stretches the label.
“Name the patient first. The doctor will ask you for the product.”
Lesson 3 of 15 in Step 5: The visit, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.