ROAD WARRIOR

WAS 1999 REALLY 10 YEARS AGO?
By DAVID GUZIAK

In 1983, Prince released an album entitled 1999. The title song describes partying like it’s 1999 because the year 2000 is coming. Can 1999 really be 10 years ago? In August 1999, I made the career transition into pharmaceutical sales. I truly felt I had arrived. By early December, I had $1,500 left in my promotional sales budget and only two weeks left to use the funds. My manager called me and said, “Dave, you need to spend this money!” My first thought was, “I can do that!” For the next two weeks, I bought certificates to golf courses and Starbucks, big gift baskets, and good wine. My doctors all loved the gifts, and I looked like Super Rep.

FAST FORWARD
Forward to 2009. If I were to do this now, I would be fired faster than a Randy Johnson fastball. In 2002, major pharmaceutical guidelines took effect regarding trips, meals, and gifts to doctors and their offices. No more trips, dinners at Spago, rounds of golf, and, of course, no more gift certificates. Minor changes also occurred in 2006. So here we are in mid 2009—and no more pens, paper, fancy staplers, notepads, and clocks. Do the latest guidelines really change how we do business? Am I now going to use more clinical data with a doctor or office staff than I would in the past simply because I can’t give them a cool pen or take them out for Monday Night Football or happy hour? I wonder, was the industry more fun in 1999? Maybe, but my job is still to have my providers and customers put pen to pad and write my product, no matter what type of pen they’re writing with.
One of my favorite district managers had an interesting saying: “Do something today in the field that makes you feel uncomfortable.” His point was that to do something different you need to challenge yourself. The reason I recall this advice on a regular basis is that when you are in the same industry or job for a long period of time you tend to get into habits. Some are good and some can really make the days drag!

Set the Stage
Here are some simple but effective self-challenges. Use a clinical paper you have not used in a long time. Reinforce office relationships and strengthen old ones. I know in my territory for the first five years my offices had the same faces. Pretty soon many of the faces changed, and so do the people who can help with prior authorizations, referrals, and callbacks. These types of follow-up and patient-focused selling help set the stage for a change in prescribing habits.
As the pharmaceutical industry continues to change, we as salespeople need to be flexible. Have many things changed in how we conduct business in the past 10 years in the pharmaceutical industry? Yes they have. With that being said, it continues to be a great and wild ride and one I hope to continue for many more years to come.
David Guziak marks his tenth anniversary in the pharmaceutical industry this month. He is currently a field sales representative at Publicis Selling Solutions. He lives in Bakersfield, CA, and can be reached at davidguziak@bak.rr.com.

EDITORS’ NOTE: The opinions expressed by the author are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of his affiliated companies or organizations.