In last month’s pharmaceutical sales newsletter, noted sales and communications skills trainer Christie Sterns (www.trainingmakescents.com) discussed the complex and varied reasons that many physicians today are declaring themselves “no see” and, unofficially at least, off limits to pharmaceutical salespeople. To read part one, click here. This month, Sterns addresses the fundamental issue facing reps confronted by this growing challenge: converting the so-called “no see” physician into valued customers.

Having determined that they’re not going to take “I don’t meet with drug reps” for an answer, pharmaceutical salespeople need to develop a game plan for getting in front of the targeted doctor, Sterns says. The first step is to determine the root cause of why the physician has opted to shut out drug reps. The best allies in this effort are likely the staffers who are tasked with enforcing the “no see” restrictions.

“You want to develop allies in the office staff,” Sterns says. “Talk to them about the value you’re bringing to the doctor. Sometimes it can be as simple as asking, ‘Is there anything you need that I can do for you?’ That can be a door opener.”

Another potential resource may be other reps or managers from your company who have called on this office in the past. The point is that with a little legwork, and by talking to anyone who might have some insight into the inner workings of the account, you can usually uncover the physician’s likely objection.

Next, Sterns says, reps should gather their information while preparing themselves mentally to take on a “no see” office.

“You need to go in there with a positive mindset, and an attitude that you’re bringing value,” Sterns says. “Your body language and tone of voice should communicate that you’re an integral part of the health care team who brings value to the discussion. You can’t just accept the objection when you’re told that the doctor is too busy, but you also can’t let your frustration show.”

Sterns recognizes that there is no silver bullet that will magically open a door that is supposed to be sealed shut. The reality is that to succeed, you will likely have to take multiple shots at the doctor until you hit upon an approach that will wedge that door open just a crack.

“You stop in one time with an article, maybe the next time you have a suggestion for samples,” Sterns says. “The next time it’s an invitation to go out to dinner or lunch together, another might be to invite them to a CME event, to a conference, a physician discussion, or to be a facilitator or moderator at an event. You need a plan of sequenced ‘hits’ that you’re going to make, because you’re not going to succeed on the first or second call.”

Other ideas Sterns suggest include writing a personal note to the physician with a guarantee of your professionalism and integrity, calling after the typical workday concludes if the physician offers evening hours or, if this is a doctor of some significance, bringing in someone from your head office – a clinical research specialist, medical director, or national sales manager, for example – to drum up more interest.

“For one session we arranged for the company president to be there to kick off a CME session where we were doing training with the doctors,” Sterns says. “It was a Saturday morning, and we had the president of a big pharmaceutical company there to welcome the physicians. The physicians were blown away. Now obviously, you can’t do that for everybody, but for these key doctors it was worth the effort, and it made a major impact.”

With some particularly intransigent physicians, however, the unpleasant reality is that you could have your company president, the surgeon general, Dr. Phil, and the entire cast of Grey’s Anatomy in tow and still make no headway. In such cases, Sterns suggests, it may be time to reevaluate how you allocate your time.

“Just because someone is a doctor doesn’t mean a rep should spend hours and hours to meet him,” Sterns says. “If he’s clearly not interested in the product, if he’s solidly in the competitor’s camp, if he’s practically on his way out into retirement, if he’s a low prescriber, if his office is focused on a different aspect of medicine, or he doesn’t have the patient volume – that’s when reps need to cut their losses and say, ‘That’s enough.’ You only bash your head against the wall for so long and then decide it’s time to move on.”