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(Excerpt from Pharmaceutical Landing)
After getting candidates to relax by asking them about the drive or something as simple
as the weather, I briefly tell them about the open position and myself. I sometimes ask
them to take me through their résumé, just to get them comfortable talking.
When I get to the meat of the interview, I ask questions based on the candidate’s
résumé. I evaluate only what a person has done, not what I think they would do. I always
remind myself to stay out of the “woulds.” That means avoiding questions such as, “How
would you handle a difficult office manager?” “How many calls would you make every
day?” People could tell me just about anything. Instead, I ask questions like, “Tell me
about a time when you dealt with a difficult office manager.” “What time do you start
and end your day?”
You are probably thinking that people could lie and tell me they start their day at 7:00 a.
m. and end at 6:00 p.m., but you would be surprised. Many people think that working
from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. demonstrates a full workday.
Provide a STAR
The real meat of my interview involves evaluating work ethic, sales ability, persistence,
tenacity, planning and organizational skills, and integrity, by using the STAR method.
This means asking questions and probing into specific Situations or Tasks, in which the
candidate describes specific Actions they took to complete the tasks, and the Results of
those actions.
For example, when evaluating sales ability, I ask, “Can you tell me about your most
memorable sales experience?” Or, “Can you give me a specific example of a big sale
you made?”
The Situation or Task
The more details you can provide about the situation, the better. I’m looking for the
company name and the goal or objective of the situation. For example, you were selling
a copier to XYZ Company's main office, hoping to sell copiers to all their offices in New
York.
The Action
Here you need to be very specific. Tell the interviewer exactly what you did including
picking up the phone, walking into the building, meeting with the gatekeeper, selling to
your potential client, and closing the deal.
Did you have to get past a gatekeeper? If so, what did you do to persuade that person
to let you see the decision maker? Did you bring the secretary a cup of coffee? What
did you say and show to the client? (See the Mackay 66 in Chapter 4.)
If you delivered a presentation, how did you do it? Did you use a Power Point
presentation? Was it face-to-face? How was the room set up? How close were you to
the customer? What exactly did you present? If you have a sales presentation, then sell
it to the interviewer. Paint a complete picture of the situation. I ask my candidates to
recreate the scene so that I can visualize it. “Take me there,” I say.
The Result
Here is a specific example of a Result:
“After delivering the presentation, I asked the decision-maker to buy a copier. After
discussing price and shipping options, he agreed to order a copier. After that sale, I
provided him with excellent customer service and constantly followed up. As a result, he
ordered twenty more copiers for his New York offices. That sale totaled over $100,000.”
Good candidates with solid work experience can usually provide complete STARs. Many
cannot because they have no successes or relevant work experience to share. No
matter how much I probe, some people can’t tell me a thing. I often get general answers
such as:
“I would always do this,” or “I would always say that.”
Then I would say, “That’s great, but what exactly did you do or say?”
“Oh, but I did it and said it all the time.”
Then I end the interview: “Do you have any questions for me?”
Here is a STAR example that includes the situation, actions, and result:
I called XYZ Company on the phone. I asked the secretary when the best day and time
would be to see the owner. At first, she told me there was no best time. I then asked her
how she drank her coffee and about her favorite donut. She told me light and sweet and
chocolate coconut, so I showed up the following morning at 8:00 a.m. with her favorite
donut and coffee. I also showed up with a car-racing magazine for the owner because
Mary, the secretary, had told me the owner raced cars on weekends.
When I met Joe, the owner, we talked about cars for about twenty minutes, and then I
delivered my presentation from my computer. I showed him our best copiers and what
would fit best in his main office. After reviewing the features and benefits of the best
copier, I asked him to buy it. He committed and we filled out the purchase order right on
the spot. One week later, I followed up to make sure the copier had been delivered and
was working. I asked him to buy ten more copiers for his other ten offices in New York. I
closed the deal and generated $150,000 worth of business in one week.
If a candidate has no selling experience, I would say, “Tell me about a time when you
had to sell an idea to your manager.” This allows you to demonstrate sales ability, as
long as you provide a complete STAR.
Why Pharmaceutical Sales?
This is a question I often ask and one that you will probably be asked. We want to know
if this is what you really want to do. If you tell us that you have also been interviewing for
a programming job or anything else unrelated to pharmaceutical sales, then you
probably won’t get very far in the interview process.
Here are the most common lame answers:
“I hear it has flexible hours.”
“The industry is stable.”
“It’s something I have always wanted to do.”
“I have friends in the industry and they tell me it’s great.”
“I’ve done some research on the industry.”
If you give either of the first two answers, especially the first, you are certain not to get
the job. If you want flexible hours, then work in a hair salon; they’re closed on Mondays
and open at 10:00 a.m. Telling me the industry is stable doesn’t tell me that you really
want to work in pharmaceutical sales.
If you say that pharmaceutical sales is something you have always wanted to do, then
show us. If you have done research, it had better be more than an Internet search. As I
discussed earlier, interview pharmaceutical reps, doctors, and pharmacists. Be
resourceful. Take some initiative!
If you have a friend in pharmaceutical sales, then you could have spent a day in the
field with them and be prepared to discuss what you learned. For example, tell us you
learned the importance of planning a call in the car before making the call (see
Fundamental Two in Chapter 3). Tell us you understand the importance of the
gatekeeper and learning the names of everyone in the office. Tell us about the
interaction between the doctor and the salesperson. Did your friend ask the doctor
questions and ask for the business?
When people tell me that they spent a day in the field with a friend, some can’t
remember the drugs that were being promoted. If you spend a day in the field, then take
notes, get sales literature from your friend and be prepared to show the interviewer
what you learned during the day.
Why Should I Hire You?
When I asked one candidate this question, she lifted her chin, pointed to her face, and
said, “Because I’m very pretty and doctors like talking with pretty girls.” Although
appearance plays an initial role in selling, and indeed she was attractive, that wasn’t
exactly the answer I was looking for. Here is your last chance to sell yourself. You
should practice your self-promotion before the interview. I’m amazed at how little people
have to say about themselves.
Here are some personal qualities that interest me:
· Work Ethic
· Ability to Learn Quickly
· Planning and Organizational Skills
· Persistence
· Creativity
· Professionalism
· Integrity
Work Ethic: I want to hear that you are a hard worker. Most people don’t mention having
a good work ethic. I find that people who tell me they are hard workers, usually are. Of
course, I would ask for specific examples of hard work. A work ethic is not something
that is taught and it means different things to different people. Either you have it or you
don’t. It’s something your parents instilled in you as a child. If your parents are hard
workers, then there is a good chance that you are too.
I often ask candidates what time they start and end their day. Some candidates
consider 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to be a long working day. Even when candidates tell
me they start at 8:00 a.m. and end at 6:00 p.m., I would prefer to hear something like
this:
“I start at 7:00 a.m. and plan my day. I make my first call by 8:30 a.m. and end the day
when I finish making all my planned calls. If that takes me until 6:00 or 7:00 at night,
then that’s when the day is over. If I finish making all my calls at 4:00, then I make extra
calls that I have planned on my schedule. I don’t go home until I’ve put in an honest day
of work.”
Ability to Learn Quickly: You also need to demonstrate that you are a quick learner and
are well organized. That means learning pharmacology and the products in a very short
period of time. Training just teaches you the basics. You will need to plan thirty minutes
each day to study your drug. This takes us to planning and organization.
Planning & Organizational Skills: You may demonstrate sales ability and a good work
ethic, but if you cannot plan and organize, then you will be lost in this job. You should
always bring your planner or Palm Pilot to the interview. Show the interviewer that you
use a planning tool. If a candidate shows up to an interview without a planner or Palm
Pilot, I may not consider them. I don’t care if they can sell a peace treaty to the Middle
East. If they can’t find the Middle East and arrive on the day of the peace meeting, then
they cannot be there to sell the treaty. Many people cannot do the job because of poor
organizational skills.
This job requires planning doctor calls, lunches, educational dinners, appointments,
sales meetings, and many other things. Many reps forget appointments, double-book
lunches and dinner programs, and miss meetings. There are also administrative tasks
to organize, such as expense reports, sales reports, e-mails, product presentations,
drug samples, and others.
Persistence: The gatekeeper may keep you from seeing the doctor, or the doctor may
tell you that he won’t prescribe your drug. Only persistence will get you back in that
office, either to convince the gatekeeper to let you see that doctor or to sell the doctor
on writing for your products. It may take five to ten visits before a doctor starts writing
prescriptions for your products. You need to demonstrate a specific example when you
persisted at something and succeeded.
Creativity: If you tell me that you are creative, provide me with examples. This job
requires an imagination. You need to think of different ways to get by the gatekeeper.
And once you get in front of the doctor, a little creativity in your presentations can help
tremendously (See Chapter Two: What it Takes!).
Integrity: In pharmaceutical sales, you will be given a corporate credit card, lunch and
educational budgets, and a list of rules and regulations from the FDA, the DEA, and
your company. Some people may be tempted to take advantage of the corporate credit
card by using it for personal purchases. Reps have been terminated for misusing their
credit cards one way or another. Breaking DEA rules can land you in jail. If we doubt
your integrity, we will not hire you. The days of “bending the rules” are over! Always
provide an example of when you demonstrated integrity.
For more interview questions & tips check out Pharmaceutical Landing.
