By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    headphones can create health problems
    The Harmful Health Effects of Using Headphones
    September 24, 2021
    Headache causes
    4 Causes Of Headache You Probably Didn’t Know About
    December 28, 2021
    follow these steps to recover from your injury
    What Steps Should You Take to Recover More Quickly from an Injury?
    April 12, 2022
    Latest News
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 16, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    ADA dental health
    ADA Launches Action for Dental Health
    October 13, 2013
    The Devin Nunes Nonsense Health Plan
    June 26, 2012
    Q and A: Addressing an Enormous Public Health Problem with a Simple Technology Solution
    January 15, 2014
    Latest News
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 16, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 16, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
    Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
    June 25, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Being a Pharma Rep Isn’t As Much Fun As It Was
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Being a Pharma Rep Isn’t As Much Fun As It Was
Business

Being a Pharma Rep Isn’t As Much Fun As It Was

DavidEWilliams
DavidEWilliams
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

Not so long ago being a pharmaceutical sales rep could be a lot of fun. Jamie Reidy laid it all out in Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman, one of the more entertaining books on the topic. In this interview from 2005, Reidy talked about how much fun it was and how the old tools for control of reps included hiring people from the military and Mormons, who were presumed to be honest and hardworking:

Not so long ago being a pharmaceutical sales rep could be a lot of fun. Jamie Reidy laid it all out in Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman, one of the more entertaining books on the topic. In this interview from 2005, Reidy talked about how much fun it was and how the old tools for control of reps included hiring people from the military and Mormons, who were presumed to be honest and hardworking:

Reidy: Everyone works from their house and then has their own sales territory. So, no one ever knows where you are.

Smith: So it’s kind of freelance, where you set your own hours, and kind of have to be self-motivated?

Reidy: Yeah, so it shouldn’t be like freelance — they want you to be working from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. But it’s freelance in the sense that nobody has any idea whether I’m doing that or not. So, they thought they could inherently trust former military officers as honest, hardworking guys who can be trusted to get up early and go do their job. And then the other thing that I learned later on is that military officers are also used to taking orders and Pfizer’s sales pitches were very drilled down from the top, and everybody was supposed to repeat the same thing all the time.

I remember Reidy describing various shenanigans in his book including how he and others gave out Viagra samples intended for the personal use of the physician and office staff in order to get in the door to pitch less sexy products.

Flash forward to today and BNET’s Drug Reps Fear iPad’s Spying; They Should Be Worried About Their Jobs article highlights the much diminished pleasures of being a pharmaceutical sales rep. The emergence of the iPad is the theme of the article, but it’s the broader context that’s more interesting. The author cites three trends driven by the iPad:

More Read

Population Health Management: Revolutionizing Health Care Service Delivery
7 Healthcare Cybersecurity Tips To Protect Your Data
Canadians Also Wait for Drugs
The Undeniable Hemostasis Opportunity
Why Doctors Need To Listen To And Understand The Patient’s “Perspectives” – A True Story
  1. Pharma companies “buying iPads in bulk for their salesforces even if they don’t have presentation software to run on them.” Apparently they’re stockpiling them for when they’re ready, they’re so excited about it. This trend –if true– is pretty foolish, since those iPads will  be obsolete within a year or so. If anything, that sounds like the old pharma way of doing things, spending money freely without thinking things through.
  2. More physicians using iPads themselves. That one is certainly true. It also means there’s less interest in seeing a rep’s snazzy new iPad if the doc has one, and can presumably also run whatever app the sales rep is using to see the info in his or her own time.
  3. Sales reps are starting to realize that iPads are tracking their every move and reporting back to big brother, i.e., sales management. That’s a jarring disconnect from the world Reidy describes, but as reps reflect on it they may realize companies have been doing this tracking for a while, using GPS systems tied to their cars, etc. Only now it’s getting much harder to get around.

In addition to the 3 factors cited by BNET, there are three other challenges for pharma reps:

  1. Fewer doctors will see them at all, thanks mainly to policies put in place by their institutions
  2. Doctors’ power of the pen is less mighty than it was as formulary compliance rises thanks to the role of pharmacy benefits managers and e-prescribing
  3. Companies like Pfizer haven’t been producing exciting new drugs like Viagra, so there’s less to pitch. And when it comes to generic competition it doesn’t really matter how persuasive the sales person is if you’re competition is charging 90% less

There’s still a role for sales reps, but they’re having to work a lot harder and smarter to earn their keep. These days a guy like Reidy wouldn’t even last long enough to build up enough stories to write a book.

 


TAGGED:health care businesspharma rep
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

paramedics in surgical gloves and masks
How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
Health care
July 16, 2025
a woman giving a key
How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
Health
July 16, 2025
a woman with kinesio tapes on her back arm
How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
Health care
July 16, 2025
healthcare providers
Hidden Injuries After An Accident: What Healthcare Providers Should Watch For
Infographics
July 15, 2025

You Might also Like

Hospital Administration

Resident Physicians Might Not Be Underpaid After All. Here’s Why

September 13, 2016

Why Do Hospitals Slow Down on Weekends?

May 27, 2011
Image
Business

Wound Management Dollars Shifting to Complex Solutions

April 13, 2011

Irresistible Forces: HealthCare Costs

October 30, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?