How do pharmaceutical sales reps make sales?

Many of them are smoking hot young women just out of college, preferably cheerleaders according to the linked article. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/28/business/28cheer.html?pagewanted=all

As said in his answer pharm reps do not "make sales" in the traditional sense.  Physicians learn of new products through professional journal advertisements and articles, mailed marketing material, discussions with colleagues and these days even from television ads some times. So the pharm rep is often providing additional information for the physician on a product they've already heard about.  Since the only benefit the physician gains from using one drug over another is the treatment outcome for the patient the pharm rep has to help convince the physician to try something new or follow up with them on a product they are already using to see if they are satisfied so that they will continue to write prescriptions for it.  Typically a doctor will stick with what's been working for them, but if a particular drug has had less than stellar results for them or seems to produce unwanted side effects they may seek to try something new. This is why most physicians will see pharm reps in their offices.  They need to stay up to date on pharmaceuticals and the pharm reps are a valuable, time saving resource for this.  A lot is discussed in the other answers about the pharmaceutical companies hiring good looking former cheerleaders and athletes to be their reps.  While this is true it is also true for face to face sales people in any field.  The most successful real estate agents tend to be good looking for example.  It is also true that mostly female reps are used to call on a male dominated profession, particularly certain specialties.  A large portion of female physicians in private practice offices are pediatricians and OBGYNs, while other specialties like cardiology, orthopedics and gastroenterology are still practiced by mostly males.  Sales reps are assigned accordingly.  The truth is physicians are people, and just as in the rest of the world the average man in a lab coat would rather spend a few a minutes of precious time talking to an attractive woman as opposed to another man.  I don't know that women are much different in this respect which is why I find Stephanie Vardavas' comment regarding the recruitment of cheerleaders as pharm reps, "This is 100% true and will continue to be true as long as the doctors and medical plan executives they call on are mainly middle-aged men", amusing.  There are plenty of male pharm reps and they are hired for the same attributes as their female counterparts. Also this NYT article that was sighted http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/28/business/28cheer.html?pagewanted=all chronicles a few cheerleaders that became pharm reps but fails to mention what college degree any of them possess.  This makes me suspicious of the article's intent because if you are trying to say that unqualified pretty people are drug reps then wouldn't you disclose their degree if it seemed improper for their position?  The couple of reps I've known well enough to know their college educational background have business degrees but many reps have science degrees as well.  Either way the drug company spends months training the reps on the product line, and frankly you don't need a science degree to disseminate the type of information about the drug the physician needs from the rep.  It is mostly statistics and business majors spend a fair amount of time working with this.  I have a medical education but I don't know that it would be any easier for me to learn the necessary product information than someone with a business degree. Sorry I may have gotten off the subject a bit.  In the end the pharm rep makes money by facilitating the physician's use of their company's products.  They have a territory, an allotment for expenses and a commission structure.  They stop by for a brief chat with their physicians and also will host little seminars, like lunch meetings at the doctors' offices, to discuss products and have Q&A.  I once was at such a luncheon (the rep brings lunch for the entire office) and while I didn't see the main presentation I heard an interesting discussion between the rep and one of our cardiologists.  The discussion was business and scientific, and the rep seemed plenty knowledgeable.  This is what counts with most physicians.  Regardless of what the rep looks like they aren't going to use a product if they do not have confidence in it.  If two products are very similar then the salesmanship of the rep may come more in to play.

While I have not worked with them directly, I have interacted with them. However, most of them have been representatives for medical products. Although, a few have been for medicines. First, they have to get their foot in the door. They research the organization they want to enter, figure out their basic infrastructure to determine who they need to get permission from, then start Contacting.  Once they get into a facility, they work directly with doctors, nurses and medical staff to offer small group instruction to explain what they are selling, its benefits, what makes it stand out from competitors and arranges how to get product into that facility's hands. I am not sure if they always approach doctors first or if they also present to those at the facility who control the budget-making decisions. Also, getting into larger medical institutions may also be driven by pre-existing contracts.  Agreements may be struck that may alter or limit time for the facility to review competetive offers. The common traits these sales people have include being very familiar with the products, how they work and being able to explain all aspects of their product. They are patient, and even anticipate questions they may get.  They are assertive, confident and comfortable with working with the wide range of people they come into contact with. They have some background or education with medical knowledge of terms and general procedures. They respect and follow the protocols within the facilities they enter. They make themselves available as needed, an establish contacts with specific people for returning and follow-up visits. They thank everyone for their time. Now, they may demonstrate what they are presenting with equipment, pictures, brochures, etc.  Drug reps used to be able to leave samples to have them given later to patients. However, this practice has been stopped by law in the US. They may leave promotional pens or other items, but that, too, has been severely limited as well. I believe it was stopped to even get rid of the appearance that big pharm influence was minumized. Does this answer your question?

A majority of field and one-to-one sales persons are required to work on software, in most cases, CRM, to update the orders collected and the status of other appointments. It is such a waste of time and effort of the revenue generating talents of a business. For me this is the most concerning issue which every field sales person faces. An alternative for this would be an application that lets them enter order details on the go. Here I’d like to refer a sales tool that relieves sale people of their CRM duties. Named https://www.contalog.com/features.php, this app lets sales person to directly place an order which is sent to the stock unit for immediate delivery. Both the speed of delivery and reduction of data entry work are avoided.