Sex and Drugs:
'You Will Never Meet an Ugly Drug Rep'
Jon Moreno saw this New York Times piece in which the key skill for drug representatives has finally been identified: cheerleading skills!Wholesome, sexy and animated, they are now being recruited directly from the cheerleading programs:
T. Lynn Williamson, Ms. Napier's cheering adviser at Kentucky, says he regularly gets calls from recruiters looking for talent, mainly from pharmaceutical companies. "They watch to see who's graduating," he said.And the effect of very attractive salespeople making very unusual sales pitches in what quickly become somewhat flirtatious relationships is obvious:
"They don't ask what the major is," Mr. Williamson said. Proven cheerleading skills suffice. "Exaggerated motions, exaggerated smiles, exaggerated enthusiasm - they learn those things, and they can get people to do what they want." ...
"There's a lot of sizzle in it," said Mr. Webb. "I've had people who are going right out, maybe they've been out of school for a year, and get a car and make up to $50,000, $60,000 with bonuses, if they do well." Compensation sometimes goes well into six figures.
Still, women have an advantage with male doctors, according to Jamie Reidy, a drug representative who was fired by Eli Lilly this year after writing a book lampooning the industry...In an interview, Mr. Reidy remembered a sales call with the "all-time most attractive, coolest woman in the history of drug repdom." At first, he said, the doctor "gave ten reasons not to use one of our drugs." But, Mr. Reidy added: "She gave a little hair toss and a tug on his sleeve and said, 'Come on, doctor, I need the scrips.' He said, 'O.K., how do I dose that thing?' I could never reach out and touch a female physician that way."
Stories abound about doctors who mistook a sales pitch as an invitation to more. A doctor in Washington pleaded guilty to assault last year and gave up his license after forcibly kissing a saleswoman on the lips.
One informal survey, conducted by a urologist in Pittsburgh, Dr. James J. McCague, found that 12 of 13 medical saleswomen said they had been sexually harassed by physicians. Dr. McCague published his findings in the trade magazine Medical Economics under the title "Why Was That Doctor Naked in His Office?"
contribute a comment
Comments have been closed for this post.
comments
This is not a new phenomenon. The nitty gritty of sales in both the pharmaceutical and medical device industries was explained to me over drinks about a quarter century ago, by a very attractive, very successful, very honest rep. As I recall, she even noted that the increasing proportion of female MDs was causing some consternation among marketeers.
- by Bob Koepp on Nov 28, 2005 at 7:00 PM | link
So, I'm probably either stating the obvious or rather naive... it's okay for the reps to be overly flirty to the docs, because the reps are women and the docs are men. But if the docs make a move on the rep, it's harassment?
Dual standard much?
- by Kelly Hills on Nov 28, 2005 at 7:33 PM | link
As I was constantly told as a child, verball taunting does not allow a physical response. There a degree of scale difference in the response.
- by Fulsome on Nov 28, 2005 at 10:06 PM | link
Of course, I'm a woman, but the whole drug rep thing has been a mess. I appreciate the information, need some of the samples for patients, and the meetings are valuable for the education and company of other doctors. But, some of the perks reminded me of the second oldest profession. And, that the one paying is not the one that they call a bad name.
The times are changing tho,' and we'll have to buy our own pens soon.
For a really interesting conversation, ask a *male* rep about his job - I've never met one that wasn't bitter.
- by Beverly on Dec 1, 2005 at 9:15 AM | link