The Zen of Pharma Selling and Key Learnings for IT Sales

I was lucky enough that in the past 25 years of my career, I have started and spent a significant time in selling. I realize that irrespective of the situation, be it professional or personal, we are always selling and the skills I learned through the hard knocks of selling provided a valuable advantage.

In the initial days as a Medical Sales Representative I believed that a superior quality product will sell on its own. Nothing moved. Then I began to provide all the latest evidence, facts and figures with aggression and demanded doctors to prescribe. At times it would end up in sales and many a time I was pushed out of the chambers because of my argumentative nature or my customers just became silent and ignored me.

Then I listened to the customer, pitched in a simple and polite manner. Sales happened like windfall. However, I struggled within as it was against my nature and self-image. Much later, I understood and accepted that the world in reality can do without me or my products. The fact that they did not prescribe my product is simply because they did not need it or I failed to persuade them.

This is where I started my true journey in sales. I realized that If I spend time in understanding my customers real needs, have genuine concern for them, I didn't have to sell anymore. It was that simple. I started to learn the art of observation and read a lot - anything and everything. It gave me tremendous insights to segment my customers and justify my value proposition. In the process, I also learnt that there are sales essential traits one can cultivate without major rehaul of anything. Sort of atomic habits. I also believe that these essential traits are universal, be it hospital selling where it more like B2B or for that matter IT selling.

"In business nothing happens till something gets sold". Yet few of us venture out selling. Selling requires action just like a wandering monk who is trying to realize god, needs to experience, can't just chant mantras alone. In this presentation, I shall elaborate on the kind of experiences that you have to go through in order to succeed in selling.

Recordings of the past webinars are available on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM06uCiI9yR4ZET7i9DBTjoF8SwxzIlR5