What the Pharma Sales and Marketing Executives taught me? …By Dr. Hemant Mittal
Since the day I passed out my MBBS and then my Post-Graduation in Psychiatry, that one person who has always been there, has been the Marketing Executives from various Pharma companies.
Today I am great friends with many of them, and have always loved to learn from the great hidden strength their personality.
Learning is a great quality we all should be open to. And everyone has some greatness they can teach you.
Here are few of the great psychological strengths my friends from the Marketing Sector
have –
1. Emotional Control
Indians are exposed to a lot of stress. From travelling, what to eat for the next meal, financial burden, volatile relationship or dealing with tough bosses stress is all around you.
A marketing executive might have all the problems in the world, but when he is in front of his client he tries to be as calm and composed as possible.
If we learn to control and deflate the peak of our negative emotions, we can handle many situations without excess of sadness, guilt or anger.
2. Realistic approach
We live in a world of ego, where everyone wants to prove themself superior to other.
We loose realistic approach to life, trying to be superior.
When a Medical Representative is presenting his product, he will make mistakes. The guy just mugged up what the company told him, he ain’t a pharma expert.
Still when pointed out, he will humbly embrace his faults, will overcome his fears and won’t be ashamed to continue presenting his product.
This is really powerful learning, if we all could learn to control the ego, how powerful we would become.
3. Daring – If you don’t ask you won’t get.
A few months ago a lady walked into the clinic with her husband. The husband was very bad with money management. He would never bargain and would innocently pay whatever a salesman demanded. On further inquiry, I found that the husband did it, because he wanted to run-away from the situation.
He was afraid to ask. He was afraid to fight his seniors for his promotion. He just accepted what came to him.
The general universal rule is “If you don’t ask, you wont get.”.. so ask questions, ask explanations, voice out whats in your mind.
The med. reps does ask questions. I have seen them standing in front of really big and great doctors, still they muster the courage and ask a few questions.
Also they ask if the doctor has tried their product.
Hence if you don’t ask, you won’t get.
4. Forgiveness
A have met hundreds of men and women who have an amazing memory. They practically remember everything. Unfortunately they remember the negative more than the positive.
Henceforth they hold so many grudges against people that the mind becomes restless.
A marketing executive gets it really tough. He has to learn the art of forgiveness. Slowly he becomes a powerhouse in it. He will been insulted more than 1000 times in his life.
I have seen doctors throw MR’s out of their consultancy for not heading of their demands. The insult can be so intense that it challenges his personal belief.
But he knows where his happiness life, and hence forth he forgets, forgives and moves ahead. Next week or next month, the MR will once more come back to the same doctor to ask for the same product.
5. Sense of Humour
Its medically proven that Clinical levels of depression or anxiety are are more prominent when you forget to laugh.
People get addicted to sadness. Movies, serials, reading… the sadder the story, the greater the viewership.
Once the sad scene remains in our brain, it keeps creating sadness for a long time. It keeps hurting the entire brain-body-mind complex.
Thats were I see, many of my MR’s are always smiling. They will always have a joke, a fun filled anecdote to share. They keep it light!
Lighten up, develop a sense of humor. You might not be good at joking, but always sport a smile.
Everyone likes someone who smiles and can make them laugh.
Life is full of learning.
I take this opportunity to thank everyone in the Sales and Marketing sector for their brilliant teachings.
Lets promote the power of Personality.
written by –
Dr.Hemant Mittal (Psychiatrist, Motivational Writer and Counselor)
contact – eksoch@gmail.com
website – www.mindmantra.in