I was born in a middle-class family. We lived in a small studio apartment. My Dad, the breadwinner of the family, worked in a factory as an electrician. My Mom was a homemaker taking care of the children – my elder sister, my younger brother and I. We were very happy despite having just enough money to make ends meet.
My schooling was done in different cities close to Mumbai, India. I completed my Diploma in Pharmacy in 1994 and applied for a degree college. Unfortunately, I could not get the admission in Mumbai and I had to shift to Bhor, a run-down place in Pune District of Maharashtra.
This was the first time I was away from my family. Life in Bhor was tough at first as I had no confidence to live on my own. I was home sick and a completely new environment did little to help. Although, as time passed, I started to become independent and confident.
It was during my Degree college days that I had decided to choose Sales and Marketing as a profession. Immediately after graduating, I joined a pharmaceutical company as a Medical Representative. My work area was quite far from my residence and required daily travel by local train. It was then that I realized how difficult the life of a Medical Representative really is.
In a train where everyone's elbows and knees knocked together, I used to carry a heavy leather bag with the Visual Aid folders, Chemist book and product samples. It was quite exhausting to travel every day with the weight of the bag. I used to start from home at 8 am and I used to return at 11pm after completing my Doctor and Chemist calls. Although the life was difficult, seeing the doctors give out prescriptions of my company’s products made it all worth it.
There were many doctors who were reluctant to meet or prescribe my products. I tried different methods like meeting them at a different time than other medical reps, sending daily reminders to them, detailing scientific literatures more effectively, asking their views about a molecule etc. I specifically remember this one doctor who was very difficult to handle. He used to meet only on specific days at a specific time. I met him at a very regular frequency and detailed scientific literatures with full confidence. Finally, I managed to win him over and he used to give more than 10 prescriptions every week for my product. This gave me a lot of satisfaction.
I salute all my Medical Representative friends for their efforts and their dedication to keep working through hurdles. It is only due to their contribution that companies have been able to build brands and loyal customer bases.
I would like to help in guiding Medical Representatives who are relatively new in the profession to make their journey a little easier. I will keep posting in my updates.
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