Pharmaceutical sales training covers four components: product, disease state, compliance and call skills. A course alone does not prepare a rep for a short call with a doctor, so reps also need reinforcement and practice. Eubrics is an AI sales roleplay and sales coaching platform for enterprise sales teams. Eubrics sells AI sales roleplay software.

Key takeaways

• Pharmaceutical sales training covers four components: product, disease state, compliance and call skills.

• Reinforcement means practice and review after the course. In a 2006 study of 120 undergraduates, a passage students had been tested on was recalled at 56% after one week, against 42% for a passage they had re-read.

• Practice for the short call means one goal, one message, one likely question and one next step, followed by a review against a rubric.

• ZS reports that HCPs see an average of nine face-to-face sales rep touchpoints every day.

Contents

• How is pharmaceutical sales training different from other sales training?

• What training do pharmaceutical sales reps get?

• How do you reinforce pharmaceutical sales training in life sciences?

• How do pharma companies train reps for HCP calls?

• Which compliance rules apply to pharmaceutical sales training?

• Frequently asked questions

• Conclusion

Pharmaceutical sales training differs from other sales training in three ways: on-label constraints, short access windows and MLR-approved messaging. The quotes in the compliance section below cover the first. Access is the second. In a ZS study of 25,000-plus physicians, HCPs had an average of nine face-to-face sales rep touchpoints every day, and ZS Access Monitor data show only 32% of oncology providers are fully accessible. Neither figure measures call length, so this guide gives none. HCP is short for health care professional, the term the PhRMA Code uses. MLR stands for medical, legal and regulatory review, the approval step for promotional materials, according to Veeva MedTech. MLR-approved messaging is wording that has passed that review.

Pharmaceutical sales reps get training in four components: product, disease state, compliance and call skills. Pharmaceutical sales training is the instruction company reps receive so they can present a medicine to HCPs. A 2001 Scott-Levin survey of more than 900 reps at 20 companies, reported by Pharmaceutical Executive, found that product knowledge, disease knowledge and management, professional selling skills, and anatomy and physiology were the topics most frequently covered for new reps. CommLab India, a training provider, lists diseases and symptoms, drugs for treatment, the sales process and handling objections. Section 14 of the PhRMA Code is titled “Training and Conduct of Company Representatives” and is quoted below. The table is Eubrics’ suggested framework for pharma sales rep training.

Reinforcement means practice and review after the course. Life sciences sales training needs it as a separate step from the course. Three plain actions cover it, and each one can run inside a team’s existing coaching routine. First, repeat a short quiz on product and disease state after a few weeks. Second, schedule short-call practice on a calendar instead of doing it once. Third, review every practice call against the same rubric and give the rep one change to try on the next call, so the review leads straight into the next round of practice. CommLab India’s reinforcement ideas include role-playing exercises and regular one-on-one feedback sessions.

The research on testing supports this order. Roediger and Karpicke (Psychological Science, 2006) studied 120 undergraduates reading prose passages. After one week, a passage that students had been tested on was recalled at 56%, against 42% for a passage they had re-read. After five minutes the result ran the other way, 81% against 75%. Their second experiment, with 180 undergraduates, showed the same pattern. These were students and prose, not reps and calls.

This guide gives its own method, not a survey of what companies do: practice one short call at a time. CommLab India notes that healthcare professionals are busy, so relevant, concise information is more useful to them. A short call leaves room for few messages, so each practice call should hold one goal and one message, not a full product briefing. Each practice call follows the same six steps:

1. Set one goal for the call, such as one agreed next step.

2. Open with the HCP’s need in one sentence.

3. Deliver one message, taken from the materials your company’s MLR process has approved.

4. Answer one likely question, then stop.

5. Agree the next step.

6. Review the call against a rubric that covers the goal, the opening, the message, the question and the next step.

Eubrics’ AI roleplay bots simulate customers so reps can rehearse a conversation before a real call. The product page also describes instant coaching on objection handling, discovery and closing, and scoring across competencies with scorecards a team can customize. For the research on AI roleplay, see Eubrics’ evidence review. For a general session structure, see discovery call roleplay practice.

Two sources are quoted below: the PhRMA Code on Interactions with Health Care Professionals and an FDA draft guidance. Each quote is exact and carries its title, date, section and page.

Compliance box

PhRMA, Code on Interactions with Health Care Professionals, updated Code taking effect January 1, 2022, Section 14, “Training and Conduct of Company Representatives,” page 17, states:

“Companies should ensure that all representatives who are employed by or acting on behalf of the companies and who visit health care professionals receive training about the applicable laws, regulations, and industry codes of practice, including this Code, that govern the representatives’ interactions with health care professionals.”

“Companies should provide updated or additional training in all of these areas as needed for their representatives who visit health care professionals.”

FDA, Guidance for Industry: Responding to Unsolicited Requests for Off-Label Information About Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices, December 2011, draft guidance (“Draft – Not for Implementation”), Section III.B, page 5, and Section V, item 5, page 8, states:

“FDA considers requests for off-label information that are prompted in any way by a manufacturer or its representatives to be solicited.”

“FDA recommends that questions or requests about off-label uses be referred to the firm’s medical or scientific representative or department.”

Check how these passages apply to your own training with your compliance team.

What is pharmaceutical sales training?

Pharmaceutical sales training is the instruction company reps receive so they can present a medicine to HCPs. It covers four components: product, disease state, compliance and call skills. Reinforcement and call practice follow the course. Any rule is checked with your compliance team, using the quoted PhRMA Code and FDA passages as the starting point.

What training do pharmaceutical sales reps get?

Reps get four components: product, disease state, compliance and call skills. A 2001 Scott-Levin survey of more than 900 reps at 20 companies listed product knowledge, disease knowledge and management, and professional selling skills among the topics most frequently covered for new reps. The table above shows how to check each component.

How do pharma companies train reps for HCP calls?

This guide describes its own method rather than a survey of companies. Practice one short call at a time, with one goal, one message, one likely question and one next step, then review the call against a rubric. CommLab India notes that healthcare professionals are busy, so relevant, concise information is more useful to them.

How do you reinforce training in life sciences?

Reinforcement means practice and review after the course. Repeat a short quiz on product and disease state after a few weeks, schedule short-call practice instead of doing it once, and review every practice call against the same rubric. In the 2006 Roediger and Karpicke study, a tested passage was recalled at 56% after one week, against 42% for a re-read passage.

How is pharmaceutical sales training different from other sales training?

Three differences stand out: on-label constraints, short access windows and MLR-approved messaging. The compliance section quotes the PhRMA Code and an FDA draft guidance on the first. ZS reports limited access to HCPs, with only 32% of oncology providers fully accessible. MLR stands for medical, legal and regulatory review.

What is MLR-approved messaging?

MLR stands for medical, legal and regulatory review, the approval step for promotional materials, according to Veeva MedTech. MLR-approved messaging is wording that has passed that review. In the six-step call practice, each practice call delivers one message of this kind, so the practice stays short and focused.

Pharmaceutical sales training covers four components: product, disease state, compliance and call skills. Reinforce after the course, practice the short call, and check any rule with your compliance team. Eubrics offers AI roleplay bots for call practice. To rehearse short HCP calls with AI customers, see Eubrics’ AI sales roleplay software or Get a demo.