Becoming a Doctors Rep

[moses0324]

Is there anyway to become a doctors representative and receive the benefits of discounted hair procedures...Just curious...

[Sparky]

I would like to do this for a job, but not to get benefits, ie:- cheap transplants. I'd do it to help people.

[RCWest]

Will work for grafts!

[lorenzo]

I would like to do this for a job, but not to get benefits, ie:- cheap transplants. I'd do it to help people.

 

You are basically doing the same thing here. Sharing your story and experience to better educate posters. Posters can be more important than reps because in most cases reps get paid commission to recruit patients.They dont recruit patients they dont get paid. Posters like me, you and others do it to assist posters and help them make a better decision. Best of all we do it for no financial benifit whatsoever.

[Tsakalos]

i work in the health industry doing wholesales. not hair transplants but based on my experience and being in the forums many years i ll tell u this.

 

a hair transplant rep is nothing but a salesman who happens to have a hair transplant from the doctor he represents, in some cases they even represent other docs while they had the work done elsewhere.

 

I have nothing against salesmen, cause i am one also. So i ll be honest,

 

Nobody can deny that salesmen of all types, need to be persuasive, smart, versatile into handling problems professionaly. As i said i am a salesman, so what i am telling you here is the real thing.

 

These are some of the basic charectiristics of salesmen. Usually salesmen are given a certain goal for a period of time, in which they need to accomplish, for example making sales of 100.000 a month etc. Salesmen usually work with salary, or commision based on succesfull sales, or a combination of both.

 

While hair transplant reps are salesmen, you can not distinguise easily the successfull from the unsuccefull ones, simply becouse in those type of sales, its not how "powerfull" the clinic rep / salesman is (unlike in other types of sales), but the main motive for the candidate / customer is how good the results are (or how good he thinks they are), so the skills of "persuating" the candidate to "buy" the product are less important since results (at least the ones that the potentian customer sees) play the major role.

 

Considering the above fact, this means that many of those clinic reps, even in "top clinics", had absolutely zero or little experience regarding sales, or public relations before getting this job, and/or they had zero or little special education regarding sales and marketing.

 

Some of the basic rules in sales, is to always respect your customer, always to be polite and patient, always to hear their complaints even if they are right or wrong, and never under any circumstances under estimate your customer's IQ, for the simple reason is that the salesman and his boss, LIVE from the money that such customers are leaving to the bussiness. In this case the clinic rep, the doc, and the clinic, (surgical assistants too)

 

However many of the clinic reps do not take in consideration the above "unwritten rules" of sales. In some cases (not always of course) they are not polite, they are not accurate, the one time they will tell u this and they other time will tell u that, and often pretend to be smarter than everyone else (or smartass if i can use the term), while the truth is that they might be more naive than many (or at least some) of the people they come in contact with.

 

Let me give you some examples.

 

For example, when u ask the clinic rep "Send me the graft count" what does this mean ? It means that the patient wants the graft count, WHen the clinic rep replies " I dont have it" and then when he is being re asked for it, and replies, " I didnt have it in front of me" what exactly does that mean ? It means that he is unable to understand the need of the patient to receive his graft count, else the rediculous reply "I didnt have it in front me of me" doesnt stand, instead a proper reply whould have been " I will send it to you sortly, cause right now i dont have it in front of me" or even better, "hold on, i am looking for it" and so on,

 

Another example, When u complain to the clinic rep about your results, (right or wrong it doesnt really matter, but espessially when the patient is right) the clinic rep should never reply by telling you "Are you an idiot ? If you dont see the difference you are blind" becouse apart from being completely rude and unproffesional, he thinks that you are an idiot becouse you complained about the product you purchased (hair transplant), so in the eyes of an intelligent human being, this shows a complete idiotic behaviour from the clinic rep, since the clinic rep is unable to realize the condition that the unhappy ht patient is being going through (low yield, bad scarring, loss of precious grafts, waist of money, need for a repair etc) although as ht patient himself, he should be Aware of all these things in the first place.

 

Another example is when u ask the clinic rep to send you the photos and videos he has of you, Obviously the clinic rep, must send these files to the patient, for the simple reason that these pics since they show the patient, do not belong to the clinic nor to the rep, and its the patient's right to have them without any arguments. How diffucult is for the clinic rep to understand, that since (for example) i am asking my photos and videos that he possess becouse i allowed him to take, which they show ME and not him or anyone else, he has the right to send them upon request ? How diffucult is for the clinic rep to realize that if I (for example) dont have the right to possess MY photos and MY video, that they happen to show MY head, he doesnt have the right to possess them either, or since I allowed him to take them, Its MY right to receive them upon MY request.

 

So if you want to be a clinic rep, make sure you read the above "Guide" - it might help solve peoples problems, or at least not creating more..

Edited February 26, 2011 by Tsakalos

[Blake Bloxham]

Tsakalos,

 

While your above description definitely sounds characteristic of a 'salesman,' and could certainly apply to some aspects of the field of hair restoration, I really have a hard time accepting this description based on the patient consultants/clinic representatives who post on our discussion boards.

 

I really don't see individuals like Spex, Jotronic, etc, who represent clinics as satisfied patients, as 'slick salesmen,' and I'm not sure it's fair to generalize all clinical representatives/consultants in this light. Additionally, it sounds like some of your opinion may be based off of personal experience, and I'm very sorry to hear that you had to deal with such unprofessional and unethical behavior.

 

My advice to those interested in becoming clinic representatives would be to speak with the current representatives/consultants and see how they became reps themselves.

[wb280]

Tsakalos, persuasive, smart, versatile are the traits of a salesman? Oh ok how abt insistent and relentlessly angry? enough said just a joke. lol

 

Anyway am i right to say u are speaking from your own experience? I am quite sure i know who did your op and the rep involved but i haven spoken to him before so no comments however, calling your customer idiotic is plain wrong, no matter who's right and wrong.

 

However, i can vouch for Spex. He knew along that i am from Asia and most probably going to Dr Pat for surgery. Regardless of this, he asked me to give him photos to show Dr Feller to get a graft count to get a second opinion and when i wanted to get some hair stuff from UK, he volunteered to help me get it done. I am just wondering if u would do that for someone who u jolly well know that he is not contributing to your wallet? You are a salesman, think about it

[lorenzo]

I just reread my comments realize they could have been taken the wrong way. I was not refering to any of the reps that post on this forum. From my experience I find them all professial understanding and always put the posters needs ahead of anything.

My reference was more towards the person looking to be a sale rep for a doctor. Sometimes in words its hard to come across as joking and sarastic. I apologize if my words were misunderstood and once again it was not towards any of doctor or sales reps that post on this forum.

I have spoken to many people online that have spoken or dealt with many doctors and reps on this forum. All of them have said the same thing about the reps that they are all first class. Helping out H&W with translations I have talked to and read many italians posting on the italian forum. Just like Spex its nice to represent a world class clinic.

Edited February 26, 2011 by lorenzo

[Tsakalos]

Tsakalos,

 

I really have a hard time accepting this description based on the patient consultants/clinic representatives who post on our discussion boards.

 

I really don't see individuals like Spex, Jotronic, etc, who represent clinics as satisfied patients, as 'slick salesmen,' and I'm not sure it's fair to generalize all clinical representatives/consultants in this light. Additionally, it sounds like some of your opinion may be based off of personal experience, and I'm very sorry to hear that you had to deal with such unprofessional and unethical behavior.

 

 

 

I can assure you the role of a "rep" is far from glamourous.

 

Tsakolas,

 

I am sorry to hear you make such a generalisation. Sounds like you have clearly had some personal experiences with reps that disappointed you.

 

Even though you didnt have any surgery through me or the clinic i represent i have always tried to offer you help and guidance whenever asked over the several years we have been in touch.

 

 

I had transplants with 2 different clinics, wearing a wig before that, having several "treatments" like lasers before the wig, I have a 10 year "close relationship" with the hair loss industry.

?

As far as the above comments i havent been specific and/or mentioning specific clinics/reps that post on this board. Have I ? (at least not yet) spex is right though, i never had surgery with Dr. Feller, nor i had any Clinic rep / patient-customer / relationship with spex.

Edited February 26, 2011 by Tsakalos

[Sparky]

Well I've met Spex and he never tried to sell me anything at all. I ended up having surgery with Dr Bisanga and his "rep" Stephen, didn't try to sell me anything either.

 

If I hadn't been a repair patient, both Spex and Stephen would of told me that I wasn't an HT candidate, due to the fact that I still have loads of hair, and then they would of actually made a loss, because they had both taken their time to see me, and I wouldn't of ended up having surgery with there clinic.

 

 

The salesmen you are talking about are the likes of Stephen Barnes and Malcom Mendelsohn.

[Tsakalos]

Certain behaviours as the ones that i have described above, only come in surface when u have personal experience and when things go wrong. if the patient is happy with the product/investment assuming he has realistic expectations, there wont be any complaints, so such examples will not occur.

[Sparky]

Yeah I agree with that, and have experienced that.

[mattj]

I think spex and I spend a lot of time talking people out of getting transplants. Not exactly the stuff of salesman.

[hairthere]

The reps who post on this forum are clearly not just salesmen driven by money. They are consultants for their clinics but I have seen almost all of them offer general advice and even help patients of other clinics as well as praise other doctor's work.

[lorenzo]

I think spex and I spend a lot of time talking people out of getting transplants. Not exactly the stuff of salesman.

 

I totally agree. When you are dealing with Mattj, Spex and Jotronic you are dealing with first class people that represent first class doctors.

I have been there in front of Joe listening to him telling clients they are not suitable for a transplant. Even though many dont like to hear it this is what it means to be ethically and professional.

If anyone can read the Italian forum you will see nothing but praise respect and thankfullness toward many of these doctors and their reps.

 

The reps who post on this forum are clearly not just salesmen driven by money. They are consultants for their clinics but I have seen almost all of them offer general advice and even help patients of other clinics as well as praise other doctor's work.

 

 

Exactly! When you represent a great doctor people will come with or without a rep. None of these doctors need a salesman because there really isnt nothing to sell or convince. I receive many emails from my personal account and do nothing more than educate but never tell anyone to get a transplant. In fact I have even told people not to have a transplant because either they didnt need one, or sometimes in my opinion are unrealistic and probaly wouldnt be happy regardless how good the transplant was.

Edited February 26, 2011 by lorenzo

[hairthere]

When I went for a consult at MHR New York the consultant was EXTREMELY sales driven. He did his best to book me into surgery that day, and tried every sleazy sales tactic in the book.

[TomCruise]

I would like to do this for a job, but not to get benefits, ie:- cheap transplants. I'd do it to help people.

 

I think Sparky would make a great doctor's rep. He always talks straight and fairly, has been there himself and honestly has a marvelous gift in terms putting things into words. Any doctor he chose to associate with would be lucky to have him.

 

TC

[Tsakalos]

Sure, hair clinic reps deny hair transplants to some people. Depends on a lot of factors, such as unrealistic expectations or in some cases, they will deny hair transplants on people becouse based on their characteristics the results will not be good, or even will deny hair transplants on people who dont take propecia for example.

 

In this case they want to avoid 2 things.

 

1 is the patient disatisfaction and 2 is their online image. Obviously the "clinic's online image" also known as "global domination marathon race" that many of these clinics are competing to, plays an important role in denying a hair transplant to someone, and also on how customer complaints are being "taken cared of" in some cases.

 

Else how can someone explain comments such as "We are dominating the forums", "I am the best", "I am the only doctor who can do this or that" and so on. Who cares ? (apart from them)

 

Becouse i assure you, such things are being told to patients, especially to patients that had surgery to a major competitor before, just becouse in some of these cases the doctor sees a great opportunity to improve or fix the previous doctor's "screw up" especially in cases that patients are known forum posters, since the "cold war" between Top docs plays an important role for them, but not for the patients, becouse the patient who goes to Dr, X while previously has been to Dr. Z, doesnt care at all about who is the best or doesnt care at all about comparing the clinics, he only wants to get a successfull ht, to improve his appearance, and to carry on with his life.

 

I told you that i am a salesman in the health industy, What i didnt tell you is that i have only 2 target group of customers. They are either pharmacists or dermatologists (which means doctors) I do bussiness transactions with doctors for 10 years now, I have such a great experience and you need to know that drs do not like accepting their mistakes, and do not even like to hear any arguments, even though when its clear (or almost clear) that things are completely different from what they claim to be, (at this point i dont want to get into that any further)

 

I do accept the fact the clinics care so much about their online image. I fully understand it. Who doesnt want to be succesfull ? Especially when they have worked so many years and so hard for building a reputation. However patient satisfaction Comes FIRST, and everything else is of less importance.

 

Why do you think that in several "not so great cases" photos are being taken down, and threads are being locked ? (i want to make clear that forum moderators have nothing to do with this)

 

Why in such cases where posters seem to be unhappy, clinic reps from OTHER docs, are sending PMs to us, asking whether we were "requested" to take down our pics, or edit our posts ? Why do they care ?

 

I realize that they care about us, who feel unhappy and they want to help. Ok acceptable up to this point.

 

However why clinic reps from OTHER docs have suddenly such an interest asking questions in order to find out the "conditions" as to why pics or posts of unhappy patients were edited/deleted ?

 

Becouse if they just wanted to help us, their interest whould have ended up at the point where they have seen the pictures, and suggest a possible solution to improve our situations from the doc they represent and nothing more !!

 

But asking questions to find out why the pics or posts were deleted doesnt have anything to do with the patient being unhappy right ?

Is this a part of the "cold war" between clinics and the 1st place for the "global domination" thing that we patients dont care at all about ?

 

Isn't this exactly, the well known "not so ethical" sales tactic we all know, according to which the basic rule is "burry your competitor" ???

 

And always under the table by private messaging or emails, becouse the same people (clinic reps) who are sending pm's having such a great interest about why were the posts or pics deleted / edited, are the same people who claim that they are here in order to help us, using the argument of how they are getting paid (salary or commision) thinking that by this way, they will convince us that they indeed are here only in order to help us simply becouse they are not working with commission (who cares anyway)

 

For the clinic reps, since we are not retarted nor stupid, prove that u actually want to help us, simply by commenting on the case and suggesting a possible solution from the doctor you represent, and not by asking questions in order to find out if we were "requested" to take down our pics or posts, stop asking questions trying to find out if we have come in contact with other clinic reps or if we shared our unhappy situation with other forum posters, becouse it aint your business, becouse we are here to find a solution to our problem, and not to participate into this sick "clinic wars" thing that you so much care about, while our only interest is an acceptable and realistic outcome that will provide satisfaction in order to carry on with our lives.

Edited February 27, 2011 by Tsakalos

[lorenzo]

I think Sparky would make a great doctor's rep. He always talks straight and fairly, has been there himself and honestly has a marvelous gift in terms putting things into words. Any doctor he chose to associate with would be lucky to have him.

 

 

 

I agree he seems very honest and I enjoy reading his posts.

[moses0324]

I think some have mis-interptreted my post. It has nothing to do with being a salesmen...

 

I guess my question was to become a doctors rep and inform people of HT's...you kind of need to undergo the surgery to experience it...That way you can provide personal experiences as a method of answering questions.

 

Again it would be to help people in general but again without personal experiences you are kind of useless...no offense. its like talking about sky diving without actually doing it. taking others words for it doesnt work.

 

I am interested in pursuing this but I want my own personal gains as well...i.e. a discounted HT, etc...Again this is not my only motive but would be a nice benefit.

[lorenzo]

moses0324 I understood your post from the beginning. Its not easy to be a rep for a hair transplant doctor. In my experience 5% of all patients that have a transplant inquire about being a rep. Most doctors no only have reps but have a line up of many others that want to become one.

Many former patients are more than happy to assist and share there experience with people without any financial gain. Alot of people on this forum do that.

Good luck on your search.

[Sparky]

I think Sparky would make a great doctor's rep. He always talks straight and fairly, has been there himself and honestly has a marvelous gift in terms putting things into words. Any doctor he chose to associate with would be lucky to have him.

 

TC

 

 

I appreciate this, both from you and Lorenzo.

 

Thanks.

[TomCruise]

You bet Sparky. You've always contributed a lot to these boards. I'm sure a lot of people have noticed that.

[wb280]

Tsakalos, i still cannot get over your post. You meant, the dr rep actually labelled u as idiotic? Hey thats outright mean, ok look, even if you are a bit fussy or whatever, it does not give the rep the right to say that u r idiotic, thats plain rude

 

For the sake of everyone, i think its better u reveal who that is ( though i am pretty sure i know his identity ). If your words are authentic, it will serve to warn potential patients in a positive way

[Spanker]

I have never felt pressured by any consultants on this board...in fact, I am kind of on the line of being ready for a proceedure and all have pretty much said, "We will work on you if you really want but it will not hurt anything to wait either." Talk about low pressure "sales".

 

I will say that the I have had one consult that seemed a little high pressure from a FUE doc's office in Atlanta. The grafts were a little higher priced than what I was looking for, ($8 shaved and $10 not shaved). I figured it could not hurt at to ask for a little break on the price to help with travel expenses, etc. They said that they would give me a 50 cent discount per grafts if I booked that day. When they said that it was like, "ding, ding, ding, ding, Warning, Warning!!!" That WAS a sales technique and I did not like that. If they offered a discount and said, "We can give you a discount if you book FOR this day," I would have been ok with that, but not that they wanted me to book right then.

 

So to be fair, there are salesmen out there. But besides that, I have only talked to recommended docs and consultants and I have never felt pushed into a proceedure.

 

 

The only other thing is that i have had a VERY VERY wide range of graft estimates. From 600 to 2000. All coming from recommended docs. so that is kinda wierd.