Walk the aisles of any medical convention and you'll spot salespeople stuck in a '90s selling style. Just look for the reps standing behind counters stacked high with give-always, flashing big grins, and welcoming doctors with a generic, "How are you doing today, doctor?" But standing behind a counter handing out pens and pads is out. Creating customer intimacy is in.

Pharma companies such as Merck, Eli Lilly, TAP, and Takeda have abandoned many conventional exhibiting tactics and are developing an on-the-floor presence and environment that creates an experience physicians can enjoy-without pressure.

"Many salespeople try to launch into a presentation within seconds," says Dr. Henry Hersman, an ophthalmologist attending the 2000 American Academy of Ophthalmology exposition. "You get assaulted. I feel trapped by their presentations, especially when they're a canned pitch. Then they ask questions such as 'Doctor, will you agree to try this on five patients?' When I hear that, I leave their exhibit.

"The rarest thing is a sales-person who asks, 'What are you looking for? What is your special area of interest?' and takes time to learn about you and why you're at the convention."

Experiential ExhibitingUS society is hungry for sensory experience, as evident in the popularity of restaurants like Benihana and the Rainforest Caf������������������. Similarly, physicians are also attracted to experiential environments that make the learning process more enjoyable and encourage them to interact with event staff.

According to interviews with physicians at trade shows conducted by the INCOMM Center for Research & Sales Training, doctors typically perceive traditional exhibits as "selling zones," where they will be pitched. But exhibits appearing to offer enjoyable activities diffuse the "pitch and sell" perception. Given a choice, doctors will pick an entertaining educational process over a hard sell.

TAP's "Prevacid Fights the Fire" exhibit created an experiential setting.

Suzanne Fox, exhibit programs manager for TAP, says that experiential exhibits pull in exhibit traffic. At the Pri-Med meeting, a convention designed for primary care practitioners, traffic to the newly designedPrevacid (lansoprazole) exhibit averaged 75-110 doctors during the peak hours when no sessions were held. Other exhibits, using traditional designs with detail counters at the carpet line and typical sales stations, drew an average of 30 doctors during the same peak hours.

Gifts ofAppreciationMany salespeople use give-always as psychological crutches, relying on them to attract doctors' attention to the product by stacking them on the counter. But "Take One!" freebies gain doctors' interest for the wrong reason.

Holding onto giveaways increases interaction with physicians.

John Wasilewski, associatedirector of professional relations for the marketing and sales company, Merck US Human Health, trains reps to increase the quality of their interactions with doctors by simply holding items instead of leaving them on an exhibit counter. At the 2000 American College of Cardiology meeting, Merck salespeople found their interactions were more productive when they held onto give-away items and provided them as gifts of appreciation after discussions. Controlling the exchange often gives exhibit staff the feeling they are accomplishing their educational goals rather than just distributing goodies.

"Holding onto an item until the doctor requests it and then responding with 'This is a gift of appreciation for telling us a little about how you treat hypertension' is a method our reps have found very effective," says Wasilewski.

Working the LineMany exhibits offer a celebrity spokesperson, coffee service area, or program that requires doctors to wait in line. In the past, salespeople would try to move physicians through as quickly as possible, not realizing that they were missing an excellent opportunity to sell.

Eli Lill'y salespeople work the line of visitors waiting for coffee.

The longer the line and the slower it moves, the better the sales opportunity. But knowing how to take advantage of that does not come naturally. Salespeople need to use appropriate techniques when greeting visitors waiting in line or they risk duplicating old high-pressure sales tactics. If approached correctly, doctors are usually willing to discuss a product while waiting, giving reps a greater share of the selling voice at conventions.

TAP assigns reps to work the line of doctors waiting for "TAP-puccino" at the exhibit. They greet doctors and then, if doctors seem willing, they find out what they are interested in and give them a 15-second overview of the featured products.

Time & TeamworkIn their offices, doctors usually give reps two minutes or less in between patients. Reps carry that conditioning to conventions, often limiting conversations with physicians, offering hasty product details, and neglecting to discuss doctors' practices or other products. In fact, a recent INCOMM survey of 542 pharma sales reps found that 94 percent say the average length of time doctors spend at a pharma exhibit is two minutes or less.

Robert Bitterman, president of Dermik Laboratories, hired professional coaches to help teach his sales reps the difference between selling methods at conventions and those used in office-based detail calls.

The training paid off. Bitterman says that, at the last three American Academy of Dermatology meetings, doctors spent more time at exhibit booths as a direct result of his reps' clearer understanding of the dynamics of exhibit selling.

One way reps gained more physician interaction was by working in teams. And instead of standing behind counters and making presentations, salespeople walked individuals or groups of doctors through the exhibit, personalizing the attention. They listened to and learned about the doctors' interests, then custom-ized their discussions accordingly. At the company's booths, one Dermik salesperson would ask a second rep to join the discussion to educate the doctor about another product. After achieving a solid comfort level, the first rep would withdraw and allow the second to explain another featured product that related to additional questions the doctor had asked.

"Team transfer" and cross-selling tactics work because they aren't canned pitches; they generate discussions that require teamwork. In the field, sales-people work by themselves, so they tend to do the same at an exhibition. The Dermik training helped them practice directing doctors from discussions of one product to another and increased reps understanding of how to enhance visitors' educational experience.