What is your gut reaction to objections and challenges (sometimes with emotion or worse, cold logic!) from a KOL? The art of being an impactful MSL involves turning uncomfortable moments when challenged by a KOL into meaningful insights that are valuable to your company and more so to the physician’s patients.
Gaining a deeper understanding of the actual concern can strengthen your KOL relationships by turning this objection into a meaningful discussion by asking the right questions. The best MSLs shine through these times and gain valuable insights in the process. In fact, those MSLs want the physician to object! Nora Dunne, actress, director, and SNL alum said, “Your job is not to please the audience, your job is to engage the audience.” And it is in the engagement that is when they will be pleased. Don’t shrink, engage! Here are some ideas how.
When faced with a challenging question, your first step is to gain clarity. You could start by using the skill of paraphrasing (this traditional approach gets you in sync and signals that you understand). You can then ask clarifying questions to get additional facts:
· I want to be sure I understand your comment, it seems the essence of your concern is _______ (safety, price, formulary, etc.)?
· What aspect of the data led you to that statement?
· What are you using for comparison?
· Tell me more. This and the “what else?” question helps the physician begin to teach you…become a willing student…you are in the professor’s office!