Customer Reviews

Insider's Guide to the World of Pharmaceutical Sales, Eighth Edition

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After talking to several pharmaceutical reps I know, I decided to shoot for a sales rep job myself. This book gives some very good insight into what it takes to land a job in the industry, what kind of people you'll be dealing with, what the hiring pricess is like (with particular emphasis on the interviews), and then what the job is like for people who manage to get hired. I'm very glad that I took the time to read this book because, after finishing it, I realize that being a pharmaceutical sales rep sounds like one of the most horrible careers imaginable. Obviously this is simply my own opinion, and I know there are plenty of people out there who enjoy this kind of work, but nearly every single thing about it, from the way applicants are screened, to the shameless pandering that sales reps must do on the job, sounds simply awful to me. If you are considering a career as a drug rep, you should definitely do your homework to make sure it's really something you would enjoy. This book may very well convice you that you would love it. If so, that's great, and I hope you are successful. But if this kind of work is not right for you, this book can be equally helpful because you'll find out by reading it what the job is really like. There are a lot of books on this subject on the market right now, but of the two I purchased, this was by far the better one.

My consulting firm has used the "Insider's Guide to the World of Pharmaceutical Sales" in our sales training courses for years and have found it to be exceptional. New editions always come out in a timely manner and this newest 8th edition is fantastic. To stay in touch with the market and confirm our choices, we also poll a combination of 20-30 university marketing professors and university career counselors each year. This is the only book of its kind that 29 out of 30 used. Jane Williams has done an awesome job of describing the pharmaceutical sales person's job, how to Ace the interview, and how to do a great job of selling after you gain the position. She has very cleverly written the selling tips throughout the guide and has restated the important information for emphasis while "teaching" the prospective employee how to sell themselves throughout the book as well as how to sell the product. Very impressive!

As a professional sales consultant, I am always looking for books that I can utilize as a consultant. The new 8th Edition of the "Insider's Guide..." is even better than the 7th Edition! This book offers excellent updated advice on networking, the pharmaceutical industry and physician call guidelines for pharmaceutical sales representatives, understanding the interview process, using personality profiling to your advantage, 155 specific detailed pharmaceutical sales interview questions and answers as well as major pharmaceutical company profiles and contract sales organizations contact information. One very nice feature of this substantial book (196 pages, 8.5x11.0 in.) is that not only does Ms. Williams teach the interviewee how to successfully interview for the pharmaceutical sales position, but how to perform well at the job from day one.

The book is very well written, professionally edited, and reflects the author's credibility. It is easy to see why this book is being utilized by college and university sales and marketing professors for their sales and marketing courses and special sales classes.

I've never taken the time to write a review before, but I feel that this book is worth the time. The information in the Insider's Guide to the World of Pharmaceutical Sales allowed me to win my new pharmaceutical sales position. There is so much information in the guide, I was afraid I would forget something, but it is so well written and laid out in logical order that I feel like I remembered everything. While the book is filled with excellent information, the 150 interview questions and answers are priceless. I had no difficulty answering a single question and the more questions I answered the more confident I became in my interviews. Several of the people who interviewed me commented on my confidence and my level of preparation. They actually told me they were very impressed and asked how I had prepared. I told them that I used the Insider's Guide... and their reaction was great! ALL of the interviewers said that they admired my initiative.

I purchased the new Insider's Guide to the World of Pharmaceutical Sales, 8th Ed. two weeks ago. Two days after reading the book, I landed my first interview. I sailed through that interview and the three interviews that followed. Nothing surprised me because every single question I was asked is in this book. I was so-o-o prepared! I received my job offer yesterday and my head is still spinning. I'm so excited!

My recommendation to anyone who wants to be a pharmaceutical sales rep is to get your hands on this book just as fast as you can!

Excellent book, I highly reccomend this book for anyone seriously interested in becoming a drug rep. After reading it I was given an interview with seven different drug companies was offered interviews with four more companies and was offered two positions. I ended up selecting one job over the other based on location. Sure is awesome to not only get a job in this highly competitve job market, but to get to pick between two. I have Jane Williams to thank for this. Her 150 questions were right on the money and I was asked repeatedly word for word a number of them. Her list of pharmaceutical companies and info on them I also found very useful. These saved a lot of time by allowing me to type in the webpages she had listed and applying to all the major companies. One word of advice her book does make it seem like you'll get hired after only trying with one or two companies. At least for me it took a lot more than that and about four solid months of trying to get a job. Persistance pays off.

This is a great book for medical sales interviews. After trying for six months to gain an interview with a medical supply company, I bought this book hoping that it would help me with medical sales interviews and it certainly did. I got the job! I've just signed all of my paperwork and I start my training next week! I've found that the interview process for medical sales is practically identical to pharmaceutical sales according to the description in the Insider's Guide. I was grilled during interviews but I was prepared thanks to Jane Williams' advice. I think she should rename this book the Insider's Guide to Pharmaceutical and Medical Sales.

I just won a position with one of the top pharmaceutical companies! It took me 4 weeks! After falling on my face numerous times and having several unsuccessful interviews, I decided to purchase the Insider's Guide. My only regret is that I wasted money on a couple of other books first. The first thing that stood out was the fact that I knew nothing about the pharmaceutical interview process. The Insider's Guide has everything from A-Z that you need to know to prepare for a pharmaceutical sales interview and to find the unadvertised positions. The position I got wasn't advertised anywhere. Throughout you're taught to think like a pharm rep and to understand the pharmaceutical selling process. It's just filled with information to get you started and help you succeed in the position. This was one great investment!

Just as the reviews stated, Ms. Williams book is a great source of information. I recommend this book with the PharmRepSelect CDs. Ms. William's book is an indepth text with all the information about getting a job as a pharmaceutical sales rep. Ms. Alexander's PharmRepSelect CDs demonstrate the interview methods and techniques by letting you hear an expert play the candidate on a successful interview. The mock interviews were an excellent way to learn how to use the "star" interview methods and the conversation on the CD with Ms. Alexander was like hiring an interview consultant. This is a package which should be sold together. I give them five stars.

I just got my copy, but I am impressed by the relevant, easy to read writing. This is a new career for me, and I appreciate the sound, down-to-earth advice that Ms. Williams provides in her book. A pharmaceutical sales job may be around the corner, and I am grateful for this helpful book.