In the last 25 years, two events have changed the face of how we educate doctors and no matter how you look at it, these social experiments prove that education from pharmaceutical companies really does matter. Many doctors do listen to their sales reps. Moreover, they really listen to their peers who are often academics, clinical trialists, and patient advocates.

I remember being a marketing associate at Merck; it was my first corporate position outside of the sales organization. My job was to develop and shepherd marketing communications for our osteoporosis business unit. As I began learning about the internal processes, the specialist stakeholders (Legal, Medical, Regulatory, and Compliance individuals) would need to review and approve communications. With little fear that I could get done what was needed, I didn’t always have success. In fact, I often failed. So in this article, I will share 5 key techniques I’ve learned over time to collaborate cross functionally with these specialist stakeholders.

When scientific data don’t match our personal beliefs, it’s difficult for many to change the way they think, and therefore the way speakers teach. While Pharma has been incredibly successful in changing behaviors based upon scientific or clinical evidence for decades, improvements need to be made. Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) don’t always make decisions based upon data because emotions often get in the way.

There are so many important skills needed to be an effective PM. Every PM I’ve worked with has been intelligent, knowledgeable, and has earned their position through years of skills development. Yet somehow, there’s a difference between PMs who successfully work with KOLs and those who don’t. While most PMs tend to be excellent planners, organizers, budgeters, and generally skilled business leaders—often with a premiere MBA—I don’t believe those business skills are the differentiators between good and bad PMs. In fact, I’d argue that those persons with the skills most sought after for successful advocate development can be recruited from within your sales department.

Last week, I was at a speaker program. There were some slides, mostly blue, with quite a bit of data accompanying the speaker talk. There were a lot of good epidemiological data about how the disease has become an epidemic and that the product treated the drug marginally well, with almost no side effects, but I really don’t remember much more of what was said. Why can’t I remember the 50 minutes of data that were presented just a week ago? Am I losing my memory? The reality is that there’s nothing really wrong with me. I’m pretty normal—and if I can’t remember a week later, I’m sure others are struggling to remember.