Every Client Wants to be in Pharmaceutical Sales

The lure of the pharmaceutical sales position is great -- incredible salaries, perks including a company car, and more. But how many of your clients really understand what it takes to be a pharmaceutical sales rep -- or even get in the door for an interview?

Jane Williams' fabulous book, "Insider's Guide to the World of Pharmaceutical Sales" (8th edition) is a MUST-READ for any resume writer who works with individuals wanting to get into pharmaceutical sales -- and it's a book you can recommend to your clients as well.

You can order the book and find some great resources at:
http://www.principlepublications.com/

Pharmaceutical Sales Links (courtesy of MedMarketConnect.com)
- www.Cafepharma.com - a chat board for the medical and pharmaceutical sales industry. Here you will find great resource links as well.
- www.PharmBoard.com - Pharmaceutical sales chat board, company directory, and more...
- www.go2pharmsales.com - This site is another great tool to help you network within the industry.

Finding Clients Between the Stacks

Call your local bookstore and offer to host a Career Night. The format is up to you, but it could include:
• 20-minute workshop on resumes
• Free resume critiques
• Top '10' Book List
• How to Use Career Books to Reach Your Dream Job (i.e., using career research books like the annual "Kennedy Directory of Executive Recruiters")

For added value:
• Send a news release to local newspaper, radio and TV stations to promote the free event;
• Make sure you're on the bookstore's monthly calendar of events;
• Make up posters for display at the store;
• Insert your business card into the front of books in the career section;
• Have a door prize giveaway (collect names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mails on a door prize form). Possible prizes can be a career book, a bookstore gift certificate or a gift certificate for your services.

This technique can also be used at your local library.

Why Clients Choose a Professional Resume Writer

Why do people seek out a résumé writer? A couple of calls from prospective clients this week got me thinking about this.

Most of the calls I receive fall into two categories -- calls from the Yellow Pages and calls from people referred by someone. Because I always ask, "How did you hear about us?" I can usually determine what information I need to share with the caller. Those who have been referred are often "pre-sold" on my services and don't require as much education as the Yellow Pages caller.

Callers from the Yellow Pages are often intriguing. At some basic level, they recognize the need for help with their resume, because they've sought out a "resume service" in the phone book.

Yet they often don't know what they need -- or even what a professional resume writer will do for them. Some are looking for someone to "type" their resume. Others know that they can get "help" with the writing part, but don't know how that works.

Remember when working with prospective clients who are calling from the Yellow Pages that you have three goals:

1. Educate them about your services (what you do, how you can help them, how much it will cost)

2. Find out if they are ready to work with you (do they have a focused job target? What is their timeframe? Do they have realistic expectations about what the résumé can do for them? Are they willing to pay your fee?)

3. Demonstrate that you are the solution. This is most often accomplished by asking questions designed to elicit information -- and position yourself as a credible expert to solve their unspoken problem ("How do I get interviews?")

While their reasons for choosing a professional résumé writer may differ from caller to caller, your job is the same: Determine whether there is a match between what they need and what you provide -- and if there is, make the sale.

Homeshoring Offers Opportunities for Job Seekers

Resume clients looking for work-at-home opportunities might be interested in a new opportunity, called "homeshoring." (Click to access a Business Week article on the topic.)

Homeshoring, defined, is "the transfer of service industry employment from offices to home-based employees with appropriate telephone and Internet facilities."

Companies employ stay-at-home workers to respond to inbound inquiries. Key players include:

• Alpine Access
• LiveOps
• WorkingSolutions
• Arise.com (formerly Willows)
  
• WorkatHomeAgent.com

These "cyber agents" held 112,000 jobs in 2005, and are expected to number 330,000 by 2010.