Territory Sales Manager

"I am part of Business Unit Four; which covers the geographical areas of Oxfordshire, and South Buckinghamshire.

I am responsible for promoting our products to GPs within primary care.

My day is roughly divided into two, although no one day is ever the same.

The mornings are generally spent seeing customers within primary care. I book appointments in advance when possible, but there is also a large element of "speccing". This involves dropping your card in at surgeries in the area which you are working that day, and asking if the GP will see you after he/she finishes surgery, which is generally anywhere between 11.30 and 12.30.

There are also a number of other representatives from other pharma companies trying to see people, so you can be extremely busy in the morning when the surgeries open. To try to help us see GPs I often use replied paid cards, which offers the Doctor a book or a similar piece of literature. These help us to access Doctors who can be hard to see, although if the doctor does request an access item, they are under no obligation to see a representative.

The afternoon, in general, taken up with working within the secondary care setting. As a representative I am also responsible for the hospitals in my region. I am responsible for the Oxford Trust which comprises of several Oxfordshire hospitals, plus High Wycombe and Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

We are allocated a budget each year. This is used to increase sales in a variety of ways, for example by booking lunchtime meetings within a practice or department.

In the evening I record who I had contact with that day, which involves entering details of the doctor and what was discussed in the call. I also send/return emails on a nightly basis.

I enjoy working for Boehringer Ingelheim and feel valued as an employee. I know that support is always there if I require it. There are a lot of opportunities and you are always encouraged, feel appreciated and respected."