Upon entering the medical industry as a pharmaceutical rep, I had visions of spending most of my days having interesting scientific discussions with healthcare providers. However, it wasn’t long before I felt more like a Panera deliver driver!

Providing meals for medical staff has been a common practice for decades. Doctor’s have limited time, so having any sort of meaningful discussion with them in between patients can be difficult. It’s an unspoken quid-pro-quo that if you provide lunch, they will humor you and listen to your sales pitch.

This strategy works great when you work for a large corporation who gives you a budget, but what do you do when you are working as an independent rep?

I get asked this question quite frequently. Working independently means you are essentially your own business. Buying a lunch for a practice must be looked at as a business decision.

Before agreeing to provide a lunch, the first questions you should be asking yourself:

-How much is this going to cost me?

-What are my chances of closing a sale?

-What is my expected commission if I do close?

-Is there any way to see the doctor outside of doing a lunch?

From there, it’s a simple math equation. If I’m promoting a device that I make $5k in commission on average but I only give myself a 10% chance of closing, then anything over $500 for the lunch makes it not worth it.

Of course, I’m not just looking to break even, so if I want to ensure at least a 50% ROI, then I would lower that budget to $250.

If you are like me (a miserly cheapskate with no dignity), then there are other tricks you can employ to get stratify your risk even further.

If I am trying to get in to a new practice and the reception states that the only way to get access is through a lunch, I almost always schedule it.

Once scheduled, I ask who the office manager is. Then, I either call or come back another time specifically to speak with that office manager. I might tell them something like, “I am providing a lunch next week for your practice and I was hoping to steal a few minutes from you so I can have everything prepared.”

Since you are scheduled to bring them lunch, they will almost always agree to this. When I speak with them, I give them a soft pitch to feel them out and ask how receptive they think their doctor will be and find out who the key decision makers are. If they give me a positive response, I keep the lunch. If they indicate that they are pretty sure the doc won’t be interested, then I call separately and cancel the lunch.

Another tactic is to try providing coffee in the am or an afternoon snack. I love doing coffee for two reasons: it’s much cheaper (I am a cheapskate after all!), and coffee orders are customized, which gives you an opportunity to hand out the drinks individually and get to know the different members of the staff.

Before the next time you walk into an office and get baled up for lunch, have a plan and know what it’s worth to you before you say yes!