Recognize them in your plan so you'll know about them should they move up into the higher category, but drop them from your efforts. Sure, say hello in the surgeon's lounges or hospital hallways, but don't waste a 40-minute drive through traffic to show that you've made a sales call on a physician. Here's the twist . A physician that doesn't have this understanding will be unlikely to take advantage of your offering. The patient might have an interest in its quality and therefore have the potential desire to control the choice of the implant.
Patients continue to become more educated and involved with their health.
Patients have more access to more information and more interest in controlling their healthcare than ever before. This is more a marketing issue than a sales issue, although perhaps you can sell the concept to your marketing team as an additional approach. It kills me that more companies aren't taking this approach. Carefully done, your company could effectively differentiate your products and eliminate the inertia of physician's inflexibility to try new things. Don't let that hobble you as you try to gain ground in your territory.