The new reps had no background in medicine or pharmacy. They were athletes and cheerleaders, former computer salesmen, and ex-military. They were, above all, genial, easy to talk to. They were often the only people Lou Ortenzio saw all day who didn’t have something that needed fixing. Many of them didn’t know what they were selling, but they did know how to sell it. They did this, mostly, by giving stuff away. In the literature of psychology, giving stuff away is a quick route to getting people to like you. These new reps came armed with pens, stress balls, calendars, notepads—all the tinsel
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