Cheerleaders have many of the qualities that pharmaceutical companies look for in sales representatives. They’re typically good-looking, frequently female, and always bubbling over with enthusiasm. And what works for energizing fans in the stands also seems to be effective in persuading doctors to prescribe a pharmaceutical company’s brands. Years ago, drug reps could wine and dine physicians, take them on golf outings, or line them up with speaking fees. But the federal government cracked down on such gifts, so in a crowded field of 90,000 reps knocking on doctors’ doors, drug companies often look for graduating cheerleaders to get a doctor's attention.
Two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate?
- T. Lynn Williamson, cheer adviser at the University of Kentucky, says he regularly gets calls from pharmaceutical company recruiters. “They don't ask what the major is," Williamson says. “Exaggerated motions, exaggerated smiles, exaggerated enthusiasm -- they can get people to do what they want.”
- Demand for former cheerleaders has led to the formation of Spirited Sales Leaders, an employment firm in Memphis. It maintains a database of thousands of candidates.
- Federal law bans employment discrimination based on factors such as race and gender, but it doesn’t say anything about appearance.