Last week I went to see the movie Love and Other Drugs (on a side note I wouldn’t waste your money on it), and the main character was a sales rep for drug giant Pfizer. He was just starting out and had to resort to sleezy tactics to sell Zoloft as most physicians at the time were prescribing Prozac. It seemed that both drugs were similar, so while he did try to sell based on the merits of the medication he also had to resort to throwing the competitor’s drugs in the dumpster and flirting shamelessly with receptionists to even get in to see the doctors to talk about Zoloft.

But then came a new drug from Pfizer—Viagra—which put this pharmaceutical rep on the fast track. He no longer had to utilize his previous tactics—Viagra sold itself and physicians were begging him for the drugs.

All that being said, what’s your Viagara? Do you have a product, or are you developing one, that is commanding the attention of the industry? Yes, I know that drugs like Viagra, or extremely innovative door and window products, don’t come around every day, but I challenge you to find your edge.

And, if you have a product that is innovative, yet has competition, how do you get in to see a particular dealer to talk about your competitive product? Hopefully you don’t resort to bribery or shameless flirting. What types of incentives do you offer? I don’t expect you to tell me, so I can write it here for your competition to see, but I challenge you to think hard about it. Perhaps you know you have a strong product but just can’t get in the door. Gather your sales reps together to brainstorm how to break the barrier.

So go find the next big thing. And if you already have it, brainstorm ways to increase market share and sell it even more efficiently than you are currently. Here is to a prosperous 2011.