To make someone feel seen and special is one of the greatest gifts we can give.

In my pharmaceutical sales career, I learned that ingenuity was the key to building real, lasting relationships. My doctors were busy, so I developed a unique way to cut through the noise, especially around Halloween: I made them my unwitting models. After getting a photo, I would spend up to 13 hours at home, meticulously carving their portrait into a pumpkin with an X-Acto knife.

The execution was a production. I would coordinate with the office staff to get placed in an exam room, the pumpkin hidden under a towel. The doctor would enter, completely baffled and sometimes a bit wary to find me in a patient room. I would reassure them,  I'd start by tying the fall season to the product, describing a patient who was "struggling in the dark" with their condition. This set the stage for a full product detail. I would review the benefits, explaining how the product worked to significantly improve a patient's quality of life. I'd also connect this back to their practice, noting how helping patients feel this much better leads to a more satisfied, thriving patient base. Once the product detail was complete, I would lean in for the final reveal. "I would like to introduce you to that patient." 

On cue, the staff would turn off the lights, and I would pull the towel off the pumpkin. In the dark, the doctor would be staring at their own "glowing" face. Without fail, this was met with an ear to ear smile. But I wasn't done.

I would turn the pumpkin to its side and say, "Doctor, I know it's hard to remember my product's name, so I made it easier for you by carving it into the side of your head." This always got a huge laugh, and some were genuinely emotional, saying no one had ever done such a creative gesture for them.

The impact was my real goal. For years, staff and doctors would bring it up. They'd tell me stories of taking the pumpkin to parties as a prized possession, scaring their spouses with it on a pillow, or even calling their families into the office to meet me. As I left, I’d always add that I was giving them the unique opportunity to "watch themselves gracefully age" as the pumpkin softened. It was a moment in time that lasted forever and, most importantly, it ensured they remembered the product that would make their real patients glow.