What will it take to survive in the pharmaceutical sales industry? Hardly the same approach to the role of sales and marketing “at the sharp end,” and more than likely a complete re-evaluation of the way that pharmaceutical marketing training is structured. For far too long now, conventional methods of engagement have been celebrated, where a sales representative is expected to “detail” with a set number of healthcare professionals in a certain region, over a set period of time and according to given parameters. We would look at measurements such as a particular percentage of penetration and would be far too focused on products and income, rather than a particular client’s needs and wishes. The pharmaceutical consultant has been waking up to the fact that the industry is changing significantly and we need to change our approach to business tactics and methodology, or we will be left behind. Conventional approaches to pharmaceutical marketing training are becoming increasingly outdated.
While a pharmaceutical consultancy can help the client organisation to develop a new approach to the challenges ahead, it’s at the sharp end that the majority of changes need to take place. This will require reinvention of the very make-up of a sales representative. Is it possible to achieve this with an existing team of reps? It might be difficult for some to overcome the entrenched attitudes that have been “baked in” over the years, but they will nevertheless require a far more entrepreneurial approach to the way that they operate. Indeed, the sales representative will now have to take on much more of an independent role, at the very least in the way that they approach their income generation motivators.
The very definition of an entrepreneur is somebody who is willing to go the extra mile and not be easily disheartened. This person needs to be an innovator and be prepared to dig into the problem to find out what needs to be done, really getting to know the client. The entrepreneurial sales rep should dig deep to find out what drives the buyer, generate more workable intelligence and then be encouraged by the pharmaceutical consultancy to bring this intelligence back and share it within a newly created “think tank.” This may also require a fundamental change in thinking, as the entrepreneurial sales rep should begin to understand that a pooling of intelligence resources could only help everyone to explain and understand the market better and in turn focus on enhanced sales potential.
There was a time when hunger was created among the sales force by comparing peer performance. The most productive representative was often elevated to a certain position, which was then used to motivate others within the workforce to work harder. Any pharmaceutical consultant should understand how this could be counter-productive to the end goal and how each entrepreneurial sales rep could, by contributing to the potential for the entire team, end up in a better position. The issues of motivation and remuneration must be approached from a completely new angle, but when all is said and done this entire process is far more likely to result in a much more fruitful relationship between the end-user and the rep. Goodness knows that any improvements here would be welcome, as the typical practitioner has been ready to turn away from the attentions of the sales rep, due to a perceived lack of care or even apathy.
Alan Gillies is the Director of L2L Consulting, an elite pharmaceutical consultancy firm which specialises in Strategy Development and Implementation Excellence for prestigious multi-national organisations.