Contributed by Louise Anderson
Time to Bundle Up
Pharmaceutical companies are facing increased competition and are now taking a lead from other industries, such as telecommunications, and looking to a bundled sales approach. In so doing, the sales organizations are moving to a model of team selling as they bundle their over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription brands for greater market share and economies of scale. As a result, sales people need to operate in tandem, constantly backing one another up to deliver a focused, consistent approach for stronger results. A Changing Sales Landscape Once clearly delineated, today’s pharmaceutical salesforces are marketing both prescription and OTC medications to the same audience. Concurrently, they are trying to introduce new products, while discussing updated research news and clinical trials. This means delivering more products and more information to an audience whose time and attention is limited. Moreover, with recent high-profile news surrounding popular medications, such as Vioxx and Celebrex, sales must play a greater role in communicating up-to-the-minute information to doctors, to educating them, to answering their questions, and leaving them confident about using a particular group of products. So how do sales people manage the multitude of tasks they now face? How do they get quality time with doctors to deliver messages and present their products in a way that builds relationships and fosters sales? And how do they do this in light of increasing competition from other companies? Team selling and knowledge validation are the essential ingredients to a winning sales effort. Knowledge Validation Here is how it works. The first step is to implement a knowledge validation mechanism that rewards the sales reps for their in-depth knowledge of both the OTC and prescription drugs they are selling. Members of the sales team validate their knowledge with online field quizzes and receive points for taking and passing them. The points are redeemable for a large selection of awards. The quiz highlights drug features and benefits and reviews older drugs in the same category, as well as competitive drugs. The quiz also serves as a way to collect information about best practices, the techniques that spell success for some of the sales reps. This knowledge validation tool calls employees to action. The first indicator of success is an employee’s willingness to validate his or her knowledge; those who are not engaged shouldn’t be on the team. The speed at which organizations (and their people) learn will separate the leaders from the followers. In terms of conveying critical news about pharmaceutical products, the quiz validates that the rep got the information and understands it, which is extremely valuable today. Team Selling From a best-practices audit, it was revealed that sales representatives who tag-teamed physicians had greater success at getting face time with physicians. Tag-teaming consisted of two sales representatives who continually called upon the same physicians, but alternated their visits. This might be considered as “forced knowledge sharing.” Not only are sales reps sharing product knowledge and the feedback from the physician, but the contact strategies are resulting in even more physician and nurse face-to-face time. This technique helps to build a progressive bridge that allows for ongoing communications with the physician and other staff members. A One-Two Punch The combination of team selling and knowledge validation allows sales reps to continually stay focused on the physicians’ needs and answer their questions in a way that leaves them confident about using the products. The dual approach also provides education to the sales reps’ customers/clients/patients so they can be more involved in their healthcare decisions. These reps should be rewarded for retaining and growing the business in tough times. Louise Anderson is President and CEO of Anderson Performance Improvement Co., Hastings, Minn., which accelerates the art of selling through the science of performance. She also is the author of Cream of the Corp., a book of practical suggestions and ingenious ways companies can get people doing things that accelerate profits. For more information, visit andersonperformance.com. PharmaVOICE welcomes comments about this article. E-mail us at [email protected]. October 2005 PharmaVOICE
