Some Valuable Guidelines On Having Pity For Sales Reps
posted in Bricks and Mortar Business |How do you see your sales reps, are they underachievers or overachievers? Are you able to motivate them enough, or do you push them too far? Are you aware that they are probably the most significant link in your entire organisation’s product chain? Get ready to answer a number of these questions as the pharmaceutical sales industry undergoes a process of reinvention. Salesforce effectiveness and the importance of effective implementation are critical factors today and the pharmaceutical consultant must carefully look at all sales force management practices. It’s time to realise that we must be more focused when it comes to communicating with the professional end user, but we also need to look inwardly and reinterpret the role of the sales rep as an individual contributor, taking into account all the different motivators and the things that drive them forward, professionally.
Many companies think that they should deploy their sales representatives with as tight a focus as possible. Pharmaceutical marketing training is quite set in its approach to techniques and products. Why is it that some companies believe that their sales representatives are incapable of “multitasking,” as if their efficiency trails off when they have to focus on more than one product? From listening to the professional prescriber, the pharmaceutical consultancy knows that they often complain about being overloaded, having to meet with too many of these various sales representatives and as a consequence feel that the entire process is not personal enough. The doctor has to focus on a vast array of individual products and it is likely that a meeting with a pharma sales rep would be far more productive if a rep was able to cover a broader range of solutions. It’s up to the pharmaceutical consultancy to help the company move towards this different approach. This may not work in a particular market, within a particular route or in certain product areas, but the company must be willing to gather analytical data to give them a better grasp of potential.
It’s so important to understand what drives each individual member of the sales team. Compensation is of course a powerful motivator, but unless you know what makes them “tick” and what is important to him or her, there’s a danger that you can completely miss the target with compensation. The uniform package will definitely not work and you should avoid an “adequate” approach at all times. If the rep is able to easily meet targets and bonuses are not structured appropriately, this person is far less likely to help you meet corporate goals. While compensation is a very big issue for every organisation, it must be approached very carefully.
Remember to treat the sales representative very carefully, as it is likely that the interpersonal communication built up between this person and the end-user is a critical ingredient to success. In most cases, pharmaceutical marketing training should be able to reveal each individual’s dominant strengths and work to support them by providing the necessary resources and products. The pharmaceutical consultant should analyse the interaction with the end-user, to provide the information necessary to make this kind of decision.
Alan Gillies is the CEO of L2L Consulting, a cutting-edge pharma consultancy firm which specialises in optimising productivity and performance within international companies by applying tailored organisational strategies.
