Posted by on Sep 6, 2010 in
Uncategorized Does the pharmaceutical industry face the perfect storm in the foreseeable future? It certainly appears as if we are set for one of those re-generational periods, relatively rare occurrences when the very way we approach our daily problems and issues endures a fundamental change. The pharmaceutical industry is not alone here, as many other industries are also set for a quantum shift in the way that they do business — just look at the auto industry, as an example. For the pharmaceutical consultant, charged with the responsibility of advising and leading the client, these are testing, challenging, yet exciting times, when the cream of the crop is likely to rise. It’s simply not time for the faint-hearted and it’s most definitely not time for the “status quo.”
Let’s look at the challenges ahead. First of all, the “patent cliff” is almost upon us and this is likely to unleash market forces that will completely redefine many different areas. We also know that the market itself is shifting in favour of niche solutions to increasingly complex issues, instead of the previously predominant “blockbuster” product approach. The United States Congress laboured for many a day before passing a highly controversial health-care reform bill and we are yet to see how this will slowly unfold as it will introduce tens of thousands of people to healthcare products, many for the first time, due to insurance overhaul. In almost every market, especially in the UK, budget deficits are at almost catastrophic levels and this is almost certain to drive significant reductions in health care spending. Little wonder that the share price of leading pharmaceutical companies is taking such a battering.
The heady days of the past have come to an end and the pharmaceutical consultancy must adapt to survive. When it comes to sales and marketing, it’s time to shift away from sales and more towards marketing, as we cannot rely on all the traditional methodology anymore. Not surprisingly, pharmaceutical marketing training must be reinvented, to reflect the pressures of the New World. Amongst all this change, it appears that certain jurisdictions within the United States are moving towards pharmaceutical marketing regulation, so it will be very difficult to recognise the industry as we knew it in just a few short years time.
So where should the pharmaceutical consultancy start? It will be necessary to reconsider all the emphasis that is being placed on sales and come up with innovative strategies instead. There won’t be as many sales representatives on the workforce and a more targeted group of people will need to be schooled in the intricacies of niche related pharmaceutical marketing training. While regional markets may face distinct problems, no individual market is immune to major changes taking place in other markets around the world. Particular changes in the United States market will need to be addressed, as well as potential government-led budgetary cuts in the United Kingdom. The pharmaceutical consultant must understand that to be successful in the future, and a pharma company must be able to engage different marketing techniques, capitalise on niche markets and develop much closer, more personal relationships with healthcare professionals. In short, the business relationship is likely to become far more personable, and far less number oriented.
Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of L2L Consulting, specialising in enabling pharmaceutical companies to achieve new heights of productivity and performance, throughout all levels of management and revenue generating activities.
Tags: business, business consulting, consulting, key account management, sales force effectiveness
Posted by on Sep 3, 2010 in
Uncategorized As the industry changes in shape and size, the pharmaceutical consultant is developing a new role. Recessionary forces have caused some significant developments in almost every major industry and the healthcare business was certainly not immune. As the recession unfolded, the way that pharmaceutical sales companies approached their clients started to change. Budgets were coming under increasing scrutiny and this meant that there was a trend away from hiring sales representatives. The pharmaceutical consultancy business recognised that innovation was necessary and that healthcare professionals were beginning to turn to other ways of educating themselves and reaching out for their pharmaceutical needs. Company executives need to fully understand what the social media revolution means, while they are also looking for more productive and efficient ways to sell a product.
The market research firm Cutting Edge Information tells us that a quarter of all healthcare professionals are really interested in pursuing the concept of e-detailing. This was up from maybe only one in 20 just four years back. We need to consider if doctors will be more accessible through this approach and if they will exhibit less resistance to communication as a consequence.
Pharmaceutical marketing training must evolve to counter the effects of the great recession and welcome the effects of the media revolution at the same time. Indeed, they may well need to focus more on training and education based around social media and the Internet and less on hiring and training of new sales representatives.
In the past, it was not uncommon for a typical doctor to be inundated with communications from sales reps, often from the same company. When you think how different reps may have different levels of training and may not all be able to communicate as effectively, it’s easy to understand why the average doctor would become overloaded. This was very counterproductive and caused negative backlash from the end-user community. Doctors became less and less accessible, even as sales representatives became too numerous. If you add into the mix the slowdown in the number of products on the market, it’s quite easy to see why we are now seeing a reduction in the number of sales representatives. Indeed, it is estimated that in the last three years, the total number of pharmaceutical sales representatives in the United States has shrunk by 20% or more.
Not surprisingly, pharmaceutical marketing training must recognise that the newer sales representative is far more likely to be in touch with his or her generational approach to communication. They are likely to feel far more at ease with modern Internet-based communications technology. As these new reps infiltrate the company, the pharmaceutical consultancy should help company bosses to change the way that they approach their marketing, so as to not fight this ever emerging trend.
We’re yet to see the scale of the challenge facing the industry ahead, especially the effect of the new US federal health-care regime. There are certain to be more pressures on companies to cut their overheads and as such, we can expect the pharmaceutical consultant to concentrate more and more on “e-detailing” and the way that this wave of the future can help to restructure pharmaceutical sales.
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.
Tags: business, business consulting, consulting, key account management, sales force effectiveness
Posted by on Aug 28, 2010 in
Uncategorized Customer contribution must become a more important metric, when key account management designation is under consideration. It is no longer acceptable for traditional measures to be used and the pharmaceutical consultant must tell senior management that it needs a better definition of a client’s contribution. In the days when money seemed to flow a lot more freely and the business world was far less complex, management decision-makers could often refer to the monthly sales volume, or market share when considering how important the particular client was to the overall mix. Quite simply, the more money that came through this particular client pipeline, the more money in terms of time, effort and resources could be placed into the pot by the pharmaceutical company, to make sure that that client was likely to stay around.
Not surprisingly, pharmaceutical marketing training teaches us that key account management is only one part of several major components, when customer relationship marketing and management is considered. While considering the management of key accounts, it’s important to analyse the customer portfolio, consider the lifetime value potential, an increasingly more important metric that should determine whether the life cycle is likely linked to a particular product, trend or other value. The pharmaceutical consultancy is well aware how key account management revolves around the ability to develop a meaningful relationship and it almost goes without saying that one size most definitely does not fit all, as far as this is concerned.
When it comes to customer contribution, this can often be rather difficult to quantify. Can we assume that the customer is a strategic ally of some kind in the marketplace? As politics within the industry becomes ever more prevalent, it’s quite conceivable that a customer could be designated as “key,” even though the actual financial contribution to the company’s turnover is relatively small. When it comes to lobbying activities or other somewhat intangible measurements, the company could be well advised to pay particular attention to this client, elevating them to a position alongside those who contribute far more significantly in financial terms.
Pharmaceutical marketing training must be structured in such a way that the relatively diverse contributions of each and every client can be ascertained and we need to see how these subtle nuances can be manipulated in favour of the company. Does this mean that the pharmaceutical consultant must also be an expert in psychology and should seek to train all those who come into contact with these key accounts in the subtle nuances associated?
By some estimation, almost 2/3 of pharmaceutical companies in the market today still consider key account management to be largely ruled by sales volume. This is where a good pharmaceutical consultancy will step in, bringing education to the line and helping to educate representatives for the task ahead. As it becomes ever more difficult to adequately communicate with the end user, it follows that the company should become ever more strategic in the way that it micromanages its existing client base. Pharmaceutical marketing training will need to avoid the use of a broad brush in the future, but focus more on the touch of an artist repainting the Sistine Chapel, as key account management comes to terms with this new reality.
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.
Tags: business, business consulting, consulting, key account management, sales force effectiveness
Posted by on Aug 27, 2010 in
Uncategorized Perhaps more than at any time in recent memory, the pharmaceutical industry is at a crossroads. There are going to be substantial changes ahead as a multitude of forces are working behind the scenes. The United States market is going to change considerably and we are yet to understand how these effects will unfold and affect the healthcare market around the world. As the economic slowdown unfolds, the marketplace is going to be redefined and values are going to be reinterpreted. We live in the era of communication revolution and the patient is now going to be far more educated as he or she has access to information that would otherwise previously have been unavailable. Specific to the healthcare business, new opportunities will soon arise, as “niche” products take on a far greater share of the market and as previous patents start to run out.
As we get ready to reach this crossroads, the pharmaceutical consultant will find a much larger role in the potential success of a typical pharmaceutical sales company. Now is the time to become the confident leader and to help ensure that the company’s senior management does not stick to a “head in the sand” approach to this modern-day marketing evolution.
Pharmaceutical marketing training must focus on a very dynamic and emerging industry. This will be the time to question the value of everything, to see whether a product should be pursued, to see how budgets are made up and it is also the time for a forward reaching company to explore market innovation, rather than be classified as an “also-ran.”
While in some countries regulation might dictate how a company reaches its end-user, we can be sure that the end-user is far more educated than ever before. We can thank the Internet for this higher level of education and we can see the vast numbers of people who are discovering this resource every day; witness also the new smartphone vehicle, which brings information to everybody’s fingertips. The social media revolution has allowed people to interact with others like never before as they conduct their research and they now receive the input of a variety of different parties, in addition to the traditional doctor. This in itself is redefining the way that the pharmaceutical consultant should steer the company, as traditional methods of communication must take into account social media.
In this evolving arena, pharmaceutical marketing training should include a brand-new module and should ensure that all key personnel are trained in the values of communicating this way. We have already seen a significant increase in the amount of “e-detailing” between companies and healthcare professionals, as we see a general trend away from the traditional, formulated business approach to marketing as a whole.
A pharmaceutical consultancy can begin to determine who the real stakeholders are in this market and advise the company accordingly. It is certain that there are far more individuals and companies outside of the traditional marketing environment, all making their voices heard and it’s important to determine the relative importance. We are seeing a trend towards “pull” marketing in many industries and the pharmaceutical consultant should help his or her client understand that this may require the company to take a hard turn, when it reaches the crossroads immediately ahead.
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.
Tags: business, business consulting, consulting, key account management, sales force effectiveness
Posted by on Aug 20, 2010 in
Uncategorized Have we been focusing on a “one-size-fits-all” approach to sales force effectiveness? This is a question that we have to ask ourselves after all, due to the fact that the average pharmaceutical sales force budget is under considerable pressure and the pharmaceutical consultant is being asked leading questions by senior management within the company. While it is always true to say that the 80/20 rule is a fantastic indicator throughout the business world and we know that a certain proportion of our sales force is going to be highly productive while many are not, it’s high time that the typical sales company and pharmaceutical consultancy addresses exactly how salesforce effectiveness is – well, just not effective.
Consider many of the metrics that are traditional in our world and consider the approach that is often used as a sweeping, across-the-board approach to the issue. There is far too much generalisation and far too little segmentation, resulting in “below par” results. We can see evidence of this when we look at high-volume prescribers, who represent a favoured port of call due to the fact that they seem to have unlimited budgets. Often, an approach to this particular doctor will be based on an assumption that he or she is inclined to spend in this particular niche, without regard to that individual’s particular circumstances, triggers, drivers, likes, distastes or motivators. It’s almost as if they are treating the professional as an automaton and this is surely not what pharmaceutical marketing training seeks to teach, is it?
We need to focus on industry intelligence, casting our net wide to find out how competitors interact with particular professionals. It’s not acceptable to use this metric alone when deciding to target, yet this kind of broad brush approach is often used. Surely, results are evident, but just consider how these could have been far more fruitful if a different tactic or approach had been employed. In the quest for the correct tactic and approach, we need to analyse the group behaviour of a broad range of end-users, instead. We cannot assume that a particular course of action is going to work and we need to dig deeper to really find out what drives a decision-maker to make that decision. Through a process of segmentation, we can arrive at a variety of different categories and can start to explore more productive results. The pharmaceutical consultancy must embrace diversity and move away from a rather general, middle-of-the-road approach to pharmaceutical marketing training in the modern day.
In the past, it may have been acceptable to buy potentially valuable “intelligence” data, lists and resources from traditional sources. These could well be the same lists used by competitors and this practice could well have contributed to the overload experienced by certain doctors, due to that style of targeting. It is inconceivable that we could be relying on this style of approach considering how much is at stake and the pharmaceutical consultant really needs to steer senior management toward a better way of analysing data, to come up with a much better solution. Members of the salesforce itself may already have a lot of this data and intelligence, due to their one on one interaction over the years. Use this kind of intelligence wisely.
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.
Tags: business, business consulting, consulting, key account management, sales force effectiveness
Posted by on Jun 28, 2010 in
Uncategorized Some enterprising individuals are put off by the thought of buying an existing business for sale, as they see it as a veritable leap into the dark. If they have never been involved in such a transaction before, it can seem to be very alien. Most of us are used to engaging in transactions where we buy a tangible product like vehicles or houses and in these cases “what we see is what we get.” A business valuation can be composed of several intangibles as well as inspectable assets and in many cases goodwill factors into the equation. In a service related business, goodwill and a maintainable client list can be critical elements, but the process of due diligence involves the revelation and exploration of numerous areas and documents.
Always remember that there are two different viewpoints here. The seller will have a clear indication of the worth that he or she places on the business. Expect to see a certain amount of natural enthusiasm, as a lot of hard work and dedication has undoubtedly been put into the business by the outgoing seller. While you should always maintain an element of respect for the sellers’ point of view, you must look at all documentation and evidence in the hard light of day and understand that it is up to you to determine if you should buy business interests according to the specific value you set.
When you decide that you want to move forward and investigate whether to buy a business of interest, understand that this may be a lengthy process. At this time, you had better have a good level of common sense and humor and be ready to communicate at length with the seller.
It is highly recommended that you bring in expert advisers and utilize proven resources, especially if you have no real experience of running a business in this line, or niche. This is not to say that you will simply hand off all the work to these advisers, barely looking at the documentation presented to you, as the decision-making must in the end be made by you and you alone. Be prepared to review all documentation and financials yourself first and be sure that you get a reasonable feeling about them all before handing them off for further processing.
A red flag will be raised if some of the financial documents are incomplete, information is missing, or they are poorly balanced or even not reconciled. Certain precedents must be maintained and accounting procedures completed. You may be asked to sign some non-disclosure or non-compete documents before these are made available, but the financials are the rock upon which everything else is built.
Each and every operation is different in its own right and no two businesses are the same. So many external influences are involved and any number of different events can come to bear to create a variety of different situations. You will undoubtedly uncover some surprises and come across unusual figures and facts, but remember that while industry benchmarks are definitely of interest, you are focused on real-world information here.
Richard Parker is the author of the How to Buy a Good Business at a Great Price series. As President and founder of Diomo Corporation – The Business Buyer Resource Center, his materials, seminars and consulting have helped thousands of business buyers realize their dream to buy a business.
Tags: advertising, business, consulting, marketing, sales
Posted by on May 24, 2010 in
Uncategorized Don’t have any confusion about it, buying a business for sale is a multi-step process with each step being essential. You should never think about proceeding to the next position until the preceding step is complete and whatever you do, don’t be tempted to short-cut ever. Adequate preparation and time spent revealing everything there is to know about the business will be well spent here and will help to ensure that no horror stories are uncovered once you take the helm.
A lot of information can be revealed before you even talk to a prospective seller. One of the most important questions you must ask yourself before you go forward is what kind of enthusiasm you possess for the type of business you have your eye on. Do you really want to be involved in that industry and does it represent an area that you truly want to be engrossed in? Be advised, that unless you want to be a completely “absentee” owner and are considering the many additional steps that you need to take if this is the case, you should be enthusiastic about the business that you are getting involved in.
When you are conducting your due diligence, make sure that you inspect all documentation:
* Financials: these documents will include balance sheets, payroll records, tax reports, reconciliation documents and profit and loss statements. Be wary if the seller says that there are a lot of “cash sales,” as unless these have been declared to the tax authorities, you cannot count them and they should be ignored.
* Employee records: including longevity, pay scales, behavior, and attendance.
* Licenses: including federal, state, city, county as appropriate, plus any certification licenses you must possess to operate the business. It would be in your best interests to look at records independently, certainly if you believe there may have been any problems in the past or possible discrepancies.
* Equipment records: detailing the age, cost of replacement, any required inspections and associated results and details on maintenance investments.
* Inventory records: re-saleability, turnover and overall condition.
* Supplier contracts: are they transferable, do you have alternatives and is there goodwill?
* Property records: are any rental agreements transferable to you without any problem, as this can be particularly important.
When you have inspected all agreements, contracts, licenses and records, you may find they are in good order and will work for you and then need to turn to the question of setting a good value as you buy business assets. There are many different ways of looking at this. Here are some of the methods commonly used to calculate:
* Asset-based multipliers, are where a total value of the assets is used to determine a value.
* Rule of thumb, where industry benchmarks are used to establish the value (not recommended).
* Revenue-based multipliers, are where a percentage or a multiple of the monthly or annual revenue is used. Again not recommended.
* Cash flow multiplier – where the business owner’s profit is added to the salary and realized perks, with a number of expenses deducted. This method is most commonly used to determine the value of a business.
Any number of documents and figures can be used by the owner to back up a claim and it is up to you to take these at their value and determine the appropriate conclusions. What is the age and reputation of the business, the level of competition expected, its physical location in many cases, the legal structure of the business, the quality of the premises and/or the difficulty in obtaining a new lease. When it comes to a business for sale, all will help you to determine whether you should buy a business like this, or not.
Richard Parker is the President and founder of the prestigious Diomo Corporation – The Business Buyer Resource Center. His celebrated materials, seminars and consulting have encouraged thousands of aspiring business buyers from around the World to pursue their dream to buy a business.
Tags: advertising, business, consulting, marketing, sales
Posted by on May 5, 2010 in
Uncategorized The role of the pharmaceutical sales representative has often been challenged from a public relations perspective. There are some who believe that the pharmaceutical company, through their representative, retains more than the appropriate share of influence over the healthcare practitioner’s decision-making process. Every now and again we hear that much more time is spent on pharmaceutical marketing efforts than is spent engaged with research and development for the product itself. Nevertheless, pharmaceutical marketing techniques are essential in disseminating the information necessary for the practitioner to make a final deliberation as to whether the product should be prescribed or not. As part of this process, the sales force is critical in promoting the product within the market, efficiently and profitably.
In most recent times there has been a move in certain markets to restrict the giving of gifts, including drug samples, by pharmaceutical sales people to practitioners. One of the largest physician and hospital networks in Massachusetts, Partners Healthcare, has published guidelines that prohibit any researchers and physicians from within the network from receiving drug samples or gifts from any pharmaceutical makers. Now, sales representatives must get written permission before they are allowed to interact with the network’s employees and if any drug samples are provided, the samples must be forwarded to a centralised system, so that they are distributed anonymously and for the use of the entire network. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the guidelines as written correspond to a “serious and comprehensive step forward in the rapidly evolving arena of medicine and its relationship with industry.”
According to the originators of this policy, the recommendations came from an internal review, where potential conflicts of interest were analysed over the preceding two years. There was no question that the relationship between a healthcare professional and the pharmaceutical company was an important one, but that some of the techniques used, according to the network, went further than the straightforward dissemination of scientific knowledge, and indeed potentially compromised the system’s integrity.
Some have suggested that gifts or drug samples may adversely affect the healthcare professional’s neutrality and may promote them to issue or prescribe the associated drugs more favourably than any others.
It remains to be seen how the developments in Massachusetts pan out, or whether similar proposals are adopted within other networks or jurisdictions. This does represent another example of how the pharmaceutical marketing industry is changing and moving with the times. It is yet another reason why pharmaceutical companies should devote their resources to pharmaceutical consultants, so that the consultant can ensure that the team is up-to-date and ahead of the competitive game. Healthcare legislation is all around us, even as we are all getting used to the importance of new communication methods and as such pharmaceutical sales training is so important. The significance of primary accounts will increase in the market, as there is more reliance on two-way communication and information exchange. Thus key account management training is a critical component of pharmaceutical sales training and the competent pharmaceutical marketing consultant is best positioned to handle it all.
Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of L2L Consulting, specialising in enabling pharmaceutical companies to achieve new heights of productivity and performance, throughout all levels of management and revenue generating activities.
Tags: advertising, business, consulting, marketing, sales
Posted by on May 3, 2010 in
Uncategorized The recent landmark passage of health care reform legislation in the United States surely represents one of the most significant milestones in the global health industry and will certainly drive changes that will be far-reaching for all pharmaceutical companies and their marketing operations. The common marketing landscape has been changing in recent years, in part in response to the lengthy worldwide recession and this has provided notable challenges for every pharmaceutical company and supporting consultant organisation. What seemed to work before does not work anymore and as such, organisations have been forced to become more strategically aligned, focusing more on the consumer, in order for them to be heeded in the marketplace.
The legislation that has unfolded in the United States could be viewed on the positive side for pharmaceutical companies, if 30 million or so people are now brought into the insurance coverage field, as there is significant potential for consequential sales. However, the very make-up of the market will significantly change in the US and as health insurance companies will have to adhere to a whole new raft of legislation, standards and procedures, budgets may be challenged. In short, the composition of the redesigned market is yet to be ascertained.
With such a large number of potential end-users entering the marketplace, new methods of information dissemination will undoubtedly take hold. Pharmaceutical marketing methods are having to come to terms with the new digital communication age, opening online channels that were simply not there before, as healthcare providers use these channels to communicate with their patients and clients.
As information is disseminated online, consumers may in increasing numbers be driven by social media and word of mouth stimuli and healthcare providers may find that they have to rework their positions, as those who recommend products to the final marketplace. Not surprisingly, pharmaceutical sales training techniques and approaches will need to be continuously modified, so that the company’s message is not diluted or delivered in an inefficient manner, within this new and evolving communications framework.
It’s likely that there will be a shift towards prevention and health awareness and that more funds will be allocated from a global perspective towards this facet of education and the dissemination of products and services accordingly. In terms of its role as a good corporate citizen, the pharmaceutical company will now need to be seen as much as anything else as an educator and a role model in preaching and promoting good health care practices. Furthermore, it still remains to be seen how a restructured healthcare market will take into account the revision of funding sources, as a shift is made within insurance markets and as new consumers enter the picture. New accounts will be defined in different ways and therefore key account management training, as part of an overall pharmaceutical sales training field, will be even more critical.
There is little doubt that, as the United States healthcare industry is completely reinvented, changes will impact the pharmaceutical marketing business all around. Change is the byword as the entire business repositions and escapes from recession, with the new digital communication methodology completely rewriting the marketing rules, as we attempt to bring the correct message to the end-user.
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.
Tags: advertising, business, consulting, marketing, sales
Posted by on Apr 30, 2010 in
Uncategorized The pharmaceutical company is constantly trying to make sure that it has the right sales people at its disposal and must pay a lot of attention to how it attracts, motivates, handles and manages them. After all, the company has built a great position for itself in the market and has put a lot of effort into developing its product line and polishing its reputation. Each company is of course very complicated, has a lot of moving parts and it is quite the challenge to balance this operation. The organisation will have to pay much attention to how its all important clients are handled and this will involve the development of key account management techniques and policies, to ensure successful relationships with implied integrity.
Much will hinge on the success of key account management training and an organisation may be stringent in the development of policies and procedures and very clear at the senior level about its objectives. This element is so important that much attention should be given to communication with sales staff through pharmaceutical sales training, with the result that further communication, two-way, between the company and its client is always fruitful.
In truth, a relationship between a supplier and buyer may rise or fall on the strength of communication, which can sometimes be as relatively tenuous as an interpersonal relationship between two people — the key account client contact and the key account manager at the pharmaceutical company end.
As soon as a pharmaceutical company knows that a certain account is “key,” pharmaceutical sales training kicks in to ensure that the details of this relationship are perfectly disseminated and communicated throughout the company to all of those who are impacted. In doing so, these actions and responses are coordinated and consistent. Of course it is difficult to automate every element of the policy; after all, human elements are always present. Never put so much attention on a certain individual at an interface, so that the relationship breaks down if something goes wrong. Rather, it should be necessary to build a network of channels between the company and its clients, both formal and informal if needed, so that the risk of catastrophic failure is minimised.
The pharmaceutical company would be best served by establishing and implementing regular development, planning and review meetings and exercises, with the clear aim of “over delivering” to satisfy the relationship.
The primary motivators behind the ongoing establishment of a relationship are seldom restricted to finance alone, and it is likely that the sharing of pertinent and confidential information between both parties could be key to the ongoing relationship. As such, the pharmaceutical company must be well aware of who, within the client organisation, is the key person responsible for receiving such information, clearly identifying the role and ensuring success. The challenge is to establish a sophisticated level of interpersonal relations and communication, without placing too much emphasis on the importance of any one individual within either organisation. In this way, should one “key” individual be removed or depart for whatever reason, ongoing function may be retained.
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.
Tags: advertising, business, consulting, marketing, sales