There’s an unspoken law in some companies—and I’ve been in medical sales long enough to see this play out like a bad rerun.
When revenue slumps?
Micromanage the sales team.
Don’t investigate root causes.
Don’t hold strategic leaders accountable.
Just tighten the leash on the reps.
Easy, right?
Let me take you on a little journey through this corporate
classic. If you're a fellow rep—especially in the pharma or medical device
world—you might want to grab popcorn. Or Panadol.
The Script Never Changes
From my very first sales role until now, this seems to be
the default response whenever revenue takes a dive.
Doesn’t matter if the root cause is something beyond the
reps' control.
Out of Stock (OOS) situation?
Must be the rep’s fault.
Manufacturing delay?
Why didn’t the rep “forecast better”?
HQ decides to reassign a product from the sales team to
tender business halfway through the quarter?
Oh, too bad. Still your KPI.
We’ve seen it all. It’s like they wrote a handbook titled:
"Revenue Down? Blame The Reps—A Beginner’s Guide to
Dodging Real Accountability."
Let's Talk About Out-of-Stock (OOS)
Now, this one deserves its own spotlight.
In our industry, OOS happens more than we’d like.
And let me say this loud for those in the
back:
Sales reps don’t control inventory.
We don’t control raw material procurement, nor are we huddled in lab coats at the production line overseeing batch releases.
And yet, when products go out of stock—who gets the call?
Us.
We have to face the angry customers.
We have to explain, smooth things over, and somehow… still
hit our targets.
And what’s the company’s response?
“Please increase your field activities.”
Oh sure, let me just go and sell an empty blister pack,
shall I?
Micromanagement to the Rescue (Or So They Think)
When the top brass feels the heat, they rarely sit down and
ask:
“Where did the planning go wrong?”
“What structural issues are affecting our revenue?”
“Are we pricing ourselves out of the market?”
“Did regulatory changes affect procurement flow?”
Nope.
Instead, it becomes:
- Submit daily call logs (with photos, thank you very much)
- Attend twice-a-week “alignment” calls (which align nothing)
- Update CRM in real-time, or else
- Track every kilometer, every clinic visit, every tick box
It’s almost like they think being a rep is a video game and
more screen time = higher scores.
They reduce our work to a checklist, then wonder why
morale tanks.
Let’s Not Forget the Reassignments
Here’s another gem.
Imagine this: you’ve worked hard to build a relationship
with a key hospital.
You’ve seeded a product, provided support, even gotten them
to start using it.
Then suddenly—BOOM.
The product gets moved from LPO to Tender business.
And guess what?
It’s no longer under your scope. It now “belongs” to a
different division.
Bye-bye commission. Bye-bye ownership.
And here’s the kicker: when the Tender team fails to secure
the bid or deliver stock, the original rep still gets blamed for “not
maintaining rapport.”
How do you win a game where the rules change mid-match, and
the referee is blindfolded?
When KPIs Become a Joke
When the higher-ups panic, they love to “review KPIs.”
But instead of refining them for clarity and fairness, they
often make them worse.
Let’s take an example:
* Product A is OOS?
→ KPI stays.
* Product B reassigned?
→ KPI stays.
* Product C newly launched but not registered in key
hospitals?
→ KPI stays.
It’s almost like KPIs are set in stone, regardless of
reality.
Reality check: targets without resources = fantasy.
The Psychology of Easy Blame
I get it. It’s human nature.
When things go south, people want someone to blame.
And sales reps?
We’re easy targets.
We’re on the ground.
We’re visible.
We’re “expendable” in the eyes of some who’ve never carried a bag or waited outside a busy clinic at 7:30AM.
Micromanagement is the path of least resistance.
- It's easier to monitor than to mentor.
- Easier to scrutinize than to support.
- Easier to add tasks than to remove barriers.
It creates the illusion of action—without actually solving
anything.
What They Should Do Instead
Now let’s be fair.
I don’t just want to rant—I want to propose.
Here’s what should happen instead of the
micromanage-and-blame strategy:
1. Fix The Real Bottlenecks
If products are consistently OOS, trace it back:
- Supply chain?
- Forecasting issues?
- Unrealistic timelines?
Bring sales into the planning loop.
We’re not oracles, but
we’re closer to the ground than anyone.
2. Use Data, Not Gut Feel
Stop relying on “gut instinct” to reassign territories or
adjust pricing.
Use real field feedback and sales data to make strategic
calls.
3. Support > Surveillance
Instead of tracking every breath we take, ask us:
- What support do you need?
- Is marketing doing their part?
- Do you have the tools to win?
Trust your reps like professionals—not school kids.
4. Redesign KPIs With Flexibility
Factor in:
- Product availability
- Regulatory hurdles
- Hospital bureaucracy
If a KPI is unachievable due to internal factors, don’t
penalize the rep.
Adjust.
That’s what fair performance management looks like.
Here’s What Happens When You Don’t
If you keep micromanaging during downturns, here’s what
you’ll get:
- Demoralised reps.
They’ll stop going
the extra mile. Why bother?
- Talent drain.
Your best people
will quietly walk to your competitor. And when they win back that key account
you ignored? Don’t act surprised.
- False productivity.
You’ll get lots of
activity reports, selfies in the field, GPS logs—but little actual value.
Because micromanagement doesn’t improve performance. It just improves the illusion of control.
A Note to Fellow Reps
If you’re in this boat, let me just say: I see you.
You’re not crazy. You’re not lazy.
You’re working in a system that sometimes blames the very
people keeping the engine running.
Keep doing your best.
Speak up when needed.
And don’t be afraid to call out the BS—with tact, of course.
You’ve survived OOS, unrealistic targets, reassigned
products, and more.
That’s not incompetence—that’s resilience.
Final Thoughts: Let’s Lead Better
If you’re a manager reading this—and I know some of you
are—this isn’t a personal attack.
But maybe it’s time we all admit that the go-to reaction of “micromanage when scared” is broken.
The sales team is your front line.
Treat them like allies, not liabilities.
When revenue is down, that’s not the time to zoom in with a
magnifying glass.
That’s the time to zoom out—and ask better questions.
Because the real fix?
It rarely lies in controlling people harder.
It lies in understanding systems deeper.
Disclaimer: This post is based on real experiences
across various teams and companies. Any resemblance to actual policies or
management styles is entirely coincidental (or is it?). 😉