Things About Selling Cycles That A Pharmaceutical Sales Rep Needs To Know

As a pharmaceutical sales rep, you have fulfilled a standard requirement as advertised in a job ad. Now you're selling for a pharma company, and there are things which are not apparent to you unless you're as curious as a cat, and they are pretty crucial in your day-to-day job function.

One of them is Selling Cycles ...

When I think about selling cycles in Pharma one word comes to my mind – longer! Yup, it takes longer to complete a period compared to what it used to a few years ago. And I was talking not more than 5 years ago!

Customers take a longer time to decide because more people got involved as a ‘quality control’ attempt…more ‘rank and file’ to go through…more possible places where your proposal might end up without notice, but the worst ‘delay’ of all is Pharmaceutical Companies own rules and regulations.

Too many have been created thanks to BIG time Medico-legal cases (in the past and ongoing, e.g., People vs. Pfizer Inc. over Bextra’s prescription). And more are coming as necessary ‘back-side’ saving attempt.

All these affect the sales cycle.

It is safe for me to say that the pharmaceutical industry is not the only sector affected. Other areas were also affected, but I have no authority to comment on their behalf.

But I am my ‘own authority’ when it comes to pharmaceutical selling (wink!).

The good news is (despite the entire trauma); no matter how you twist and turn this industry, the ‘core’ selling cycles are the same.

They are:

1. You prospect for customers
2. You introduce the product.
3. You customize the offer.
4. You profit (when they buy and keep buying)
5. You move on

I avoid all the jargon which you probably have no memory and concept collection whatsoever and reduce it to simple, easy to understand ‘layman’s’ words.

Now allow me to explain all the ‘no-brainer’ concepts:

• Prospecting

When I started out as a sales rep over a decade ago, I took over the whole product portfolio and the territory from my senior. He probably has done an excellent job because I see the sales keep coming in month after month with minimal effort on my part.

Then a new product comes in. At that time, it was a product for Osteoporosis. All of us have to start from ground zero. The strategy from the marketing team was to focus (obviously) on the department that deals with bone and fractures, etc.. Hence we all end up at Orthopedics.

A few years down the road, we knew that the Osteoporosis product fit O& G and Geriatrics (which is under Medical better than Ortho).
What I am saying is; we could have avoided that through proper market research which apparently the company has not to look into initially. That is why this stage of selling takes longer time nowadays. The company has either learn the lesson or maybe it is just ignorance.

I’ll let the Marketing people answer that…

• Product Launch

It used to be a simple, ‘in the office meeting room,’ fills with company’s staff and a handful invited a guest. Nothing fancy, just a brief slide presentation, and everyday speech.

But things change over the years.

I remember the last product launch I attended was done in a 5-stars hotel ballroom with dance intro from professional semi-nude dancers (Vegas style). Ironically, a prominent speaker, a consultant specialist was invited to give the inaugural speech. And rumors have it that ‘the blue pill’ (start with V) launch was done from a cruise ship!

I don’t know, but that was the thing from the past. Today, we are back to fundamentals.

Like in my case where I inherit the area, I did little prospecting, and ‘launch’ if any. It would be the same for you if you took over someone’s place in a pharma company. But don’t forget; you still need to find leads and introduce (reintroduce) the product to your non-buyers or ‘lost account’ user. If you do not know what that means, what I am saying is, you still have to promote to those who use your competitors’ product or those who you have lost as your customers due to whatever reason. Clear?

• Tailor the Offer to Your Customers

In the ‘immortal’ words of my trainer, “Different folks, different strokes.”

But this is not as easy as it sounds. The biggest hurdle is actually your company. I’ve been there. And almost all the time the situation is like holding a porcupine – people keep tossing it around and hoping that one will grow tired and succumb! Yikes! I can only offer this advice in such a situation – keep working at it if you ‘feel’ it is a winning proposal.

It will stand the test of torment. I guarantee that.

For existing users, the situation is even worst. To sell more to them you have to keep customizing or else, you’ll stand a chance of losing them to your rabid competitors!

• Incentives, Bonus and Commission

Ah! Well, not all that gloomy in selling pharmaceutical products nowadays. In fact, last year alone I did bag almost 100% of the maximum incentive amount (a healthy 5 figures, close to 6 characters!). But next year I foresee a different story (that is the subject of another article of course).

Yes, you can reap the benefit of your hard work. And this is the ‘honeymoon’ period. You work just a little and get paid over and over. But bear in mind – good things don’t last. Even if it last, it would not last forever.

If that is the case, and if you are in one already, be prepared to…

• Move On

Change company, change product, changes something – it does not matter. In today’s market turmoil, often time, if you do not change, change comes to you. Ask 60 odd peoples who ‘voluntarily separated’ from our local pharmaceutical company subsidiary in 2008.

That is the situation of letting change comes to you.

Don’t wait. It is better to be prepared than being forced to prepare.

In this final word, selling cycles in pharma has not changed much over the last decade or so. They might have taken a different name but what the process is about is still the same. And you can project that 10 or 100 years into the future, and I bet I will again be writing about the same thing.