Blog Network Association Review

A typical pharmaceutical company is very complex. Its primary job is to produce cutting edge products, to make a fundamental difference to the livelihood and well-being of the patients. From research to product development, many individuals are involved. Once a product is sanctioned and made available to market, an army of sales representatives must be deployed, together with their support network. At the head of this operation is the senior executive team, all of whom have a certain number of dedicated tasks to perform themselves, on a daily basis. At the other end of the spectrum, a healthcare professional needs to understand and have access to the products that the pharmaceutical company produces. Healthcare professionals have a distinct organisational structure of their own and need to focus on the issues of their own clients, their patients. Many different distractions and problems exist within these organisations as well, setting complex parameters for consideration.

With all this abject complexity, it’s a minor miracle that the actual product makes its way from drawing board into the patient’s hands, especially considering the amount of regulation and red tape that is inherent in the industry. Fundamentally, the pharmaceutical company has to make sales or they will not survive, but if you analyse the situation it is amazing to see that the actual process of selling can be determined by a relatively simple interaction, often taking just a few moments, when a junior member of the sales team engages, one on one, with the healthcare professional’s decision-maker. This surely represents a pressure packed moment, if you look at it this way, with much riding on the outcome and it is true to say that many organisations do not pay enough attention to these critical moments; they need to field a team that is ultimately prepared to get involved with the job through comprehensive pharma training.

The professional is looking for a relationship and not an individual transaction. This is why some resistance is often evident, as the professional may feel that the sales rep is interested in a numbers game alone, not particularly vested in the client’s outcome. Generally, key account management training emphasises again and again how a concerted and considered approach must be taken and how the company’s team must be trained to work cohesively as a force for action. This is so critical, as any organisation that does not understand this and leaves the job of building relationships to some junior member on the team cannot hope to succeed. Much more is demanded of the relationship, yet often a more junior person knows more about the particular wants and needs of the professional than the more senior executives within the organisation.

The sales representative must be taught, through comprehensive key account management training, what the difference is between representing the interests of the client and the interests of the company. By standing on the client side and looking back to the organisation, the client needs and interests can be addressed more effectively, and the many individual team members within the company engaged to address them. The establishment of a relationship is fundamental. Once this position is enhanced and less emphasis is placed on the generation of more income from the client, the client will become readily aware of this change in position and is likely to promote a much more fruitful association.

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.