Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - February 2008 - (Page 8)

SALES FORCE As a result of the work, one of the four markets achieved an 83% gain in value sales and 59% growth in units in the first five months after the new sales model was implemented. Success in the first four markets has led to the project being rolled out to another 10 markets. environment through 2010 was defined and the trajectory of the pace of change plotted. This allowed early identification of warning indicators which would require a response from the company. A further IMS client engagement — again with a top ten pharma — involved working across the company’s whole portfolio of general medicine and specialist care products in a single country. This covered both the primary and secondary care sectors where the whole environment was experiencing rapid change. The company’s current sales model was traditional and not equipped for the future, requiring the development of new skills, as revealed by the SWOT analysis (see Figure 3). With the SWOT analysis in place, a score card was then developed that rated a range of sales models options against key criteria (see Figure 5) and facilitated the ultimate choice of sales model. These tools, combined with IMS’ knowledge of best practice, enabled the company to achieve the optimum reduction in sales force size and structure and increase market adoption. Particularly crucial for the organisation was building the capability to show clear clinical benefits from its products, based on health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) data to support acceptance and recommendations by the key decision makers. A third case study, focused on change implementation, involved a top European company that leads the market in a specialist category of products. This company urgently needed to re-educate its sales teams so they could deal with switching customers from a mature, marketleading product to a new product in countries where the key decision- makers were changing. This involved working closely with the client’s local management and sales teams in four local affiliates using four different languages. In-depth interviews were conducted and reps accompanied on sales visits, before introducing a programme of classroom teaching and coaching for all individual sales team members. As a result of the work, one of the four markets achieved an 83% gain in value sales and 59% growth in units in the first five months after the new sales model was implemented (see Figure 6). Success in the first four markets has led to the project being rolled out to another 10 markets. Improved value proposition By taking this three-step approach, companies can obtain a ‘right fit’ sales operating model and organisational structure that matches their particular circumstances at a given time and is proofed against future risk over a three to five-year period. Furthermore, it is an ‘end-to-end’ approach that involves full commitment from the very beginning, unraveling a company’s problems, setting a plan for reorganising the sales process and enabling change whilst monitoring the impact. Undergoing the process of diagnosis and constructing a roadmap for implementation ensures that companies build selling muscle in the right areas to equip them to compete in future. At the same time, providing grass-roots help with implementation is fundamental. This approach goes further than merely satisfying stakeholders: it provides an improved value proposition to a broad range of stakeholders, including shareholders and employees as well as customers and market influencers. Now, at last, the industry is beginning to take more decisive action to address the changing healthcare landscape. This requires innovative commercial operating models to drive approval, acceptance and adoption. Rather than a threat, the new environment should be seen as a significant opportunity for pharmaceutical companies to recreate value for customers and, through closer interaction, influence the outcome of change. ■ Reference: Source for all figures: IMS Management Consulting About the Authors Anthony Morton-Small is a principal, sales and account management, at IMS Health, with a focus on designing, managing and implementing sales force effectiveness solutions. Formerly with GlaxoSmithKline, Anthony has over 10 years of pharmaceutical industry experience addressing issues in sales force effectiveness, marketing effectiveness, franchise management and portfolio optimisation. He has particular therapeutic expertise in CNS, respiratory, anti-virals/HIV, diabetes and smoking cessation, from brand launch to product maturity and patent expiry. David Ziedman is director, sales force effectiveness at IMS Health, with particular expertise in resource optimisation, call planning, compensation systems, and issues around sales force size, structure and product allocation. He draws on extensive experience of the sales function and a broader knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry to help companies optimise the deployment of their sales resources and improve sales productivity. During the course of his career David has worked in the USA, Benelux, Italy, France, and the UK and currently resides in The Netherlands. 8 FEBRUARY 2008 SALES ENVIRONMENT

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - February 2008

Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - February 2008
Contents
From the Editor
News and Analysis
Brussels Report
Calendar
R&D: Innovation - Learning to Share
Drug Launch - The Preparation Game
Q&A - Getting a Head Start
Regulatory Compliance - Credible Compliance
Clinical Trials - Establishing Trials in China
The Mix - Relevant ROI
Comment - Taming the Trader
Last Word - Under the Microscope

Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - February 2008