Pharmaceutical Selling: From Induction to Evolution, A Complete Guide

1. Course Facilitator: Dr. Awais e Siraj
 MBBS (KE, 1994)
 MBA (SGBS, Glasgow 1997)
 Product Manager 1997-2001
 Medical and Regulatory Affairs Manager 1999-2003
 Business Unit Manager 2003 to 2006
 Sales Manager, Boston Scientific Regional Office, Beirut,
Lebanon
 Assistant Professor, Department of Management Sciences,
COMSATS, Islamabad.
 Publication:
 The Art and Craft of Pharmaceutical Selling: GA
Communications, Lahore, 2003.

2. Why are we all here?
 To sharpen our ‘selling skills’
 To have a better understanding of our customer
 To prepare ourselves better for our communication
 Foster an insatiable will to win
 Victory belongs to those who want it most
 Be constantly impatient with the status quo
 Remain highly ethical at all times
 Demand to hear the truth from our customers and
our business partners.
 Focus on continuous improvement

3. Medical
KNOW-
Market LEDGE
Product
Theoretical
SELLING
Anlytical SKILLS
Pragmatic
Pillars of Pharmaceutical Selling
Attitude
APTI-
TUDE
Passion

4. Patient, Efficacy
Job, Salary, Safety
Targets Cost effectiveness
Incentives
Cure, Cost
Information Prescription
Queries
Fee
s
Medical Representative
ine
Doctor Patient
di c
ey
Me
Sa
Mon
les Manufacturer, Importer
m ans Ch
Sa hi p or Distributor em
lar i st
y, s
Be Medicine
ne
fit
s
Money
The Pharmaceutical Sales Cycle

5. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 Basics
 Pharma companies and their salespeople
 Positive frame of mind
 Goal setting – the key to success
 Mission statement

6. Baby Steps!!!!

7. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 Gear up for sales call
 Pre – Call Planning
 Who are your customers?
 Know your customers
 Examining your wardrobe
 Timing
 Rehearsal

8. Rehearsal

9. Pareto’s Law

10. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 Taking care of your means of transport
 Traveling
 Distribution and distributors
 Chemist first!
 Arrange your belongings
 While in the waiting room, observe
 Liaison with gatekeepers
 Shaping initial discussion

12. PROSPECTING
 Identify markets, segments, competition and
requirements needs to be met
 To find potential customers; to Qualify, Classify and
Categorize
 Basis for the strategy for the Sales call
 Proper allocation of time and frequency of sales
calls.
 A continuous process ; all changes must be known
at all relevant levels

13. Pre-call Planning
 Align your objectives
 Do you have a clear call objective?
 Is the objective identified on your strategic
direction?
 Is the objective S. M. A. R. T?
 What can you offer that may be of interest
to the customer?

14. Pre-call Planning
 Do you have a clear call
objective?
 Secure a purchase order for 100
packs of a specific injection by the
end of the day
 Gain commitment from a targeted
physician to a 6-week evaluation of
a specific new product

15. Pre-call Planning
 Is the objective identified in your
strategic direction/Performance
Goals?
 Confirm that it is a priority for your territory
and division
 What tactics are linked to this particular
strategy?
 Does your plan support the chosen tactics?

16. Pre-call Planning
 Is your objective
S.M.A.R.T?
 S pecific
 M easurable
 A chievable
 R elevant
 T ime-bound

17. Pre-call Planning
Do you have what they want?
 What influences them:  Your Offerings:
 Third-party references  Clinical support
 Revenue to the hospital  Financial savings plans
 Delivery Support  Free delivery
 Product Availability  Next day service
 Recognition  International data
 Full line supplier  Broad product portfolio
 Innovation and technology  Proprietary technology
 Price  Price discounts
 Technical Support  Product in-services
 Relationships  Professional support
 Congress involvement.  Symposia coordination.

18. Pre-call Planning
 Sales Tools
 Do you have all the tools and
resources you need to
conduct a complete call?
 Are you carrying a complete
sales bag into every call?

19. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 Lights, camera, action
 The sales call
 On the stage
 First impression is the lasting
impression
 Remember the name of your doctor
 Know your lines

20. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 Lights, camera, action
 Make it natural
 The speed of your speech
 The game of feature and benefit
 Own “their” concerns
 Patient’s pocket is the decision-
maker

21. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 Bridging
 Mode of communication
 Credibility
 Make them feel special
 Value proposition

22. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 Active listening
 Selling with evidence
 Adopt a proactive attitude
 Discuss with confidence
 Research and generics

23. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 Impress them with numbers
 Repeat the name of product time and again
 Ready made answers
 Short and long calls and a few in between
 Negotiations
 Apprehensions

24. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 Convenience
 Different strokes for different folks
 Choose your words carefully
 Tell them about the old days
 Managing time
 Talking to a group of customers
 When the day is just not right!

25. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 Selling skills
 Opening
 Probing
 Reinforcing
 Gaining commitment
 Objections

Misunderstanding

When the customer is right

Uninterested customer or satisfied with another product
 Disbelief
 Closing
 Complainers are most loyal customers
 Is that all about “selling skills”

26. Super Selling through “Skills”

27. Selling Skills
 Establishing the Clinical Need
 “No Need = No Sale ”

28. Selling Skills
 Basic steps to an
effective sales call:

29. Selling Skills
 Basic steps to an effective sales
call:
 Opening
 Exercise:
 Write an opening statement of your
call and share it with your colleagues

30. Selling Skills
 Basic steps to an
effective sales call:
 Opening
 Probing

31. Selling Skills
 Basic steps to an
effective sales call:
 Opening
 Probing
 Reinforcing

32. Selling Skills
 Basic steps to an
effective sales call:
 Opening
 Probing
 Reinforcing
 Offering a Solution

33. Selling Skills
 Basic steps to an
effective sales call:
 Opening
 Probing
 Reinforcing
 Offering a Solution
 Handling Objections

34. Selling Skills
 Basic steps to an
effective sales call:
 Opening
 Probing
 Reinforcing
 Offering a solution
 Handling Objections
 Gaining commitment

35. Building a Call
Gain
Commitment
Handling Objections
Offering a Solution
Reinforcing
Probing
Opening

36. Openings
 What defines of a strong
opening?
 Of interest to the customer
 Successfully gains favorable attention
 Identify why you are there

Consistent with your call objectives

Tailored to the customer’s profile
 Encourage the customer to further discuss.

37. Reinforcing
 What is “reinforcing?”
 Statements which…

Paraphrase the physician concerns

Confirm “the need”
 Establish a sense of urgency in the
eye of the customer.

38. Reinforcing
 Why do we “Reinforce?”
 Add value to the approach in the eyes
of the physician
 To establish a strong need for the
product or program you wish to
introduce.

39. Offering a Solution
 What does the solution statement
accomplish?
 It fulfills the customer’s new found “need”
 It builds value to the product or program you are about to
deliver
 It serves as a problem solving statement to the
conversation
 It gives you the right to get a prescription or
introduce a program.

40. Gain Commitment
 Implied needs versus specific needs
 Implied Needs:
 When the customer states dissatisfaction
 When the customer agrees that his/her current modality or drug has
a shortcoming but they can “live with it”
 Explicit Needs:

When the customer specifically states that he/she wants or needs to
make a change

When the customer suggests the next action steps.

41. Gain Commitment
 Before planning the follow-up call,
consider:
 How do I feel about the call?
 How effective was my plan?
 Did I accomplish/advance my call objective?
 What went well that I should keep?
 What didn’t go well that I should change?
 What do I see as the next step with this
customer?

42. Selling Skills – Handling Objections
 Brainstorming on common
objections...
 Product performance / desired outcome
 Price
 Product familiarity
 Product reliability (actual and perceived)
 Clinical need / relevance to practice.

43. Objections
 Why customers raise objections?
 Why shouldn't they raise objections?

44. Why are we scared of objections?
 We are scared that the customers
ask for more favors than the
business they generate for us.
 We are also scared of
responsibility.
 Scared of critique and criticism

45. Part I Objection Types
 Misunderstanding
 When the customer is right!(Real
Objection)
 Uninterested customer or satisfied
with another drug (Lack of Interest)
 Skepticism/Disbelief

46. Misunderstanding
 An erroneous impression about the
characteristics of a product or company
 Usually develops when the customer
fails to get a first hand knowledge of your
products or the company
 It can also be due to lack of proper
communication in the previous calls
whereby the information was
communicated in a crude manner

47. Misunderstanding
 It is also possible that your
company representatives have
never visited the doctor before
and hence his information about
the product or the company is
derived from not very reliable
sources

48. Real Objections
 When the customer is right!
 Know the difference between a
misunderstanding and a real objection
 There is hardly any ideal drug available
in the market.
 So any customer can come up with an
objection, which is true in letter and
spirit

49. Lack of Interest
 Uninterested customer or satisfied with
another drug (Lack of Interest)
 An uninterested customer is usually the one
who is prescribing an old and established
product from a competitor and is quite satisfied
with it.
 This kind of customer is usually the one who
hates change and is not willing to take risks,
whether it concerns his own practice, his
personal life or a new medicine

50. Skepticism
 Skepticism/Disbelief
 Disbelief or skepticism comes usually from
a very choosy customer.
 Unfortunately a live demonstration cannot
be made in case of pharmaceutical
products. (Unless it’s an instrument or a
procedure)
 Hence you will have to rely on the clinical
trial data and published scientific evidence
in leading medical journals

51. Objections
Complainers are your most
loyal customers - Don’t avoid
them

52. Strategies to Handle Objections

53. Objections
 The rule for handling objection
is simple:
 “Do whatever it takes to make
things right when things go
wrong – No matter what” T. Scott
Gross (1998)

54. Handling Misunderstanding
 Misunderstanding can be detected
through customer signals
 Customer signals can only be picked
through active listening
 Hold for a second
 Probe very gently for further clarification.
 Do not embarrass the doctor by saying,
“What are you talking about? Your
argument is totally baseless.”

55. Handling Misunderstanding
 You need to do it very delicately and in a
very sophisticated manner like:
 “I think I could not make you
understand………….”

“You will be delighted to know that this is not
actually the situation but………..”
 Provide the correct information
 Repeat the same for a permanent
impression on the doctor’s mind.

56. Handling Real Objections
 If it is an unquestionable weakness of your
product, you cannot deny it.
 Simply probe to clarify and differentiate between
a misunderstanding and a real objection
 Acknowledge the concern of your customer
 The customer will develop a lot of empathy
towards you.
 Reduce the impact by describing a benefit that
really supercedes the deficiency

57. Handling Real Objections
 You can also make a comparison with other
products in the market if this is a common
problem
 Clinical and published data can be used as
support to prove that the specified problem
is rare and/or transient
 Your marketing department should also
provide you a strategy to deal with such
specific situations.

58. Handling Real Objections
 One of the training corporations based in USA
suggests to follow the “five A’s” principle in
such situations:

Acknowledge
 Apologize
 Accept
 Adjust

Assure
 Don’t forget to reemphasize the point and
secure commitment.

59. Handling Lack of Interest
 An uninterested customer is usually not very
talkative.
 A series of closed probes (well thought out
obviously) can expose his need
 Open probes are not usually successful
because an uncommunicative customer would
not like to reveal the shortcomings of his
favorite product.
 it is not advisable to push him to the wall

A prerequisite of this, however is a thorough and

60. Handling Lack of Interest
 Do not attack head on
 Always use a diplomatic
approach
 Once done, you can
emphasize your point and then
ask for a commitment

61. Handling Skepticism
 Addressing only the point of concern
 Defying it through means of
scientific evidence
 Reemphasize and explain the
benefit
 In the end, try to secure
commitment

62. Final Word!
 One word says it all!
 Listen
 Listen
 Listen
 Listen

63. The Hidden Agenda?????

64. Selling Skills – Handling Objections
Acknowledge Demonstrate that you understand
Probe Uncover what is most important
Answer Respond with a solution
Confirm
Verify that the solution is adequate

65. Selling Skills – Handling Objections
 Verify the solution is
adequate
 Test for confirmation by suggesting the
next step of action.
 “Doctor, if I can demonstrate to you that
the < drug > addresses your concern, will
you be willing to evaluate its performance
in an actual procedure?”

66. Selling Skills – Closing the

Salethe sale ONLY after you have completely
You close
resolved the customer’s objection
 If you believe you have completely resolved the
objection, you should attempt a “trial close”….
 “So doctor, now that I’ve shown you all the data,
would you agree that < drug > offers < needed
benefit > which directly addresses your concerns?”

67. Selling Skills – Closing the Sale
 If the customer agrees to the
“trial close”, you have the right to
attempt a “hard close” by asking
for the business.

68. Selling Skills – Closing the Sale
 The “hard close”
 “Doctor, since you agree that <
product > offers those benefits
which are most important to you
and your patients, would you be
willing to use it as your primary
modality in every case?”

69. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 The “marketing mix”
 Literatures/folders
 Prescription pads
 Clinical studies
 Gimmicks and giveaways
 Sponsorships
 Clinical seminars and congresses

70. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 The “marketing mix”
 Group discussions and round table
meetings
 Opinion leader lectures and speaker
programs
 Selecting a speaker
 Arranging a speaker program
 Lunch/dinner or tea
 Use of phone, e-mail and mailings
 Internet/ e – marketing
 Days to remember!

71. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 After the sales call
 Retain Business
 Establish relationships
 Relationships with medical students & fresh
graduates
 Post call analysis
 Follow ups
 Repeat calls

72. Retaining the Business

73. Retaining the Business
 How do you protect your
current business?
 How do you ensure that new
business “sticks?”
 Is the approach different for
each scenario?
 How can you increase the
customer’s “mind share” of
your company?

74. Retaining the Business
 Possible ways to accomplish both:
 Communicate to all
 Conduct in-services (RTM’s, Group Promos etc.)
 Leveraging Marketing Support
 Review your price structure and give feedback
 Continually upgrade to new technologies
 Continually reinforce current technologies
 Develop additional end users.

75. Retaining the Business
 Conduct frequent meetings
 Give your physicians enough
opportunity to gain confidence on the
drug before the first prescription
 Have you set proper expectations
regarding the performance?
 Collect quick feedback on initial cases.
 What about existing business? How
often do we in-service these products?

76. Retaining the Business
 Ensure proper
placement
 Are your products
 Conveniently available
 At the nearby pharmacies
 In the hospital stores

77. Retaining the Business
 Review your price points
 Is your pricing in line with the market?
 If your company is at a premium price, does the
customer justify this difference?
 Can you bundle other items into the agreement?

What about rebates?

78. Retaining the Business
 Continually upgrade services
 Strengthen your position with the best
practices available
 Don’t be content with your initial
offerings
 Next generation drugs increase your
value and can eliminate possible
competitors.

79. Retaining the Business
 Continually Reinforce Current
Technologies
 Maintain regular dialogue on the
performance of your drugs currently being
used
 Re-confirming customer satisfaction with
existing technologies reestablishes your
position as the market leader.

80. Retaining the Business
 Develop additional
Customers
 Don’t stop with just one doctor
 Who else potentially see the cases in
the same facility?
 What about other departments in the
hospital?

81. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 After the sales call
 Retain Business
 Establish relationships
 Relationships with medical students & fresh
graduates
 Post call analysis
 Follow ups
 Repeat calls

82. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 Something more
 Exploring the hidden agendas
 Cultures & traditions of different cities & localities
 Cost of one call
 Use your own head in addition to product
manager’s
 Fight on pricing? Should you?
 Don’t pretend to know everything
 Do “they” know everything?

83. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 Never argue
 Don’t be too predictable-be different
 Taking risks
 Working at odd hours
 Controlling your temper
 Institutional/hospital selling
 Joint sales calls
 So! Was it a good day or a bad day?

84. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 It isn’t fun if it’s easy
 “No medical reps please”
 Competitor loyal
 Apathetic doctors
 “I am the authority”
 Analytical and critical doctors
 Loyal and non loyal customers

85. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 Evaluate thy “self”
 Make yourself dearer for the employer
 Climbing up the ladder by volunteering
 “Furlough”
 “kaizen” training and learning
 Choose your future today

86. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 Motivation
 You are master of your success
 Are you Mr. Perfect?
 Managing your stress
 Ride the change lion
 Self respect

87. The Art of Pharmaceutical Selling
 PHARMA SALES
 IS IT AS SIMPLE AS 2 + 2 = 4
 SMILE, LAUGH AND TAKE IT EASY!
 RELAX AND HAVE FUN

88. Relax!