Useful Advices - Business

A Sale is considered closed when the buyer and seller reach agreement on terms for the buyer to take ownership of a product or service. To get to this stage, the seller normally has to “close” the sale, by asking the buyer for their busines

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

s. This is where the buyer raises “objections”. Objections generally fall into three main types. This article will explore the types of objection, how they arise and how to overcome and avoid them. Part II will then discuss the 10 most common o

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

jections, and how to handle them to close the sale. You must get the customer to reiterate the value that they are getting first and foremost.

Potential customers generally raise objections for three specific reasons. Two of these are eas

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

ily handled. The third however, normally points to a fundamental breakdown in the sales process. All is not however lost, and while most of these can be overcome, it is important to understand why they arose, and ensure future sales do not fall

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

into the same trap.

Sales objection Type 1 – Negotiation Tactics.

Assuming that your buyer fully appreciates the value that your product will bring them, some still need to get a “deal”. The range of people looking for a deal can be entrepren

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

eurs, professional procurement and government departments.

You must get the customer to reiterate the value that they are getting first and foremost. This will strengthen your negotiating position. If it is confirmed that they really need this

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

and that they truly believe that you have the best solution for them, you must make a judgment call. This in effect means that you must also look at the lifetime value of the customer, and whether winning the immediate negotiation, could affec

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

t future relationships. Remember, we must always strive for a win-win scenario, since good customers become long-term partners!

If you feel you need to still do a deal, try and throw something into the deal that they need. Why – because a disc

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

unt comes straight out of your profit. Giving them a value added service, not only costs less, but it gives them a deal, while making their life as a customer even better.

Sales objection Type 2 – Competitor Planted.

Very few sales profession

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

als operate in a vacuum. They normally have to face competitors at many different stages in the sales cycle. The earlier you face them and help the customer reject them, the easier your job will become. Many top sales professionals, who know th

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

t their customers need to go out to tender, help the customers, write the Requests for Proposals (RFP). I always remind sales people that I work with – “if receiving an RFP is a surprise – losing it shouldn’t be!”

One of the competitive tactic

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

s, I teach, is to “Raise the Bar”. What this basically means is that if you’re neck and neck in a competitive bid, throw in some additional features or benefits, which the customer may need, that you know your competitor can’t deliver.

A great

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

tactic, but what do you do if this happens to you? You need to test if this is a genuine requirement. You need to ask them how valuable to their business would having this requirement be. You also need to confirm whether or not it is a sale bre

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

aker. If it is, then either walk away, or see if you can match their need in a way that still benefits both parties.

Sales objection Type 3 – Genuine Concern, or an Expectation Gap.

The final type of objection arises normally due to a lack of

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

qualification, or indeed not following an appropriate sales process. If at the close, a potential buyer is still not convinced, then either you have closed too early, or you have not addressed all their concerns.

At this stage, you need to fin

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

d out exactly what the issue it is. It may be one of lack of authority – they can’t actually make a decision to purchase, or is could be because they have not matched the value your product can give them, with their needs and expectations.

Pri

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

e should certainly not be an issue, if your customer appreciates the value of the product or service. Size and financial viability also fall into this category, and there are a number of ways of turning these around to appease the customer’s co

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

ncern

The most common reason, and indeed the easiest to solve, is the “prove it” objection. Like all others, this should be confirmed as the last remaining question, by asking something like – “If we can do or show you that, will you go ahead”

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

A selection of proof points may be a pilot, a reference visit or maybe a factory tour if you manufacture your own products.

In Part II I willl cover the top 10 objections, based on research. Click here to access the article directly: Part II

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

- Handling Sales Objections, faced by SMEs

Our existing customers get weekly advice like this directly for their sales teams. You may wish to consider Sales Management Outsourcing, which is a service we provide to help drive up your sales

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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Marketing takes money and big part of many marketing campaigns is printed materials. Does it pay to cut corners and just print in one or two colors to save money? Does printing in four colors overly complicate things?

It is really the state of things that we all must grit our teeth and go to work? It is really the state of things that we die a little each morning only to be jolted back alive when we leave the office?

When executives see themselves as solely responsible for the overall success of their enterprise, subordinates can hardly be blamed for acting according to predictions.

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