Useful Advices - Business

Sales are the life-blood to every business. Without sales there would be no income, and no means or justification for the business to exist. To justify the position of “sales representative” it is based upon one truth:

“The purpose of a sales representative is to close the

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

sale. It’s the only reason why the job exists.”

Without this truth, the job of salesperson cannot be justified.

Before you can lead or coach anyone to become better, stronger and more successful in sales, as a sales leader you need to recognize these 3 realities about the

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

Examples of combination products may in

selling process:

Selling is a system. You have to follow the system for it to work, but more importantly you have to know the system before you can follow it.

There’s always the baseball analogy; if you hit .300 in baseball you’re considered a success, which means you’

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

e failed 70% of the time. But let me take it a step further. Good hitters succeed because they know how to read the pitcher, how to read the game situation, how to recognize the pitch as it’s coming at them, and know how to swing the bat differently to effectively hit each pitc

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

h. Good sales reps have the techniques to be able to do the same in a selling context. In short, good sales reps are able to think on their feet.

Selling is a competitive process. People who embrace competition and enjoy competing do well in sales. Like the marathon r

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

Combination pro

unner who has learned to ignore the voice that says “quit running”, the star salesperson has learned to turn off the negative association with the word “NO” and has put it in the right “it's just business” context.

Salesmanship is a pattern of behaviors. It’s an oversim

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

lification to suggest that knowing the selling system itself will make you successful at sales. It's sad to say that many people have followed the system to the letter only to fail miserably at selling. This happens because selling systems fail to get to the heart of salesmans

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

hip. Salesmanship depends upon interpersonal behavior, which rely upon attitudes, assumptions, and conduct, but not formulas.

In the world of sales this translates into spending time with your salespeople so they learn the art of salesmanship from you. Not in team meetings, n

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

ot with “hallway atta boys”, but spending one-on-one time with them where the action is. You need to be right there when they’re reacting, responding, and relating to a client during a live “as it happens” sales call.

Are You Demonstrating Good Salesmanship to Your Crew?
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

In my years of sales management, when the going became tough as we were challenged with a large goal I likened the role of a sales manager to the elder in a pre-modern time village.

A lion had been terrifying the camp, eating the normal hunt that surrounded the village that t
ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi
hey counted on for food and making the villagers fearful that they’re next on the lion’s menu. It was up to the leaders of the village to go out, kill the lion and bring the head back on a stick to show everyone that it was dead so life could go on. It was a matter of survival
ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a
between the villagers and the lion.

The analogy in sales leadership is that we have to kill the lions that have some of our salespeople scared.

Disbelief that people will buy today, low confidence in closing the deal, call reluctance. These are the lions that terrify a sales
dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
team. Especially with newer sales people who are asking for bigger dollars than they’re used to. It’s up to the leadership of the sales department to take on those “lions” in the form of companion calls and companion closes.

My definition of companion calls, or "shadow calls"
cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
to some is to be at the sales call with the sales rep who is in front of the client to observe the sales call first hand. If the sales rep stumbles during the presentation you're there to get it back on track and demonstrate how to do it correctly. An honest critique of what
tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
went right and wrong during the sales call also needs to be carried out after the call is made, and needs to be done in private. My critiques were usually carried out in the car as we were off to our next call. It's very important to teach your sales reps "how to do it" in a r
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
al world situation and in my opinion that means in front of a customer.

Fear of failure, rejection, or just not doing it right is as big as a lion if you’re a new salesperson. With companion calls you'll hunt down the fear and inexperience that many new salespeople have. Sale
ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
s leadership can show first hand how it can be done and the way that it is done successfully. A new salesperson or a veteran stuck in a rut who brings back a big order due to a companion call is the same as bringing back the head of the lion to the camp. “Look, the lion is gon
y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
e. Just do like we did here with all your calls and you’ll close more sales, guaranteed.”

Given the choice between hunting an actual lion and making companion calls, companion calls win every time. Less dangerous and more profitable. Just as it is a matter of survival, a mat
.

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
er of who gets eaten first the lion or the villagers can still be analogized in sales.

Many sales representatives have failed because they were eaten by their own fears. Hands-on leadership could have saved them.

Bring back the lion’s head with a companion call and you’ll sh
elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip
ow each salesperson that you’re not just sitting on the sidelines. They will see you as demonstrably involved, and interested in their professional success.

It's the best way to demonstrate good salesmanship yourself. Hands-on and directly from the person who expects the same

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

Tags

Links

Useful Advices - The Lost Art of Salesmanship

Related Articles: