Useful Advices - Business

Here are seven additional factors to consider as you define the parameters that produce success in your company's sales job. If you are a salesperson, you can also benefit from considering these questions, as they can help you identify target

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

prospects and further refine your sales approach.

9. Administration

Which sales job functions require attention to detail? (Examples include making accurate forecasts, providing timely updates to the corporate CRM system, analyzing customer records

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

Examples of combination products may in

to determine sales strategies, and ensuring regulatory compliance.) Some companies have support personnel that perform administrative tasks on their salespeople's behalf. Other companies expect their salespeople to deal with a certain amount of administration.

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

If a tolerance for process, detail and administration is necessary for success in your company's sales job, some amount of Tolerance for Administration is desirable in your salespeople.

10. Communication

How important are verbal and written commun

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

ication skills to sales success in your company?

Are your salespeople required to make presentations?

Are they required to compose letters or proposals?

Sales roles that rely heavily on high quality verbal and written communicat

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

Combination pro

ions require salespeople that have healthy doses of the attributes Communication Skills and Reasoning Ability.

11. Pre-Sales Support

What support resources are available to help your salespeople manage specific steps of the sales cycle?

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
>
How effective must your salespeople be when managing these resources?

The availability of support resources has a significant impact on the attributes required for sales success. If your salespeople have access to quality internal (employed by your company)

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

or external (employed by suppliers or partners) technical resources, they don't need to invest a lot of time learning technical details. This frees them to focus more time and energy on prospecting and opportunity qualification. By the same token, if your company employs tech

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

nical writers who can assist salespeople with large proposals and bid responses, there may be less need for your salespeople to have strong Communication Skills.

12. Post-Sales Support

Are your salespeople expected to provide technical or operation

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

al support to customers, or do other personnel provide this support? If your salespeople are required to deliver post-sales support, it would be desirable for them to have a lower Sales Drive, be less Competitive, and have a higher Service Drive.

13. Trai

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

ning

What kinds of training does your company provide to salespeople?

How much training does your company provide?

Companies that provide a lot of training may have the luxury of being able to hire inexperienc

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

Following aspects would a

ed sales candidates and "train them up from scratch". This is extremely valuable in markets where highly qualified sales candidates are scarce and/or prohibitively expensive. However, if your company is going to employ this approach, you should seek candidates with strong Lear

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

ning Rates.

14. Sales Manager's Style

What are your sales managers' styles?

Do they lean in the direction of being Field Generals (who prefer selling to coaching) or Administrators (who excel at mentoring and administrative duties

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

)? The desired levels of the attributes Sales Drive, Service Drive, Assertiveness, Competitiveness, Independence and Tolerance for Administration will differ based upon each sales manager's style.

15. Career Path

What is the career pat

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

h for your sales position?

From small ticket item sales to big ticket item sales?

From sales to management?

If your sales team is a source of candidates for other positions in your company, you may want to consider wh

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

ether your salespeople and sales candidates have the attributes required to be successful in those other positions. Why? Because the attributes required to succeed in those other positions may not be the same as the attributes required for sales success!

Consider this example

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

: Most small ticket item sales cycles are shorter than big ticket item sales cycles. Per Question #7, the desired amount of Sales Drive differs based upon the frequency of opportunities for presentation and persuasion. A successful salesperson in small ticket item sales is lik

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

ely to have a strong Sales Drive. Will they become frustrated by the reduction in opportunities to present and persuade that could result from a "promotion" to big ticket item sales?

Similarly, the attributes required to be an effective manager are often quite different from

.

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

the attributes required to be an effective salesperson. Success in management can require more attention to detail and the willingness to delegate and mentor. These requirements impact the target ranges for the attributes of Sales Drive, Service Drive, Assertiveness, Competiti

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

veness, Independence and Tolerance for Administration.

If you keep the fifteen questions discussed in this two-part article in mind, you will be able to more accurately define the parameters that will lead to success in YOUR company's sales job(s).

Copyright 2005 -- Alan Rig

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

HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.usefuladvices.org.ua/article/38749/usefuladvices-Sales-Management--How-to-Define-Your-Companys-Sales-Job--Part-2.html">Sales Management - How to Define Your Company's Sales Job - Part 2</a>

BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.usefuladvices.org.ua/article/38749/usefuladvices-Sales-Management--How-to-Define-Your-Companys-Sales-Job--Part-2.html]Sales Management - How to Define Your Company's Sales Job - Part 2[/url]

When communication breaks down in your office or factory and workers lack motivation, what are the roots of the problem?

What you don't know about management software . . . http://managementsoftwarereview.org

Tags

Links

Useful Advices - Sales Management - How to Define Your Company's Sales Job - Part 2

Related Articles: