Useful Advices - Business

As conflicting a statement as it may seem many would be wise to subscribe to this advice.

If you are a sales person, you are in one of the toug

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

hest professions out there. It has been said less than 1% of the population has what it takes to be successful in sales. Those are not great odd

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

Examples of combination products may in

. But many of us are attracted to the sales arena. We are the modern day gladiators who face daily challenges, survive and often thrive. We like

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

helping people; we enjoy the competitive nature and recognition that comes with being successful at what we do.

So how do some men and women ri

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

e to the top while so many others only dream about success?

Many of the top sales professionals I know have been fortunate to have had a mentor

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

Combination pro

somewhere along the way who shared nuggets of golden advice. Many years ago my Regional Sales Manager made a statement one day that offended me.

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

It also changed my life.

He said, “Clayton you’re a good sales person, but you could be a great sales person.” As one of the top sales people i

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

the region my ego was bruised. I went away mad that he would say such a thing. I considered myself a dedicated student of selling, I had been o

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

many sales courses and my results were very good.

His statement rolled around in my head for the balance of the day and that night. I needed t

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

understand his thinking. The next morning, I worked up some courage, not really sure what I would hear and went into his office to ask him what

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

he meant with his comment the day before.

He asked me to sit, and began by telling me how pleased he was that I was on his team, and explained

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

Following aspects would a

e believed his role was to get the best out of people. I told him I felt a bit insulted, I considered myself better than just good at sales. He

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

eassured me I was, but if I wanted to be a great sales person I had to listen carefully to some advice. I still remember as if it were yesterday

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

at 9 am on a Friday morning he said two words that stunned me, “Stop selling.” I was dumbfounded, stop selling? He went on to explain, “Your jo

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

is not to sell anything. Your job is to help your customer make an informed purchasing decision.”

Well he had to repeat the statement two time

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

before the light bulb began to come on for me. Of course he was absolutely right. I needed to move from being a gladiator ready to do battle, t

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

becoming a trusted advisor. My responsibility was to bring subject matter expertise to the table and help the potential purchaser understand th

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

pros and cons of their decision. It is their money, it is their decision. Had I done everything I could to help them make an informed one?

Ov

.

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

r the years I have shared this nugget with many “good” sales people. I smile as I watch their reaction when I suggest they can improve their sal

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

s if they STOP SELLING. If you practice this philosophy today I commend you. Should you adopt it going forward, I wish you much personal success

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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While communicating with others, you need to make sure you come across confident, professional and friendly. In order to come across this way, you should pay attention to simple communication gestures such as shaking hands, connecting with your eyes, listening to others and speaking clearly. Take the time to practice these techniques. Pay attention to how you interact with others so you can continuously improve.

We have all heard the comments about the Rent-A-Cops or the $5.15 per hour security guard telling us we can or cannot do something. Often these folks up set us and many people are rather abrasive back to them, calling them names and complaining. Thus most security companies do not have a very good public persona.

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Useful Advices - If You're in Sales - Stop Selling

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