Useful Suggestions On How To Hear Yes, Rather Than No
In the end, it all comes down to the issue of noise. Noise, quite simply, is a constant bombardment in all our lives. When we move from the personal to the professional environment, noise tends to increase and we are attuned to blocking most of this out, with a very jaded outlook an unfortunate by-product of daily life. Noise is evident in the relentless marketing all around us, be it subtle, strategic or annoying. Like it or not, this is the way that society is made up and we are all used to it.
This makes the job of the pharmaceutical sales rep very difficult. This is a very competitive and often very emotional arena and the product can have far-reaching consequences for the pharmaceutical professional and the end-user, the patient. It is unfortunate that many practitioners and professionals have developed a certain amount of bad feeling toward pharmaceutical sales representatives, due to poor dissemination of information in the past and often inferior sales practices, as well.
In our evolving market, key account management training is very important in helping the sales representative to make him or herself heard through all the noise and to specifically speak to what the client is interested in hearing. They need to get past the interpretation that they are only in it for themselves, do not really understand what the practitioner has to deal with, what is needed and what may help and understand that there is a certain tendency to believe that the relationship is taken for granted. As bad relationships have been built up over time, a lot more resistance will be apparent. The coveted “yes” decision will be very difficult to achieve, so pharma training must be focused on meeting preparation, relationship re-creation and clearing away all the bad damage that has been caused through poor practice.
There is a lot of strategic and subtle content within key account management training. These accounts are “key” for a reason, but just because they are more likely to engage with the pharmaceutical company, this does not mean that they can be treated as “part of the furniture.” Indeed, the organisation may require much more, as a consequence of the relationship, than an account that is not classified as key.
Employees who are designated to interact with the key account must always be clear about their objectives. These must be laid out in a detailed form by the trainers and must be adopted by the employees. If a particular position is sought, the end goal must be very clearly understood. This cannot be over emphasised. Remember that the client organisation could be the subject of a specific structure of influence, including the interaction of subordinates, professionals, secretaries, peers or receptionists. Unless you are aware of this, an attempt to bypass a particular individual could definitely backfire.
Each client and prospect is different, they are subject to a variety of external influences, have different levels of resistance to “noise,” and will require a completely novel approach on the part of the pharmaceutical sales team. The make-up of the client must be dissected to a fine degree, so that the key people within the sales company’s team know how to create a valuable position and approach, drastically reducing the chance that the client will say “no.”
Alan Gillies is the CEO of L2L Consulting, a cutting-edge pharma consultancy firm which specialises in optimising productivity and performance within international companies by applying tailored organisational strategies.
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