Value is very important in any business-to-business relationship and both sides must clearly see its benefits. There is no point in trying to build a relationship without establishing its value. Furthermore, unless value is readily apparent on both sides of the equation and is seen as being equitable, the relationship is not likely to last. One of the main challenges facing the pharmaceutical company’s executives and their consultant team is how to differentiate value and how to ensure that it is delivered to all their clients, especially the most important ones. Key account management training seeks to emphasise how important this differentiation is, and trainers should make additional effort to ensure that all employees within the organisation understand the intricacies.

Fundamentally, the pharmaceutical sales company is providing products to the health care professional and these valuable instruments provide a distinct benefit to the purchaser. The purchaser must in turn make sacrifices in order to receive the value of these products and before this value can be consumed. This is how most business-to-business relationships are formed, through an exchange of value in this way. The relationship is elevated, however, if there is potential, perceived value to be gained on either side. This is where key account management training reveals that additional benefit could take the form of market position, enhanced service, exchange of valuable information, reputational enhancement and/or a number of other, often subtle elements.

Often, a key account value can be construed independently and can be viewed differently from either side. For example, the client may not be aware that the sales company is treating their association as “key,” at all. This determination may only exist on one side of the equation and may not affect the way that products are delivered from the business to its clients. This may be perfectly fine and the relationship may prosper. Often, however, value is determined according to the actual relationship itself, where a certain amount of collaboration is expected and required and value is obtained through close cooperation.

If an organisation pays particular attention to key account management training, its entire operation will be devoted to enhancing the relationship and the value derived from a straightforward exchange of product for remuneration may well represent only a small part of the value exchanged. Much attention should be attached to relationship building, with a particular focus on to what extent the key account relationship is important and special. Not surprisingly, pharma training can, consequently, be very complicated and can be set to focus on areas that do not represent the critical mission statement of the organisation, necessarily. Pharma training must emphasise how dynamic these relationships should be and how “over delivery” can help to cement their future.

It is the job of the successful pharmaceutical consultant to ensure that the parent organisation is well aware of how real value should be imparted to each of the key accounts on the books and how such attention to detail can move them ahead of their competitors, who may not be so proactive and careful. Determination of value is a critical component of key account management.

Alan Gillies is the Director of L2L Consulting, an elite pharmaceutical consultancy firm which specialises in Strategy Development and Implementation Excellence for prestigious multi-national organisations.

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