The key to effective marketing essentially lies in taking action. Someone once said that you cannot score a goal unless you first take a shot, so in marketing terms the best intent in the world is worthless unless you actually go out and do something. Within the pharmaceutical industry, effective marketing is more than just making professionals aware of the products available, it is about a host of other objectives as well, including reputational management, education and positioning. Indeed, sales and marketing can sometimes be more concerned with positions, placing and protection rather than the ultimate dollar transaction. This complexity certainly requires the selection of a top class sales and marketing team, and a pharmaceutical consulting firm can often be a significant ally in this pursuit.

Effective marketing begins and ends with the management of all those elemental sales and marketing activities. As such, implementation includes measurement and control, as well as overall co-ordination of daily and weekly activities. All members of the sales and marketing team must be clearly aware of what is required of them and that their actions cannot be isolated, but must be seen as an integral part of the company’s overall objectives.

Invariably, pharmaceutical consultants know full well that, while preparation, projection and analysis are important, nothing happens unless the plan is actually executed. All activities must first be co-ordinated, indicating who, what, when and where and the sales force must be conditioned to eliminate any potential distractions or objections that they may face. This level of coaching is essential, especially where some members may be somewhat new to the arena. A single-minded determination is crucial if the employee is to be fully focused and determined. If a team member is not familiar with time management, this rises to job number one, as prioritisation is critical to production. Of course this does not mean that more mundane elements should be ignored, just categorised and prioritised accordingly.

Important characteristics of a sales team member include thoroughness and attention to detail. Every member of the sales team contributes to the whole objective and other members must be aware of each contribution. Assumptions should never be made, as vital tasks or elements could be missed in this way and procrastination should be viewed as the enemy of efficiency.

While detail orientation is very important, as is time management, this level of implementation should not stifle the creative powers of the salesperson. It is easy to become overwhelmed and this must be guarded against. Whomever is able to rise above distractions will really produce good results for the organisation. Through prioritisation, primary tasks are always achieved. Delegation is fine if it helps with the overall goal, but no assumptions should ever be made.

Generally, pharma consulting organisations are well trained in the keys to effective implementation and are more than capable of training a sales and marketing force to take on the complex, challenging yet rewarding role of marketing within the pharmaceutical industry.

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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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 at 7:06 am and is filed under Marketing and Advertising. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.