Drug Rep Chronicle: Vol 1 No 1 (Canada)

Welcome to Drug Rep Chronicle. We’re

here to help you make the transition

to the exciting new times we face

Drivers of change

Once viewed both inside and outside the sec-

tor as a sheltered safe-haven, Pharma looks

very different now than it did just a few

years ago. And more changes are inevitable. What

are the key drivers of these changes, and how do

they affect the drug industry salesforce?

The factors driving change can be categorized

as financial, customer, or key success.

Financial: It costs more to run a Pharma

business today than ever before, and revenue is hard-

er to get. Data from the third National Pharma -

ceutical Congress1 in Toronto shows that in 1996 our

industry spent $17 billion on R&D and introduced 53

New Molecular Entities (NMEs). Eleven years later,

we spent $47 billion on R&D, while only 17 NMEs

were introduced. Get out your abacus: that means

one-third the NMEs, with two-and-a-half times the

spend.

4 out of 5 physicians say you may not be taking the right approach to this unique selling opportunity

‘Please don’t makeme work anothermedical conference’

Studies have shown that 80 per cent of doctors believe they can

learn something new as a result of visiting company exhibits at

medical conferences. More important, as many as 50 per cent of

doctors have indicated that they are more likely to recommend or pre-

scribe a company’s drug product after doing so.

Medical conferences provide a unique opportunity for pharmaceuti-

cal sales representatives to interact with “hard-to-see” high prescribers in

a relaxed selling environment. However, to capitalize on this, you must

have the “right” attitude, and use the “right” selling approach.

Let’s talk about attitude. At a recent medical conference in Toronto,

I spoke to a number of pharma sales reps about how they felt. While

some were very positive about attending the event, other sales reps

described it as “boring” and “a waste of time”, and said they would rather

be making calls with doctors on their own sales territory.

However, only a few sales reps recognized that medical conferences

allowed them to spend a lot more time with each doctor than they

would normally get during a sales call

What reps need to know about

persuading MDswith evidenceby Lou Sawaya, MD, MBA

Reticulum, Kanata, Ont.

Medical practitioners and

researchers have developed

several approaches for deal-

ing with the huge amount of data and

evidence generated by the large

number of clinical trials and stud-

ies conducted each year.

Consensus methods, such as

expert panels, are a common

means of dealing with scientific

findings using a qualitative assess-

ment of evidence. They allow a wider

range of study types to be considered, in

addition to those customarily

FACES/PLACES: A PHARMA

SALES CAREER LED AAMIR SYED

ACROSS THE WORLD ........14

SAMPLING: AFTER 90 YEARS,

THERE’S FINALLY A NEW WAY

TO OFFER SAMPLES ..........8

HOW WE DO IT: HOW

PURDUE PHARMA MAINTAINS

ITS SALES MOJO ..............10

For Canada’s Professional Healthcare Representatives No. 1, 2009/10 Preview Edition

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All about Professionalism, Performance, and the Pursuit of Selling Excellence

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Preview Edition • 2009/10

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Drug Rep Chronicle 3

Drug rep ChroniCle welcomes contributions from readers. In particular, we’re interested in hearing aboutyour personal experiences in the field, and you are especially welcome to keep us informed about your team’snew developments, new appointments, and new practices.

If you’re submitting an article, opinion piece, press release, or letter to the editor for consideration, pleasebear in mind that we select material for publication from a large volume of submitted material, and that we maynot be able to publish your submission in a specific issue (or at all) due to space constraints and other considera-tions.

Our policies are: All material submitted to THE CHRONICLE becomes the property of ChronicleInformation Resources Ltd., and is subject to the company’s usual editorial procedures; We will not consider forpublication any material that has been simultaneously sent to other publications; Only original material or infor-mation will be considered; Payment at our established freelance rates will be offered upon publication for featurearticles and for the following departments:What lies Ahead: Original articles of approximately 500 to 700 words dealing with trends that shape the healthcare

industry; andMy Turn: Opinion pieces of approximately 500 to 700 words, offering original commentary on issues facing the healthcare

industry.Please refer inquiries to: Editor, Drug Rep Chronicle, 555 Burnhamthorpe Rd., Suite 306, Toronto,

Ont. M9C 2Y3 Canada. Fax 416.352.6199, E-mail: [email protected]

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

R. Allan RyanASSISTANT EDITOR

Lynn Bradshaw

SALES & MARKETING

Henry RobertsPRODuCTION & CIRCuLATION

Cathy DusomeCOMPTROLLER

Rose Arciero

Sign up to receive the free digitaledition of Drug Rep Chronicle,

in your e-mail inbox at http://www.drugrep.tkFollow us on Twitter at

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Surviving (and thriving) at medical conferences ......1, 4Most likely, you go to enough out of them, but are you getting enough out of them?

Danny Dean offers suggestions on the do’s and don’ts of working congresses

Persuading MDs With Evidence ....................................1, 6Guidelines are a straightforward way to impress a physician, right? Wrong. Dr. LouSawaya cautions often they do not follow the tenets of evidence-based medicine

Drivers of change ................................................................1,4Welcome to Drug Rep Chronicle. We’re here to help you make the transition to the

exciting new times facing professional pharmaceutical representatives

Sampling in the 21st Century..............................................8A 90-year-old pharma tradition finally gets a facelift, and Stacey Nauss explainswhat that means for bag-carriers everywhere

How we do it... at Purdue Pharma ..................................10Chris Kostka describes how his Pickering, Ont.-based company, a specialty pharma mar-

keter, is succeeding to a greater extent than competitors with a broad focus

Stop waiting and start becoming drug rep 2.0 ..........12Here are some steps to take, to avoid being pigeon-holed as expendable, as Big Pharma

field forces continue to shrink

Faces/Places: Meet Aamir Hussain Syed ....................14A top performer at dermatology specialty company LEO Pharma, here’s one pharma

representative who graduated from two wheels to four

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.-- Walt Disney

The superior man is distressed by the limitations of his ability; he isnot distressed by the fact that men do not recognize the abilitythat he has. -- Confucius


4 Preview Edition

in the doctor’s office, and that this would

enable them to get a deeper understanding

of the clinical challenges these doctors

were facing with patients in their practice.

In addition, attending this medical confer-

ence gave them a chance to network with

sales professionals from other pharma

companies, and to see how they were pro-

moting their products.

Based on our consulting experience,

many pharmaceutical sales reps are not

effective in medical conference selling.

Product discussions in this unique selling

situation often involve interacting with

more than one doctor at the same time. As

a result, you can not simply promote your

products as you would in the doctor’s

office. Instead, you need to act more like an

orchestra conductor, encouraging and facil-

itating a group discussion with several doc-

tors at once.

At first thought, this might

seem to be a negative; but, in

reality, it provides an excellent forum for

physicians to share their individual clinical

experience on how they manage specific

problem patients, or their thoughts on an

educational presentation relating to your

therapeutic area that they just attended at

the medical conference.

Important Do’s and Don’tsAs experts in pharmaceutical sales and

marketing excellence, we have gained a

number of insights into best selling prac-

tices, and what top performing sales pro-

fessionals do that makes them more suc-

cessful than other sales reps.

In short, top sales performers have a

much better understanding of how to

interact with different doctors in different

selling situations. In addition, they avoid

many of the common mistakes often made

by other sales reps.

Here’s a simple check-list to keep in

mind.

n As doctors approach your exhibit, do

welcome them with a smile and a

by Danny Dean, director of Ansera, a specialized pharmaceutical con-

sulting firm that helps its clients to achieve breakthrough sales results.

www.ansera.com.

It’s not just R&D. Operating costs for vir-

tually all areas of our industry are increasing sig-

nificantly: $63 billion will be lost to patent

expiry by 2014. The economic reality of today’s

Pharma is that we all must do more with less—

and the demands for salesforce productivity

have never been greater.

Customers: We communicate with differ-

ent customers today than we did just a few years

ago. Nurse-practitioners and physician-aides are

two examples. The overall physician population

has increased slower than our country’s rate of

population growth. Together with physician emi-

gration, death, and retirement, the result is more

difficult access to specialists and greater demands

on GP/FPs. Four million Canadians do not have

a family doctor, with the result of the nature of

the walk-in clinic having changed considerably.

Today’s generation of physicians is more sceptical

of industry, and has higher expectations for

knowledge and service from their

pharmaceutical representatives. In

short, we have more customers

today than we ever had, and they

have higher expectations with

respect to knowledge and service

— while having less

time to give.

Lastly, the

recipe for suc-cess in Pharma

representation has always had three key ingredi-

ents; knowledge, skills and relationships. For many

reasons, relationship-building is more difficult

today and requires more time. The increased

challenge in relationship-building, together with

changing customer expectations and demanding

time pressures are shifting the balance of these

key-success ingredients. There are greater

demands today on representatives’ knowledge,

targeting, planning, and communication skills.

In short, the bar continues to be set high-

er for today’s pharmaceutical representatives, as

expectations are higher and tolerance of weak

performance is lower.

This radically new environment is the

rationale for Drug Rep Chronicle. The publica-

tion’s mandate is to foster Professional ism,

Performance, and the Pursuit of Selling

Excellence for Canada’s 7,000 professional

pharma representatives. We’d love to get your

feedback on this new venture, or on any other

topic relevant to the subject of what it’s like to

be selling pharma today. Write to us at feed-

[email protected]. We want to hear from you.

1 The National Pharmaceutical Congress is amajor event that takes place in March of everyyear that brings together key stakeholders ofthe pharmaceutical industry; see www.phrma-congress.info

Drivers of change— continued from page 1

— continued from page 1

by Lorne MarkowitzManagement consultantand contributing editor toDrug Rep Chronicle

Conferences:You go to enough of them. Are you getting enough outout of them?


warm greeting. Or, are you sitting

down, half hidden within your exhibit

with your arms crossed? And, do you

attempt to make eye contact and

introduce yourself to establish per-

sonal rapport, or do you simply focus

on trying to read the name printed on

their conference badge?

n Do you encourage the doctor to feel at

ease, so that you can initiate a conver-

sation that will allow you to identify

potential selling opportunities for

your products? Many sales reps quick-

ly box themselves into a corner by

asking, “May I help you?” … only to

hear, “No, I’m just looking”.

n Are you able to quickly identify what

information the doctor wants, or

what they specifically want to discuss?

Too often, sales reps assume they will

only have a few seconds with each

doctor, and simply give a short detail

on their product’s key selling features.

In many cases, the doctor already

knows about your product and is pre-

scribing it, so this information is of

no interest at all.

n Finally, at the end, do you ask if you

have fully addressed all of the doc-

tor’s questions, and explore how you

[or one of your colleagues] might fol-

low up subsequently with them at

their medical office to build further

upon your discussion?

An Integrated ApproachFrom a strategic selling perspective, it’s

important for you and your company to

think about ways to leverage your presence

at a medical conference, prior to the actual

event, itself.

For example, if you are sponsoring a

speaker or educational seminar at the con-

ference, think about how you might pro-

mote your session to all physicians on your

sales territory who might be interested. If

they are able to attend, extend a personal

invitation to them to drop by your compa-

ny’s exhibit booth, rather than just leaving it

to chance.

And, following the conference, make

sure that you or someone else in your com-

pany follows up with each doctor who

dropped by your exhibit to thank them for

their interest in your products. This will not

only help to strengthen your company’s

existing relationship with them as an

important customer; it will also give you an

opportunity to explore how you and your

company might be of even greater value to

them.

In summary, medical conferences pro-

vide a golden opportunity for you to learn

more about your customers, and to help

them better understand how they might use

your products to help their patients. The

secret lies in understanding how you might

best take advantage of this selling opportu-

nity, and how you might most effectively

interact with physicians before, during, and

after the event.


Newsn NOCS OF NOTE: Microbix Bio -

systems of Mississauga, Ont. says its

clot-buster injectable urokinase

(Kinlytic) has been approved in Canada

for marketing and export... n Health

Canada approved alitretinoin (Toctino,

Basilea Pharmaceutica), OD oral Tx

for adults with severe chronic hand

eczema unresponsive to topical corti-

costeroids... n nuvo research of

Toronto says the uS FDA approved the

NDA of topical analgesic diclofenac

(Pennsaid), to be distributed stateside

by Covidien...

n GOOD TO GO: Health Canada’s

Medical Devices Bureau okayed the

Zenith Branch Endovascular Graft-Iliac

Bifurcation from Cook Medical, used

to allow endovascular Tx of both aor-

toiliac and iliac artery aneurysms occur-

ring in patients with abdominal aortic

aneurysms... n The FDA okayed arip-

iprazole (Abilify, BMS) as Tx of irri-

tability associated with autistic disorder

in pediatric patients aged six to 17

years, including symptoms of aggres-

sion toward others...

n PLACES, PEOPLE, PLAUDITS: B.C.

kinesiologist and heart disease

researcher Dr. Scott Lear is the first

recipient of the pfizer/Heart and

Stroke Foundation Chair in

Cardiovascular Disease Prevention

Research at St. Paul’s Hospital,

Vancouver... n The Royal College of

Physicians and Surgeons of Canada

calls on Ottawa to make invest-

ments in human capital, research

and electronic health records to

support Canada’s recovery from

recession... n “This is an exciting

time for our company as we

advance our position as a strong,

global health care leader that will

make a substantial difference to

patients around the world.” —

Carlos Dourado, new president of

Merck Canada, following Merck’s

merger with Schering-Plough...

Get breaking drugbiz news and advisoriesfrom Drug Rep Chronicle on your mobile

phone: follow

http://www.twitter.com/DrugRepChron

Conferences:You go to enough of them. Are you getting enough outout of them?

ttwweeeettss


included in statistical reviews. They are

particularly useful where unanimity of

opinion does not exist, and when there is

insufficient information or when the

existing information is contradictory or

equivocal.

The output of systematic reviews and

expert panels are then used to inform and

influence physicians’ clinical behavior

and medical decision-making in general.

One popular application stemming from

systematic reviews is the development of

various clinical practice guidelines.

Understandably, pharmaceutical

com panies are quite interested in the con-

tent of these reviews and guidelines, and

in their development and dissemination.

A favorable conclusion in a review or a

strong recommendation in a guideline can

positively impact the sales of a drug or an

entire therapeutic class.

Like any other discipline, evidence-

based medicine has its own detractors.

Not unexpectedly, the criticism surround-

ing evidence-based medicine reflects in

part the same concerns voiced over the

design, conduct, and results of clinical tri-

als, and includes the following arguments

and points of views:

n Lack of evidence does not mean nec-

essarily lack of benefit;

n The design, methodology and quality

of studies performed can and do

vary considerably, making it difficult

to aggregate the results in a mean-

ingful way;

n Evidence-based medicine applies to

populations, but not necessarily to

individuals. As such, it tends to pro-

mote a cookbook approach to medi-

cine, and discounts the value of clin-

ical experience;

n The number of systematic reviews

published annually keeps increasing

at a disquieting rate. It is not unusu-

al now to find more than one sys-

tematic review addressing the same

therapeutic question, sometimes

published within one month of each

other.

Clinical PracticeGuidelinesClinical practice guidelines

(CPGs) are sets of recommenda-

tions and suggested courses of

action usually made by a

group of medical experts.

Their purpose is to help

practitioners deal with a spe-

cific clinical question by

informing them about opti-

mal strategies for diagnosis

and treatment. Guidelines are

portrayed by their proponents

as a strategy for linking evi-

dence to practice, reducing prac-

tice variation and controlling

healthcare costs.

The rapid prolifera-

tion of

guidelines in recent years suggests a

widespread optimism about their power to

effect change. Academics often use

guidelines as an educational tool. Third-

party payers use them as a means of influ-

encing physicians’ practices.

Pharmaceutical companies are equally

active in the design and dissemination of

guidelines, and incorporate them into

their promotional mix when they happen

to favor a particular drug or therapeutic

class.

The persuasive

pow ers of guidelines

are mixed, howev-

er; and physi-

cians’ adher-

ence to them

can vary wide-

ly. A study that

a s s e s s e d

C a n a d i a n

p h y s i c i a n s ’

attitudes about

CPGs found

that physicians

use them less fre-

quently than other

t r a d i t i o n a l

sources of in -

format -

6 Preview Edition

Dr. Sawaya, a physician in Kanata,Ont., is the author of five books on the

subject of industry-physician interactions.This article is anextracted and con-densed version ofmaterial appearing inhis newest release,Super Reps III: ThePersuasion Report. To

order a copy online, visithttp://www.super-reps.com

Persuading MDs With Evidence— continued from page 1

A favorable guideline recommendationcan be a rep’s best friend, but don’t count onthe persuasiveness of any one single review

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ion, and that only 32 per cent of those sur-

veyed reported making one or more

changes to their practice in a year as a

result of a guideline recommendation.

Physicians often choose to ignore

guidelines because of non-clinical factors,

such as the fear of malpractice litigation

or for financial considerations. Physicians

also value ambiguity and flexibility in

their work and as such are more willing

than other professionals to overrule guide-

lines. Rather than follow protocols, physi-

cians prefer to alter their approach and

their decisions based on the task on hand.

The pros and cons of Clinical Practice GuidelinesProponents of guidelines see several ben-

efits to them, and like to point out that:

n High-quality guidelines provide an

unbiased synthesis of expert opinion.

Their development is usually moti-

vated by a desire to improve quality

of care;

n Good guidelines can serve as a valu-

able educational tool and a conven-

ient source of advice. Guidelines can

inform practitioners about what is

known with reasonable certainty and

what is not. By doing so, they can

assist physicians to cope with uncer-

tainty, and help physicians and their

patients sort through difficult deci-

sions and perhaps avoid unnecessary

and potentially harmful interven-

tions;

n Well-written guidelines can also inform

physicians about the state of the art

and current thinking in a particular

clinical field. They can promote

greater consensus among physicians

and reduce variability in care. They

may also serve a ‘quasi-regulatory’

function by discouraging physicians

from ‘unreflective engagement’ in

treatment patterns that deviate dra-

matically from the guidelines.

On the opposite side, critics like to tally

the numerous shortcomings of guidelines:

n Guidelines diminish physicians’ pro-

fessional autonomy, promote an over-

simplified or ‘cookbook’ medicine,

and are too rigid to apply to individ-

ual patients;

n Some guidelines are not written for

practicing physicians, but focus

instead on the current state of scien-

tific knowledge. Physicians can have

difficulty applying such guidelines

to specific patients;

n The proliferation of guidelines (now

in the thousands) is confusing to say

the least. Many have been developed

in a poor fashion. In fact, there are

now guidelines on how to design

guidelines;

n More than one guideline might

address the same clinical topic. This

can lead to information overload or

conflicting guidance;

n Many guideline developers do not fol-

low the tenets of evidence-based

medicine. For example, a compari-

son of nine guidelines on migraine

found that the proposed selection of

drugs was opinion-based rather than

evidence-based;

n Many consensus and guideline devel-

opment panels are supported by

pharmaceutical companies with

vested interests, and many panelists

receive research grants and personal

compensation for lectures and

advice from those companies. A

report on more than 200 guidelines

(from various countries) deposited

in 2004 with the US National

Guideline Clearinghouse found that

“more than one third of the authors

declared financial links to relevant

drug companies, with around 70 per

cent of panels being affected.”

However, almost half of the guide-

lines reviewed provided no infor-

mation about those conflicts of

interest.

Persuading MDs With Evidence— continued from page 1

A favorable guideline recommendationcan be a rep’s best friend, but don’t count onthe persuasiveness of any one single review

© Ta

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SamplingA

s pharmaceutical representa-

tives, sampling is still an inte-

gral part of our daily routine,

and for good reason. It’s one

of our most important selling tools;

whether it is a complement to detailing

a clinical study or in conjunction with

other promotional strategies, and it is

often used as leverage to gain access to

a physician that may be difficult to see. For more than 90 years, physicians

have relied on sampling to try patients

on our products. For representatives,

there is a responsibility to manage these

samples, whether it is through proper

temperature storage (especially for tem-

perature sensitive products), or check-

ing expiration dates or returns for

proper destruction.

When I was promoting a con-

trolled substance the company could

not provide the salesforce with physical

samples. This made it more challenging

to get physicians to use it in their prac-

tices in order to see how the patient

would tolerate it before the patient had

to incur a financial investment since

there was limited coverage.

The company decided to sample

this controlled substance through STI,

using new SmartSample technology; in

turn the physicians were provided with

branded SmartSamples for patients.

Since SmartSamples are legal sample pre-

scriptions they are given to patients and

redeemed at that patient’s pharmacy of

choice. The sample quantity is taken from

actual pharmacy trade stock which deals

with all issues of storage, expiration, etc.,

and provides patients with added pharma-

cist counselling and drug checks. At the

time this non-traditional way of sampling

was foreign to everyone involved.

As with any change there was resist-

ance at first when I was introduced to

SmartSamples and I wondered if it would

take away from the short time frame that

we have with the physician in a call. I was

worried I would end up spending more

time explaining the program which could

possibly take away from selling my product.

I quickly learned that it took literally sec-

onds to explain at the end of a call as it

mimics all current physician behaviors.

The SmartSample is a small card that

fits in your hand (making it very discrete),

the newest version is folded in two, the

front of it is branded with your product,

once opened, the left-hand side has the

sample prescription and the right-hand side

has a repeat script. The physician is

required to fill in the patient’s name, any

prescribing information, and sign, date it

and provide their medical ID number.

They can also fill out repeats for chronic

therapies which are logged at pharmacy,

saving time for the physician and the

patient if they tolerate the sample. Patients

benefit from a pharmacist checking for any

drug interactions and medication/disease

state counselling which in turn saves the

physician time in their office with

patients. However, the most important

benefit for reps comes with the fact that

the sample is redeemed at a retail phar-

macy in your territory. This has an

immediate impact on your sales and pro-

vides information on where, when, how,

and what was prescribed by physicians

when linked to CRM distribution tools.

Reps try and monitor the movement of

traditional samples in an office, as more

samples are used more patients are try-

ing it (we hope.) But what really happens

to those physical samples once they are

put in the sample cupboard?

This is where SmartSampling made

the biggest difference in my territory.

I’ve been fortunate now to work on

three brands using SmartSample tech-

nology and I’ve seen benefits for normal

Schedule F drugs also, not just con-

trolled medications looking for alterna-

tive sampling. The sales information

which is key can be sent in real time as

all pharmacies report the utilization daily

and it comes in different forms such as

pie graphs that include age and gender

of patients. This information can be a

very useful tool to help with more quickly

identifying key physicians that are prescrib-

ing, as well as knowing the age/gender of a

patient, which helps paint the patient pro-

file to the physician on the type of patients

that are using the product. The information

can also be useful in helping to manage

your territory by obtaining reach and fre-

quency on your targeted physicians. The

sales data also helps by providing an instant

gratification by seeing which physicians are

using your products and how often they are

being redeemed at a specific pharmacy.

As the industry changes we reps need

to adapt and I believe the introduction of

SmartSampling allows for better business

analysis of our territories while still provid-

ing an important access tool to physicians

and patients.

8 Preview Edition

by Stacey Nauss Professional PharmaceuticalRepresentative, Nova Scotia

Stacey Nauss is currently a ProfessionalSales Representative for Women’s Healthwith Schering-Plough Canada Inc. Theviews in this article are personal opinionsbased on Stacey’s career in consumer andpharmaceutical sales and in no way repre-sent the views of Schering-Plough CanadaInc. or any of its affiliates.

A 90-year-old pharma tradition finally gets a facelift


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10 Preview Edition

HHooww wwee ddoo iitt... at Purdue Pharma

With increasing physician expectations, pharmaceutical selling has never been more chal-

lenging than it is today. However, in several cases, specialty pharma marketers are suc-

ceeding to a greater extent than competitors with a broad focus. One such example of a

specialty company achieving its aims while others struggle is Purdue Pharma. Drug Rep Chronicle

recently spoke with Chris Kostka, sales vice-president at the Pickering, Ont. maker of pain and

CNS Txs.

So, tell us: Just how does Purdue do it?Pharmaceutical companies need to take a scientific approach to salesforce effectiveness, if they

want to be successful.

It all starts with hiring the best people that you can—individuals with high emotional intelli-

gence and a strong customer orientation. To do this, we use a

very sophisticated approach to identify the right people for

our organization who also have those sales competencies that

we believe make a difference in the marketplace.

Pharma companies have always emphasized product and

disease knowledge as an important part of the overall training of

their sales representatives. We take this a step further, by

demanding that each of our sales representatives achieves a per-

fect score on all knowledge tests. As a result, when our cus-

tomers ask a question, we know that our sales representatives

will always provide the right answer … 100 per cent of the time.

In addition, we have high standards in place to ensure

excellent communication skills. By regularly assessing our

sales representatives in a variety of simulated selling situa-

tions, using a validated scoring system, we are able to evalu-

ate the ability of our sales representatives to sell our prod-

ucts effectively and provide them with feedback on how

they can improve.

Sounds like you put a lot of emphasis on salesforce metrics.Yes, we’ve also done a lot of work with our sales managers. using a formalized coaching model, we

regularly measure their coaching skills and the value they provide to our sales representatives, and

we use this data to help them be more effective.

Most important, we interview our customers to get their perceptions, and to ensure that we deliv-

er value every time we are in front of them. This gives us another measure of how effective our sales

representatives are at selling, and what we need to do differently in terms of continuous improvement.

Finally, we work closely with our marketing group to ensure all selling tools that we provide to

our salesforce are aligned with our selling approach, and useful in supporting their product discus-

sions with our customers.

What does this mean, going forward?More than ever, physicians today are increasingly questioning the value that sales representatives

bring to them and their patients.

By using a systematic approach to gather data on how we do things, we are able to identify

performance gaps, and determine what we need to work on to continuously raise the bar, and stay

ahead of our competition.

n Each issue, this feature profiles unique selling approaches and highlights best practices at specific

organizations. We invite your comments and feedback. Write to: [email protected]

Chris Kostka

Tel: 514-674-1851Fax: [email protected]

Needs / attitudes assessment

Learning experience design

Learning facilitation

Learning and change evaluation

Learning transfer

Coaching to the application

Trainers guidance and training

Training practices sounding board

Icons courtesy of CSTD

Marc Lalande, M.Sc., CTDP

Sign up to receive thefree digital edition

of Drug Rep Chronicle, in your e-mail inbox at

www.drugrep.tk


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12 Preview Edition

Your old grandpa might have con-

ducted a successful sales career

based on the familiar principles of

“ABC”: Always Be Closing, if you want to

win the steakknives.

Your daddy was a much more sophis-

ticated specimen, relying on the scientific

approach to sales-as-solutions-providing,

that was inculcated at a Dale Carnegie

trainer’s knee, or the Xerox Sales Course, or

somewhere else with good air-conditioning

and plenty of fluorescent lighting.

You, on the other hand: you, my friend,

are an altogether different slice of sacher-

torte. You are a 21st Century professional

pharmaceutical representative, and, as such,

must make your way confidently through a

constantly-evolving landscape, where there

are few signposts, and where many of the

dependable superhighways seem to have

been washed out in the last big flood.

We’re talking about change.

Probably your department has been

reorganized a few times over the past cou-

ple of years; possibly your team objectives

have been revised along the way. That, by

any reasonable standard, doesn’t count as

change. The tablet-computer you’re carry-

ing, and the smart-phone on your belt-

loop? Consider those simply fashion accou-

terments, or a taste of what’s in store.

All the changes we’ve seen

up to this point have simply

been preparation for what’s

next, which will be the com-

ing tsunami of: (a) billions of

dollars worth of

b l o c k b u s t e r s

going off-patent,

with nothing to

take their place;

(b) reduced ability of worldwide popula-

tions to pay for new therapies; (c) repudia-

tion of previous health industry operating

tactics, and resulting greater transparency

through all facets of the care process, and,

with that, (d) a more complex—and expen-

sive—regulatory environment.

But you already know all that, and wis-

dom doesn’t pay the mortgage. The ques-

tion is not whether your skills and profes-

sionalism are up to snuff. The question is:

How do you position yourself for this com-

ing change, in order to avoid being referred

to behind your back in the company cafete-

ria as “Poor Ole Gil?” It’s expected that Big

Pharma field-forces in the new decade will

comprise perhaps only two-thirds to one-

half of the 1990s headcount, as the term

“grounded in the traditional sales app -

roach” becomes synonymous with “We

don’t need you.”

That should prompt you to take some

careful inventory of your current skills and

competencies.

I’m not volunteering to become your

career coach—try asking Malcolm Glad -

well; maybe he’s got some spare time—but

here is your takeaway: four questions that

could assist you in auditing, navigating, and

mastering, all the anticipated changes in

both your avocation and your economic

sector.

Are you sustainable? The Olde Pharma

business was all about chemicals, and if

your previous company-sponsored

salesmobile, the Pontiac Gran Prix,

hap pened to burn up a lot of fossil

fuels—well, you had to carry big boxes

of samples, and drive some wide-bot-

tomed cardiologists, and their nib-

licks, to the golf course, didn’t you?

Today, it’s about Life Sciences, which

indicates it’s now a matter of engaging

the environmentally sensitive physi-

cian. So, unless your territory includes

Dawson City, you want to put in an

early request to your manager to trade

the 4x4 SuV for a gas-miserly, tree-

hugging hybrid, or Smart car. Don’t

neglect to point out how much it will

save the company in petroleum ex -

penses. Oh: and always make a point

of flamboyantly turning off the light-

ing as soon as the boardroom meeting

adjourns.

Are you fluent in the New Literacy?used to be that if you could sort-of

peck out a periodic call report, and

talk half-knowledgeably about last

year’s John Grisham novel, you had

all the literacy skills required to get

by in your organization. That won’t

suffice anymore, as pharma enters

the age of “non-personal promo-

tion” to multiple channels. Invest at

least 20 minutes learning a couple of

things about the new tools of your

trade. Start by learning the term

“cloud computing.” Next, discover

by Nino AvantiAgent of change, motiva-tional speaker, futurist. His blog: www.tocome.tk

Stop waiting and start becoming

drug rep 2.0According to the industry’s current wisdom, field forces willcontinue to shrink, as drug marketers embrace ‘non-traditional’ channels and tactics. Here are some stepsto take, to avoid being pigeon-holed as expendable


obscure little career-enhancers, such

as Microsoft Movie Maker. And,

while you’re at it, set yourself up

with a Twitter account, and sign up

for a social networking site—or

three. Learn some of the essential

skills that professional communica-

tors use each day to sell ideas in this

still-new century.

Are you responsive, in real-time? (10second pause.) Quickly, now. Areyou? Your customers, your contacts,

and your managers don’t want your

voicemail, bright boy, they want you.

Like, five minutes ago. You can avert

your eyes and murmur defensively dur-

ing your next performance review

about how “emotionally intelligent”

you are, but no one ever promised that

the world was a reasonable place that

always rewards the slow and kindly.

Make sure your IM and Twitter acc -

ount information is prominent on

your business card, and appended to

your e-mail messages.

Do you provide value for your pay-cheque? Finally, consider the ques-

tion no one ever wants asked, but is an

unavoidable part of your career equa-

tion. As part of the knowledge base

tomorrow’s drug reps will require,

you’ll need a working understanding of

basic pharmacoeconomics, as well as

your organization’s ROI expectations,

and the ability to honestly assess your

axis within that plane. Having add -

ressed this potentially uncomfortable

matter, you should emerge confident

that you can articulate your personal

value proposition to your customers,

your community, and your bosses. And

if you can’t? At the very least, you’ll be

taking heed of Socrates’ 2,500-year-

old management tip, nosce te ipsum.

Know yourself, drug-rep dude.

A�MESSAGE�FROM�STI,FOUNDING�SPONSOR�of�DRUG�REP�CHRONICLE

Paul�Tobin, Managing Partner on behalf ofSTI, is proud that Sampling�Technologies’corporate support for Drug Rep Chronicle is

helping to launch the first pharmaceutical salespublication in Canada, that will most certainly

aid pharmaceutical salesforces to excel in theireveryday selling of pharmaceuticals and med-

ical devices.

Stop waiting and start becoming

drug rep 2.0According to the industry’s current wisdom, field forces willcontinue to shrink, as drug marketers embrace ‘non-traditional’ channels and tactics. Here are some stepsto take, to avoid being pigeon-holed as expendable



14 Preview Edition

Meet Aamir Hussain Syed, a representative

with LEO Pharma, the dermatology specialty company based in Markham,

Ont. Aamir has been with the company for more than 10 years. He has complet-

ed seven CCPE courses, as well as the Toastmasters International Communication

and Leadership program. He earned LEO’s “Representative of the Year” award in

2003, and is always among the top performers in the company. He previously

worked in the company’s training and marketing departments.

He is currently detailing the fast-growing area northwest of Toronto, which includes the

bedroom communities of Georgetown, Brampton, and Orangeville.

Before joining LEO, Aamir worked as a medical representative for Novartis in Karachi, Pakistan. Karachi, a not-so-small city

of 15 million people, is very much unlike Georgetown, Ont. It is the largest city in Pakistan, the 20th largest city in the world, and is

Pakistan’s financial capitol.

In his Pakistani territory, Aamir called on dermatologists: along with GPs, internists, cardiologists, OB-GYNs, pediatricians,

EM doctors—and, oh, yes, pharmacists. He averaged 13 calls per day.

His Novartis-supplied vehicle was a motor-scooter. He worked his territory six days each week, and his manager joined him for

at least one day weekly. He had to submit a route plan every week with potential meeting points, and his manager could be waiting

for him at any one of them (the process is known as chappa).

The work day in Karachi usually started with hospital calls at 9:00 a.m., followed by community-based office visits. At 1:00

p.m., Aamir went to the office for a weekly meeting, and on the other five days he went home to do clerical tasks, and study. At

5:00 p.m. he would go out into the territory again, calling on doctors in their private offices. This usually wrapped up at 9:30 p.m.,

but would occasionally continute until 11:00 p.m.

Aamir notes that pharmacy regulations in Pakistan are far less restricted than in North America. Pharmacists can dispense pre-

scription medication even without a physician script, or substitute an MD’s order.

“You can’t catch a caterpillar with a butterfl y net.”

PERSUASION Rx: How to Infl uence Ethically

(1st edition)

Since 1969, The Council for Continuing Pharmaceutical Education has been accrediting pharmaceutical professionals.

Our course curriculum is accessible without prerequisite to anyone.

From Knowledge to Application

For information about this and other SOFEDUC credit courses (some only ½ day),

please see our website:

www.ccpe-cfpc.com

CCPE, together with Excellerate developed a much

needed program. This new and exciting program teaches

pharmaceutical associates FROM ALL DEPARTMENTS

how to apply the art and science of infl uence and

persuasion; the two pillars of behaviour change.

Ad-Persuasion-2009.indd 1 05/11/2009 2:46:02 PM

I’m not a fan of facts. You see, the facts can change, but my opinion will never change, no matter whatthe facts are.--Stephen Colbert

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsiveto change. --Charles Darwin

Faces/Places


“You can’t catch a caterpillar with a butterfl y net.”

PERSUASION Rx: How to Infl uence Ethically

(1st edition)

Since 1969, The Council for Continuing Pharmaceutical Education has been accrediting pharmaceutical professionals.

Our course curriculum is accessible without prerequisite to anyone.

C.E.U.4

From Knowledge to Application

For information about this and other SOFEDUC credit courses (some only ½ day),

please see our website:

www.ccpe-cfpc.com

CCPE, together with Excellerate developed a much

needed program. This new and exciting program teaches

pharmaceutical associates FROM ALL DEPARTMENTS

how to apply the art and science of infl uence and

persuasion; the two pillars of behaviour change.

Ad-Persuasion-2009.indd 1 05/11/2009 2:46:02 PM



Documents

Drug Rep Chronicle: Vol 1 No 1 (Canada)