Have you ever paused to consider that pharmaceutical and healthcare consulting firms maintain a very delicate position, sometimes filling the role of arbitrator or referee, questioning positions and ensuring that the real world is always in the picture, whether in company training or in the executive boardroom? The pharmaceutical company has many, considerable challenges, not the least of which is the ability to generate the latest and most advantageous products for the end-user in a highly regulated and emotionally charged environment. We know that the pharmaceutical industry represents one of the most significant driving forces within any country’s economy and as the stakes are so high, the levels of complexity encountered by pharmaceutical company management at every level are extraordinary. This is where the pharmaceutical and healthcare consulting firm comes into its own, as it can be independent, can look at all the problems facing the client from “outside the box,” and can bring multiple layers of knowledge and experience to bear, even when the issues seem to be just about impossible.
With more and more niche products becoming available in the marketplace, an entire industry becoming more mature and a market that is far more educated and immediately aware than ever before, the road ahead is indeed challenging. These days, pharmaceutical sales training instructors must be on top of the game and able to cut through the clutter as they identify and suggest appropriate alternative options. Established tactics may well need to be modified to take into account changes in the marketplace and this may often need to be achieved in short order and without the luxury of advance planning and preparation.
We will quite often find that the client will be looking for some kind of a partnership relationship, rather than just a strict buyer — seller position. These all-important accounts will require careful handling by those responsible and this goes far beyond the simple provision of products in return for financial remuneration. In our modern society, key account management training will help key employees to service these top accounts correctly, whether this means the supply of critical and partial information from time to time, or the provisioning of other business intelligence.
They say that we are living in the age of communication and that we are all more powerful as a result of this. These levels of knowledge are available to so many people as end-users are far more likely to be aware of what is it available to them, ensuring that the pharmaceutical sales force must be ideally positioned. At this point, pharmaceutical sales training must be sophisticated enough so that the sales force is able to anticipate a wide new range of potential questions and stumbling blocks, most especially when dealing with key account management. These key accounts will only become even more important in the future.
The market is now more sophisticated than ever before and is increasingly dynamic. Pharmaceutical company senior management cannot expect to be able to devote time and resources to their own raft of daily tasks while trying to keep on top of such a rapidly changing market environment. This is why pharmaceutical and healthcare consulting organisations should be engaged to bring their level of currency and ability to the table.
Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of L2L Consulting, specialising in enabling pharmaceutical companies to achieve new heights of productivity and performance, throughout all levels of management and revenue generating activities.