SKILLS FOR SUCCESS
March/April 2004
Physician Access and the Future
Kim Rowe
Managing Partner, Agentive Sales and Management Training
You may be aware of the increasing difficulty sales representatives are facing in getting productive sales time with physicians. But have you considered the ways that more limited physician access may ultimately affect you and your job?
The Access Crisis
At the recent “Gaining Physician Access” conference in Philadelphia, sponsored by the Center for Business Intelligence, professionals from across the pharmaceutical industry discussed the current difficulties faced by sales representatives who call on doctors.
First and foremost, doctors are choosing to see fewer representatives. As reported by The McKinsey Quarterly, only eight out of every 100 sales calls end with the physician meeting with the rep and remembering what was said. Even when doctors see sales representatives, they are allowing them less time. A recent study by Accel Health, and presented by Charlene Prounis, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Corbett Accel, showed that the average sales call is now only 30 seconds to three minutes in length and that 53.6% of doctors spend only 40 minutes or less each week seeing sales representatives.
What’s the Problem?
Rising malpractice insurance costs, more widespread controls on formulary compliance, and managed care price pressure have all driven physicians to tighten their business belts and look for ways to increase revenue and cut costs. Time spent with sales representatives is seen as a business cost that is easy to cut.
At the same time, pharmaceutical companies have been building larger sales teams. Today, there are between 80,000 and 90,000 reps—almost 1 for every doctor in the country.
The rapid expansions in sales force size have resulted in frequent territory realignments and a plethora of new sales people replacing reps that the doctor may have known for years. According to the Accel survey, 82% of doctors feel that reps have changed over the last five years—and not for the better. Doctors described their current sales representatives as being “younger,” “more aggressive,” “less informed,” and “more rushed” than in the past.
What Doctors Want
Physicians would like to see companies provide more detail along with their study results and include unbiased comparisons to other products, especially when presenting cost-effectiveness information. Overall, they would like to see companies represented by sales reps who are better prepared in the science surrounding their drugs. Some tools and methods identified by speakers at this conference that could be used by pharmcos to better meet doctors’ changing informational needs included on-demand detailing, which provides information requested by physicians while respecting the demands on their time, and new tools such as Healthbanks, that allow pharmcos to position themselves as business partners with their physicians by providing help with patient-physician communication.
● How the Industry May Be Affected
Segmented Sales Force:
With so many studies questioning the effectiveness of sales representatives, and with physicians pushing back by seeing fewer reps, sales forces may begin to diminish in size and change in structure. Some sales organizations may segment their sales forces into two or more tiers, with the first tier being the less experienced service team whose main function is distributing samples and the second tier being the more highly trained, scientifically based sales rep or medical liaison. Hiring more former pharmacists, nurses, researchers or technicians will add scientific credibility to some sales teams.
● Partnership Selling:
The next few years are likely to bring a shift from promotion- based detailing to partnership selling with a newfound customer awareness and orientation. In that environment, the most valued reps will be those who can create dialogue, trust, and credibility with their customers. And because doctors are crying out for more consistency and less turnover in the reps they see, there will be a renewed respect for the older, more experienced rep who has consistently developed and maintained long-term relationships with physicians.
● Change in Training:
Sales training will begin to focus less on the pre-planned marketing message at each POA and more on giving reps practice in creating dialogue and engaging physicians in productive conversation. As the sales force downsizes, reps will be required to sell a broader range of products and deliver multiple messages. Training will prepare them to sell more strategically, tailoring the marketing messages to the needs and preferences of the individual physician.
● Virtual Reps:
As sales forces move toward long-term relationship building and partnering with physicians, the traditional “detail” reinforced by POA marketing messages may become a thing of the past. Marketers will move toward increased use of e-detailing and more strategic use of the “virtual sales rep” to deliver product and disease state information, patient education, and industry news.
● Increased Market Segmentation:
Market research will take a new focused approach to segmentation, slicing the customer database in much smaller segments than ever before and developing highly targeted messaging strategies that are directed to these smaller segments.
It’s not enough to know that a physician access revolution is occurring in the field; companies must respond, assess the change, then act to make the necessary course corrections that will help them ride the wave of change.
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