KAM – Career Growth Opportunity for Field Sales People

Career Growth Story

MR Strategy

MR TO MD

October 2011

~ F I E L D F O R C E E XC E L L E N C E ~

TM

P H A R M A | M E D I C A L D E V I C E S | D I A G N O S T I C S | S U R G I C A L S

A BroadSpektrum Healthcare Business Media’s Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative

Vol. 1 Issue 3

MedicinMan

Editorial

www.medicinman.net

Clear Objectives & Metrics - Key to Success in KAM

MedicinMan did an exten-

sive survey to get a pulse of

Indian Pharma‘s under-

standing and use of KAM.

Their collective wisdom can

be summed up in the state-

ment – ―The Key to KAM

is that it should be built

around customers and

their business needs.

The company’s products

and services should be

aligned with these

needs. Key Account

Managers will play an

increasingly important

role in the Indian Phar-

ma business of the fu-

ture‖ The response

prompted MedicinMan to

focus on this important topic

because in addition to being

a strategic tool for Pharma

companies, KAM is a great

career development oppor-

tunity for field sales people

who understand and imple-

ment this Key Customer

focused strategy. The Sep-

tember MedicinMan, car-

ried an article on how MRs

and FMs can move to PMT.

Not all MRs can move to

PMT or become FLMs. But

many can acquire the skill-

set required to become Key

Account Managers. In the

future there will be a great

demand for KAMs and this is

an excellent pathway to ca-

reer progression.

Realizing the importance of

KAM, MedicinMan will be

conducting special programs

for MRs and FLMs who as-

pire to become Key Account

Managers (see P. 15). ▌

A new eyeforpharma (EFP) report suggests

pharma still has not transi-tioned to new measures that fully reflect the objectives and outcomes of KAM pro-grams.

One consequence of the shift to KAM in pharmaceutical sales and marketing has been to challenge received wisdom

Page 1

about how performance in the field should be defined and measured.

The eyeforpharma report Pharma Key Account Man-agement Report 2011-2012 shows that pharma still hasn‘t shifted to metrics that can accurately track the outcomes of KAM programs.

Surveys of the pharma com-munity revealed, for example, that only 14.3% of respond-ents were routinely using patient metrics.

Yet understanding patient-

level trends is crucial if com-

panies are to achieve genuine

synergy between KAM pro-

grams and local health system

needs.

Just 20% of respondents had

metrics implemented to meas-

ure changes in contact advoca-

cy ratings, the surveys found,

while only 33.3% were track-

ing changes in usage path-

ways.

Manoj Kumar on his Journey from a

Reluctant Salesman to a Global Manager (P. 3)

Insight Shared by:

EDITOR’S PICK

INSIDE MEDICINMAN

HOW TO BE AN EFFECTIVE FRONT-LINE MANAGER HITENDRA KANSAL

6

GETTING IT RIGHT WITH KEY ACCOUNTS RICHARD ILSLEY

11

INDUSTRY THOUGHT LEADERS COMMENT ON KAM

12

SHAHRUKH KHAN MANTRA DR. HEMANT MITTAL 13

MUSIC, METRICS AND MANAGEMENT HANNO WOLFRAM

14

INDUSTRY VETERANS JOIN OUR BOARD OF

ADVISORS (P. 16)

(Cont. on P. 10)

Dr. Shalini Ratan on the Knowledge-Driven MR

(P. 4)

Shiv Bhasin‘s Story and Tips for Young Professionals (P. 8)

Reluctant Salesman to Global Manager Becoming a Medical

Representative was

not my first choice of

career. I became one be-

cause I was unable to land

another so-called better

opportunity.

However, I realized soon

that I had a flair for sales

and enjoyed interacting

with Health Care Profes-

sionals, stockists, etc. I

joined a company which

was famous for selling sci-

entifically.

After a rigorous training

for one month—my first

time in Mumbai—I com-

mitted myself to this job.

This was also the first time

that I travelled in an AC

compartment of a train.

When I joined work, I

joined colleagues who were

seniors by many years. I

got a mixed bag – Negative

and Positive people. I al-

ways avoided people who

would concentrate on neg-

atives and I would spend a

lot of my time with people

who wanted to make it big

in life. Those were the days

where I worked extremely

hard, mentally and physi-

cally. I worked around the

doctors‘ timing, and had a

passion to sell the brands

of my company. It was

tough, catching buses to go

from one call to another.

I had a passion for ethical

sales - sales through sci-

ence. I would ask my boss

to give me challenging in-

stitutions, doctors and out-

station visits. Pharmaceuti-

cal companies also invest a

lot on individual develop-

ment and I made good use

of the same. I would always

challenge status quo in my

job and would like to add

newer dimensions. I felt

proud that my work helped

patients live longer and

better.

It is said that opportunity

knocks only a few times in

our lives. I also got a few

and I grabbed it with both

my hands. Be it my stint in

Sales, Sales Management,

Domestic Marketing and

now Global Marketing.

This change comes with

some degree of adjustments

needed in our life and life

style and one should be pre-

pared to work around that.

I have relocated to many

cities and even this change

has added value to me.

My mantra has always

been – divide the task

into small incremental

steps, use the team ef-

fectively, lead with pas-

sion and have fun at

work. ▌ I ALWAYS

AVOIDED

PEOPLE WHO

WERE

NEGATIVE AND

I WOULD

SPEND A LOT

OF TIME WITH

PEOPLE WHO

WANTED TO

MAKE IT BIG

IN LIFE.

‖

—— Personal Growth Story ——

Manoj Kumar Marketing Manager, MNC

Manoj began his career as

an MR with Serdia Phar-

ma. He later moved to No-

vartis where he worked as

an RBM and in the PMT.

Currently he is Marketing

Manager at an MNC, re-

sponsible for Global mar-

keting support of Branded

Generics Launches .

MedicinMan

Page 2

MedicinMan

Page 3

“What is the Role, Function and Operational Difference between FLM and SLM in Pharma?”

Trending Discussion on Indian Pharma Connection*

DAVID EDGE: ―I would

suggest that a key aspect to

bear in mind here is that 1st

Line Managers manage

Sales People. Whereas 2nd

line Managers manage Sales

Managers.

So the key competencies

you are developing with

each role are different ac-

cording to the 1st or 2nd

line relationship you have.

The 1st line Manager devel-

ops the Reps performance

to be the best it can be.

The 2nd line Manager de-

velops the Managers to be

the best people managers

they can be.‖

HARIRAM KRISHNAN: ―Here is an example from Stephen Covey which could fit in with

regard to FLM and SLM. In a jungle, let us take we have a set of people who are busy

cutting and clearing the bush. If given the task to slash through the brush and clear a

path, these amazing people would wield their machetes valiantly. They would cut

through the flora no matter what problems came up to face them. The FLMs are there to

ensure that these guys cut through the bush and are kept busy, the blades are sharp-

ened, they are influenced to keep going etc. These managers don‘t care about the big

picture; they just ensure that their people accomplish the task at hand.

Meanwhile, the leaders (SLMs) are doing something quite different. Leadership is all

about making sure that the direction the solution is going in is the right one for the fu-

ture. The leaders are up high in the sky surveying the jungle. They are the ones who are

willing to say, ―This is the wrong jungle! Let‘s move on.‖ A manager (FLM) might re-

spond to the leader (SLM) by saying, ―But we‘re doing so well!‖

The manager (FLM) doesn‘t care about the bigger picture. He‘ll chop whatever jungle is

put in front of him.

Let us take India. The market is always like a jungle. So many doctors, so many generics,

so many calls, so many pharmacies etc. The SLM should always be getting on top of a

big ladder and direct the team towards the RIGHT JUNGLE.‖

PRABHAKAR SHETTY

―The hierarchy works fairly

well in MNCs where the

roles are clearly defined. In

desi companies, even the VP

is assessed on the basis of

the number Dr. Calls and

Conversions (if the Owner is

a little bit smarter). In many

companies training is con-

sidered a waste of field

working time. The trainer is

told to go to the field and

convert Doctors !! ‖

Effective Territory Sales Management Lagging Numbers or Leading Indicators?

There are reams of business insights hidden in the routine sales activity. Unfortunately,

these insights often stay there, neither discovered nor acted upon. This inaction can

affect bottom line and loss of market share for your brand.

Sales Managers should Ask the Right Questions

Do you spend your time looking at history, at lagging indicators? … Or actively

seek leading indicators of what is coming?

Do you spend your time asking, why did we lose market share in our key ac-

counts? …or Which of our top accounts are at risk and what needs to be done

to avoid losing them?

Do you ask why have we lost market share in a particular geography? …or, What

is changing in the marketplace?

Do you spend time debating whether it’s marketing tactics or sales execution that

have caused problems in a region …or identifying significant new sales oppor-

tunities?

MD SADIQUE AKHTER

Note: Click on the commenters‘ name to see Linkedin Profile

Visit Indian Pharma

Connection (IPC)

on Linkedin to view more

discussions and connect

with like-minded peers.

*Indian Pharma Connection is a leading Pharma Linkedin Group. MedicinMan encourages its readers to actively partici-

pate in the online Pharma-sphere to learn and share valuable professional insights. Join MedicinMan on Linkedin here.

Hot on

MedicinMan

―Well-educated medical representatives are valu-able contributors to the broad body of knowledge that impacts healthcare decisions.‖1

The selling environment in healthcare has become in-creasingly complex in re-cent years.

Today patients are taking a more proactive role with physicians in determining the best course of therapy. Reasons for this are: easy access to information on the Internet, looking for second opinion, becoming aware of the healthcare costs, mental blocks to vari-ous treatment methodolo-gies, less awareness about disease consequences etc.

It has been reported that 78% of the patients leave the doctor‘s consultation room without understand-ing the treatment.

Busy physicians are not always prepared to have an effective conversation with patients about managing a treatment. Doctors are comfortable with scientific aspects of drugs and treat-ment, but have difficulty translating the science into simple yet compelling com-munication for patients.

This leads to poor patient compliance - such as cut-ting pills in half, skipping doses, failing to refill a pre-scription, postponing doc-tor visits, and relying on home remedies or OTC drugs. For example, a doc-tor is unable to convince a patient to stay on insulin therapy as the patient fears

insulin dependence. The result is non-compliance with the prescribed regi-men.

Thus at present, dialogue between Medical Reps and physicians do not always translate into effective com-munication between physi-cian and patients.

A 2004 International Jour-nal of Medical Marketing article states that ―compliance could get a significant boost if doc-tors explained more often and more thor-oughly the prescribed medications, their val-ue, how best to manage side effects, and the im-portance of compli-ance.‖

Though patient education about the prescribed medi-cation can be given most effectively by the doctor, it should also be supplement-ed and reinforced by the pharma companies. They need to expand their ―service‖ to help physicians better engage patients in the appropriate therapeutic option.

The traditional mode of communication of the pharmaceutical companies with their client physicians has been to provide them with the clinical and scien-tific aspects of their prod-ucts. Now they should also prepare them to have an effective engagement with the patients.

This can be done by devel-oping tools which can help in making the patients un-derstand the basics about

the medications they are taking, the implications of the dosing schedule, com-mon medication errors, common drug interactions, do‘s and don‘ts of the pre-scription, understanding prescribing information etc. The message should be meaningful, compelling, and motivate patients to adhere to the prescribed regimen.

MRs can be a key link be-tween healthcare compa-nies, medical professionals and patients. They can be a more valuable resource for physicians if they move the conversation beyond medi-cal and clinical aspects. This can even be from latest news updates to giving tips to help them build their patient pool and practice.

Knowledge driven MRs with patient-centric ap-proach can become a trusted consultant to the physician and have positive impact on pa-tient outcomes.

Further, knowledgeable MRs will increase their val-ue to the doctors allowing them to increase their num-ber of calls and spend qual-ity time with doctors. This ‗Pull‘ approach of ensuring that the patient takes the prescribed dosage and ex-periences better outcomes will lead to an increased uptake of medicines and sustainable higher sales

growth. ▌

Patient-Centric Approach in MR Sales Strategy

1CMR Institute for Medical Representatives Education

REF: Patient compliance view-point adapted from a whitepaper

by a USA based Marketing firm.

Page 4

Dr. Shalini Ratan

Founder, Nirvan Life Sciences

5 POINTERS FOR A KNOWLEDGE-BASED APPROACH:

1. DEVELOP A SCIENTIFI-

CALLY FOCUSED FIELD FORCE.

2. TRAIN THE SALES FORCE ON PHYSICIAN & PATIENT PSYCHOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR.

3. DEVELOP PATIENT EDUCATION TOOLS TO BE USED BY PHYSICIANS.

4. EDUCATE PHYSICIANS ON ―PATIENT RELATION-

SHIP WITH EASY–TO–UNDERSTAND COMMUNI-

CATION‖ THROUGH SEMI-

NARS, WORKSHOPS AND OTHER TOOLS.

5..REGULAR NEWSLET-

TER FOR FIELD FORCE KNOWLEDGE AND MOTI-

VATION CEMENT.

Contact Dr. Shalini Ratan ratanshalini10@gmail.com

5 POINTERS FOR A KNOWLEDGE-BASED APPROACH:

1. DEVELOP A SCIENTIFI-

CALLY FOCUSED FIELD FORCE.

2. TRAIN THE SALES FORCE ON PHYSICIAN & PATIENT PSYCHOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR.

3. DEVELOP PATIENT EDUCATION TOOLS TO BE USED BY PHYSICIANS.

4. EDUCATE PHYSICIANS ON ―PATIENT RELATION-

SHIP WITH EASY–TO–UNDERSTAND COMMUNI-

CATION‖ THROUGH SEMI-

NARS, WORKSHOPS AND OTHER TOOLS.

5..REGULAR NEWSLET-

TER FOR FIELD FORCE KNOWLEDGE ENHANCE-

MENT AND MOTIVATION.

ENHANCING PHARMA-DOCTOR-PATIENT ENGAGEMENT

featured in:

Med

icinM

an C

reative

s

[SAMPLE]

To find out more call:

Dr. Vishal Bansal : +91 97172 18558

Rahul Mishra : +91 96118 76767

3 FACTORS IMPACT MR – DOCTOR INTERACTION IN THE CURRENT MARKET SCENARIO

EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICAL ALGORITHMS CUSTOMIZED TO YOUR SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION NEEDS

1. SCARCITY OF ATTENTION !

2. SCARCITY OF TIME !

3. SCARCITY OF INTEREST !

Medical Rep—Doctor interaction should address these 3 scarcities to be effective.

Promedik Algorithms are based on current research and simplifies diagnosis and treatment.

Promedik Algorithms are very effective in engaging the doctor‘s attention in the shortest

possible time by conveying clinically relevant scientific research. Promedik Algorithms also

make the task of a Medical Rep easier and interesting by giving him a clear picture of the

disease management sequence and where his product fits in. Promedik Algorithms enhance

the MR-Dr. interaction and takes it from the level of mere product detailing to the delivery of

actionable research based Rx information.

MedicinMan

Page 6

―An outstanding

Medical Rep does not

necessarily become a

successful First Line

Manager, while an aver-

age Medical Rep can be-

come a successful First

Line Manager (FLM).‖ This

paradox sounds ridiculous

but true because as Medical

Rep you are responsible for

your own work and success

whereas as FLM you will

have to get the job done by

your team members, that

too willingly.

Some very important skills

a Medical Rep should de-

velop to become a success-

ful FLM are:

Communication Skills:

Selling is basically a profes-

sion of communication and

as FLM your first customer

is your team member with

whom you will be com-

municating on a regular

basis. The most important

aspect of communication is

what to say, how to say

and where to say. While

speaking, your verbal com-

munication must match

your body language. People

are intelligent, and if there

is a mismatch between

your verbal communication

and body language, people

will not trust you.

Product Knowledge: As

FLM you are the FIRST

TEACHER to your Medical

Reps. While working with

you, Medical Reps will seek

value addition from you;

be it improvement of their

knowledge or in-clinic

effectiveness.

Problem Solving: Your

MRs will come to you first

whenever they have prob-

lems. As a leader and

teacher, ask them to come

up with two-three alternate

solutions. Sit and discuss

all the options and ask

them to logically select the

best one. This will give

them a sense of belonging

and will enhance their

thinking power.

Listening: As a marketing

professional you should be

a very good listener and

your colleagues will often

like to share their views

with you. A patient listen-

ing will make them feel

important. The day they

discuss even their personal

problems with you, you

have built rapport with

them and established your

leadership.

Objective: Your objectives

should be clear to you as a

FLM; accordingly you will

be able to tell and sell it to

your team members. At the

same time you must show

the path to ACHIEVE the

objective.

Man Management: This

is the prime responsibility

of any FLM. You cannot

manage people but you

must lead them so that

even in your absence, your

team members achieve what

they are expected to, that too

willingly.

Every individual is different,

you can‘t measure team

members with one parame-

ter. As a First Line Manager

you represent the company

to them, a teacher, a friend

an elder brother and much

more.

The Pharmaceutical Indus-

try is a very rewarding in-

dustry. I started my career

in 1989 as Medical Rep and

before starting my place-

ment consultancy in 2008, I

was overall in charge of sales

operations. First Line Man-

ager is the first step to di-

rectly lead a group of people

(5-7 team members) and is

an on going process. Learn-

ing happens every day. No-

body is perfect. Practice

makes man more intelligent.

Never ever be afraid of fail-

ure because failure is not

when you fall down but is

when you do not get up

again. Plan your career to

become a successful First

Line Manager and start

working on it. ▌

Hitendra began his career as

an MR and rose to the position

of Manager Sales—Overall in-

charge of Sales Operation.

He has worked at Sun Pharma,

Intas, Wallace and Organic

India. He is MD at Jag Kamal

Placements.

Write to him at:

profile.pharma@gmail.com

— Career Growth Focus —

YOU CAN‘T

MANAGE

PEOPLE BUT

YOU MUST

LEAD THEM;

SO THAT EVEN

IN YOUR

ABSENCE,

YOUR TEAM

MEMBERS

ACHIEVE

WHAT THEY

ARE

EXPECTED TO.

‖

Hitendra Kansal

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I wanted to become

a doctor but family

circumstances did

not allow me to;

hence I completed my

graduation in science.

Somewhere in my final

year I became aware of the

Pharma Sales Professional

and used to watch medical

reps in doctors‘ clinics and

in the market as the smart

guys wearing a necktie.‖ I

got selected with Ethnor

for Bhopal headquarters.

The company training was

very helpful to understand

the job and its require-

ments. The initial field

induction with senior

colleagues and my Area

Manager took off my

fright and gave me confi-

dence. It was good going

for a year and then I was

offered a job with Bur-

roughs Wellcome, a bigger

MNC with better salary in

the same place (Bhopal).

I joined Burroughs during

a very exciting period

when their antibacterial

SEPTRAN was launched.

Another three years

passed by in perfecting my

skills and achieving suc-

cesses. I picked up a

Featured Thought Leader MedicinMan

Shiv Bhasin: Medical Rep to Managing Director

good habit of reading

business magazines

and management

books.

By now, I had spent four

years and the feeling of

personal growth became

very prominent. I started

focusing on self devel-

opment, giving feed-

back to marketing and

participating meaning-

fully in company meet-

ings. Luckily, a change in

Area Manager and good

relations with the Zone

Manager helped me to get

proper direction.

The proud moment of my

becoming an Area Manag-

er came after 7 years. I

became the youngest per-

son in Burroughs Well-

come and the city of Bho-

pal to become an ASM.

I moved to Baroda, Ah-

medabad and Jaipur,

learning and enjoying the

job of a manager. I learnt

that people skills are

very important to

build a strong team.

The team observes you

closely to see whether

you can command,

solve their problems

and give them direc-

tion. In 1988, I was pro-

moted as Overall-In-

Charge and given the

charge of Gujarat state.

After a good performance,

the promotion as Zone

Sales Manager came at

Indore headquarters, my

hometown, with M.P. and

Maharashtra as my area.

This position exposed to

me to the nuances of man-

aging a large geographic

area and a big field team.

One learns the art of

problem-solving as a

number of difficult

situations are

referred to you. The

focus shifts to manag-

ing your Area Manag-

ers and coaching them

to produce the desired

performance.

THE PROUD

MOMENT OF

MY BECOMING

AN AREA MAN-

AGER CAME

AFTER 7 YEARS.

I BECAME THE

YOUNGEST

PERSON IN

BURROUGHS

WELLCOME

AND THE CITY

OF BHOPAL TO

BECOME AN

ASM.

‖ Page 8

Shiv Bhasin

MedicinMan

Page 9

Shiv Bhasin: Medical Rep to Managing Director It takes some time and

experience to under-

stand and practice the

art of Coaching.

Changes were again in the

offing as I was transferred

to Bombay as in-charge of

Maharashtra. This

brought me closer to head

office colleagues and sen-

ior managers. I started

taking interest in Market-

ing and would provide

feedback to

the marketing

team and of-

ten discuss

strategies

with them.

My pursuit for

growth and

development

took a new

turn when I

enrolled for a diploma in

Business Management in

Narsee Monjee Institute

( NMIMS ). I now started

getting a sense of other

management functions

like HR, Finance, Distri-

bution and Production

giving me a clear idea of

how the overall business is

run.

I was progressing well, got

noticed by senior manag-

ers and was tipped to be

one of the contenders for

Sales Manager‘s job. Then,

a bombshell came by way

of Glaxo acquiring BW.

The process of change

management started with

al Sales, looking after

India business and devel-

oping Bangladesh and

Myanmar. I took a lot of

help from Training which

helped to change mindset

of people and upgrade

their skills to meet the

new challenge. Coaching

my managers to lead their

teams to an overall suc-

cess led to a faster growth

of the company over the

years.

Finally, my

contribu-

tions were

recognized

and I was

offered the

coveted po-

sition of

General

Manager (Managing Di-

rector) at Solvay Pharma

Indonesia based at Jakar-

ta. You enjoy it more

when you are the first In-

dian to make it to the top

of the company.

I returned back after three

years, with a treasure of

experience in heading an

organization and interna-

tional exposure. ▌

our senior executives

leaving and Glaxo execu-

tives filling the positions.

A Glaxo person was ap-

pointed as ‗Sales Man-

ager‘, dashing my hopes of

immediate growth. I left,

joining IPCA as their Sales

Manager where I learnt to

handle large sales teams

and a big portfolio of

products. I worked there

for three years.

In 1999, I joined Duphar

Interferan as their General

Manager – Sales. My as-

signment was to trans-

form the company from

general selling to a spe-

cialty driven company to

promote the global prod-

ucts of Solvay. This was a

challenging assignment

wherein Solvay India was

built up from very small

beginnings to a respecta-

ble midsized company

with its key brands occu-

pying leadership positions

in their therapeutic seg-

ments. In 2005, I was pro-

moted as Vice President –

Domestic and Internation-

―I started taking interest in

Marketing and would provide

feedback to the marketing

team and often discuss

strategies with them.‖

Shiv Bhasin began his career as a Medical Rep and rose to the position of Managing Director based in Jakarta, Indone-sia.

Send Your Feedback to: skb_48@hotmail.com

WHAT HAS CON-

STANTLY DRIV-

EN ME ON THE

PATH OF SUC-

CESS IS:

STRONG AMBI-

TION TO GROW

ACHIEVEMENT

ORIENTATION

D E V E L O P I N G

AND UPGRAD-

ING MY SKILLS

PEOPLE MAN-

A G E M E N T

S K I L L S T O

BUILD A TEAM

C O A C H I N G

SKILLS

Shiv Bhasin

Featured Thought Leader

Page 10

The Pharma Key Account

Management Report 2011-

2012 is based on more than

50 interviews with KAM

executives.

These include 24 in-depth interviews with senior pharmaceutical executives and stakeholders as well as surveys of the pharma community involving 956 and 100 respondents re-spectively.

METRICS NEEDED

There was general consen-sus among respondents that metrics are needed to support six key perfor-mance areas in KAM pro-grams: valid direction of objectives and actions in account plans; quality of engagement with cus-tomers; sales progress; tactics that work; value delivered from a custom-er perspective; and results of mutual objectives.

Ultimately, though, a com-pany‘s ability to measure performance outcomes ac-cording to more complex KAM criteria will depend on having the right attitude and aims going in.

―It doesn‘t matter who or what you are, or what you have on your business card,‖ comments James Bailey, UK regional busi-ness manager for Astellas.

―If you have a clear sense of purpose and clear reason for being there, which you communicate, you will get further.‖

The Pharma KAM Report 2011-2012 identifies a

number of hurdles to measuring KAM value, both practical and tech-nical.

They start with instilling attitudinal change compa-ny-wide and from the top down.

That can be particularly challenging where senior management have been brought up on a culture of ‗calls per day‘.

―We are still of the belief that we need a nod and a handshake to get sales, un-til proved otherwise,‖ com-ments Lars Werner, Leo Pharma‘s BU director, der-matology, Denmark and Sweden.

As many as 71.4% of survey respondents said their companies continued to set, measure and report on call rates, while 28.6% measured call rates but generally used the data only when a sales issue arose.

FLEXIBLE TIMELINES

KAM measures also need to be flexible about time-lines for program/product uptake or return on invest-ment. This may be a func-tion of different priorities in local health economies, how mature the product is, or brand objectives, such as wanting to get a compli-ance program properly bedded in before driving sales.

―The difficulty with KAM is not predicting the out-come—for example, setting the objective—the difficulty is setting ‗when‘,‖ com-

ments Lee Gittings, com-mercial effectiveness man-ager at Pfizer in the UK.

KAM is a more nuanced approach to customers than traditional share-of-voice platforms, with their emphasis on trumping the competition through sheer weight of numbers.

A key account may be less about immediate sales gains than building a mu-tually beneficial relation-ship in which a package of products and services is used to achieve long-term health outcomes tailored to a local health economy or particular disease area.

KAM measurements must therefore be able to capture performance across a wide range of parameters, con-sistent with the multiple strategic aims involved in selecting and targeting key customers.

Among those highlighted in the report are long-term health outcomes; key mile-stones in account plans; value parameters, such as levels of patient education; patient-management ob-jectives, such as drug ad-herence; customer, insight, engagement and satisfac-tion; and comparisons among accounts.

For exclusive business in-sight into and analysis of KAM, download eyefor-pharma's Pharma Key Ac-count Management Report

2011-2012. ▌

MedicinMan

Clear Objectives & Metrics - the Key to Success in KAM INSIGHT SHARED BY

Special Thanks to Jon

Gwillim and Victoria Stin-

son of eyeforpharma

www.eyeforpharma.com

A KEY

ACCOUNT MAY

BE LESS ABOUT

IMMEDIATE

SALES GAINS

THAN BUILD-

ING A MUTUAL-

LY BENEFICIAL

RELATIONSHIP

IN WHICH A

PACKAGE OF

PRODUCTS AND

SERVICES IS

USED TO

ACHIEVE LONG

-TERM HEALTH

OUTCOMES

‖

(Cont. from P. 1)

Getting it Right with Key Accounts Richard Ilsley Clears the Air about KAM in this Executive Briefing Paper

A survey of senior

managers from man-

ufacturers, retailers and

distributors in Europe and

North America in 2009/10

considered their relation-

ships with their major sup-

pliers. Only around 15% of

suppliers and their ‗Key

Account Managers‘ seem to

be getting it right.

Yet around 65% of senior

managers from those same

or similar suppliers claim

they are in the top 25% of

best practice!

Most suppliers equate ‗Key

Account Management‘ with

selling to big customers

and a two-day training

course. Most suppliers are

getting it wrong.

How are we getting it

wrong?

The most common er-

rors observed are:

Failure to identify the

few critical success factors

– in other words what must

we get right with this Key

Account?

Failure to define specifi-

cally what ―value‖ means

for the Key Account – and

therefore incurring cost

without any return.

Failure to measure the

true profitability of the Key

Account - and consequent-

ly taking poor decisions.

Failure to adapt to the

Key Account that requires a

regional or global manage-

ment approach.

Failure to engage senior

managers from across the

business in Key Account

strategic planning by as-

suming that Key Account

M a n a g e m e n t m e a n s

―selling to big customers‖.

Failure to understand

how the Key Account takes

decisions, its strategic

plans and needs, how it

measures its suppliers and

to engage at the highest

level.

Failure to create simple

effective Key Account

growth plans that are en-

dorsed by the Key Account

itself.

Risks of getting it

wrong:

Key Accounts, by defini-

tion, are the most im-

portant customers of the

company. If you fail with

your Key Accounts – you

fail.

Companies that fail to ad-

dress their Key Account

strategy properly find that:

- they are increasingly reli-

ant upon price as the pri-

mary lever

- they incur costs that de-

liver little or no value

- they achieve a lower mar-

gin

- they struggle to imple-

ment their growth initia-

tives

What does it all come down

to?

You have to recognise that

getting it right with your

Key Accounts is fundamen-

tal to the long term success

of your company.

What do we have to

do to get it right?

The demands of effec-

tive key account man-

agement in the 21st

Century are:

1. A clear simple key ac-

count strategy driven by

the corporate strategy.

2. A clear competitive

strategy that defines

exactly where the

growth is coming from

and why; along with

clarity about how value

is added to the Key Ac-

count.

3. Serious attention from

the most senior manag-

ers across all disciplines.

4. A multi-disciplinary

team approach and not

one Key Account Man-

ager working in isola-

tion.

5. Recognition that KAM

means so much more

than selling.

FOCUS FEATURE

Page 11

Key Account Management

MedicinMan

Richard Ilsley, UK

6. Selecting very high cali-

bre individuals as Key

Account Managers.

7. A never ending drive to

add real measurable

value .

8. A ruthless focus on cost

reduction.

9. A short set of simple

common measures of

success (key perfor-

mance indicators).

10.Clearly defined roles,

responsibilities and in-

centives coupled to sim-

ple and accepted pro-

cesses, tools and skills.

11. Enhanced knowledge

and understanding (as

opposed to collecting

and storing data).

12. Short simple actionable

key account plans sup-

ported by regular formal

performance reporting.

Companies that do this

achieve better returns than

companies that do not.

▌This article is a summary. Read

the full text here.

Richard Ilsley is Partner at Sales & Market ing Consulting Group (SMCG). E: richard.ilsley@smcg.net

MedicinMan

I've seen companies use KAM as a title vs. a process. The KAMer is the one who should lead the team in the

KAM framework, but the process and roles during each stage of the buying cycle needs to be well defined.

Additionally, the process needs to be flexible enough to allow the person who has the greatest credibility and

relationship with the client to lead the selling effort. This is not saying they lead the team, but lead the con-

tact and relationship with the client. If you have someone who has the ability to develop a trusted advisor

relationship with the client, take advantage of it regardless of their role in your company.

Page 12

THOUGHT LEADERS Our Editor, Anup Soans asked Linkedin Leaders to share their insights on KAM

In today's economy the con-

cept of KAM can/must be

modernized and extended to

situations where a vendor

decides to engage in a pro-

active way with carefully

selected targets. Sticking to

the classic definition might

be adequate for some com-

panies or sectors where re-

sources can and should be

focused on a few opportuni-

ties at hand. However, us-

ing this more aggressive

definition of KAM can help

many companies define and

execute very valid growth

strategies. This of course

requires a very realistic and

controlled approach but I

believe that the future be-

longs to companies able to

use this modernized ap-

proach. ▌

E: sandra@handsassociates.com

I have worked extensively in the Pharma sector on KAM implementa-

tion for the last 10 years and there are some specific challenges in in-

troducing KAM within this sector. Firstly to the positives, as Olivier

has noted, the Pharma industry really do understand influencers and

complex sales environments. Also, it is an industry that invests signif-

icantly in training and seeks to take a lead. By and large the account

managers are very well educated, often with science degrees, and so have no problems

grasping the ideas and thinking.

The real challenge is that the ideas and thinking of KAM do not fit very neatly into this

sector. KAM exists around the assumption that Seller selects Buyers with whom they

have a common/shared strategic goal. The Seller will then apply the appropriate re-

sources to servicing that account such that both parties benefit. This model is easy to

understand in the world of FMCG where the 2 parties maybe Wal-Mart and Proctor

and Gamble. We saw in a recently posted example from Richard Ilsley how these com-

panies had worked together to their mutual benefit. In the Pharma sector howev-

er, it can be a real challenge to find a common strategic goal - put crudely,

Pharma companies want to make a profit from the often excellent prod-

ucts they have developed and the purchasers of healthcare want to reduce

costs. This fundamental difference in overall goal leads to a lack of open-

ness and trust and as such any replication of the FMCG model is difficult if

not impossible.

Does this mean Pharma companies should not employ KAM? Well no, not at all, but

what they must do is be realistic with what can be achieved. There are some excellent

KAM tools which can be selected for the world of Pharma - but selection is the key. We

need to take what works well and adds value and disregard what adds complication

and no value. There has been a great deal of time, money and energy expended on try-

ing to bang a square peg into a round hole! ▌

KAM is business of patience. It requires more time to understand system,

know key people, develop confidence with key people. KAM is unconven-

tional selling. Unfortunately not enough guidance is provided to these

people and in absence of results as expected within time frame fatigue

settles in fast. This business require a very mature management. ▌

Sandra Du Cross

Olivier Riviere

E: olivier.riviere @atoem-consulting.com

Nitin Nigam

E: djk1216@comcast.net

David Kirsch

I was recently asked

by a company to con-

duct a "Motivational"

talk for some of their

fresher Employees. Like in most such cases,

the HR (human resource)

department was very clear

with their requirements.

I still remember the HR

guy calling me a few days

before and saying,

"Well Doc, we pride in be-

ing one of the very few

Multinational companies

that like to employ fresh-

ers. While the market

standard requires 1-2yrs of

experience, we believe in

harnessing and cultivating

talent from the beginning.

As you will understand, we

require them to be com-

pletely motivated to face

the challenges ahead and

build a long term relation-

ship with us".

To simplify what he meant

- "We hire freshers because

they come cheap. We want

them to work as much as

we demand them to.

And we don't want them

leaving our company be-

fore a year or two at least.

So please do something!!"

One amazing thing about

freshers is that they are

loaded with energy. A

fresher is the embodiment

of youth. They put every-

thing into work because

they feel they can change

the system and also have

the need to impress every-

one with their ability. A

fresher is also a great

learner. They understand

the system and when time

comes, might decide to

make a quick move

towards a higher plane. My

job was to channelize this

energy and youthfulness.

Give it a direction.

Of the 3hr workshop I had

with them, one part was to

help them find a real life

example of positive energy

channelization and success.

I couldn't think of any bet-

ter example that the Hindi

film actor Shahrukh Khan.

It's known that Shahrukh

Khan has made it to the top

the tough way. While

preparing this module, I

stumbled upon a write up

on Shahrukh Khan. There

was a quote on his struggle.

Shahrukh Khan - "I slept

on a bench for a week and

borrowed Rs.20/. everyday

from a friend to travel to

film city"

Then I thought, In that one

week he might have

thought of quitting at least

a 1,000 times...

How many times have you

quit before giving it a 1000

thoughts???

Then again I analyzed the

statement and I realized: in

that moment, when he was

sleeping on a bench, what

must be going through is

mind? Only if you have the

virtues of perseverance,

patience and positivity that

you can fight those mo-

ments of despair.

It's so important to under-

stand only 2% of people are

happy with their jobs... the

rest fight stress, sadness

and worries about the fu-

ture every single day.

In such a scenario its im-

portant to understand you

cannot be positive all the

time and every single

ounce of negativity is tak-

ing you closer to your goal..

Remember:

Every successful man has

thought of quitting at least

once.

Every successful man has

lost his patience more than

once.

Every successful man has

failed more than once.

Every successful man has

encountered more negative

thoughts than positive ones

If there is so much nega-

tives, how could they suc-

ceed? Because they perse-

vered with a goal in mind,

saw every failure as an op-

portunity to fight back and

focused on achieving their

goals at all costs. ▌

Page 13

MedicinMan Dr. Hemant ki Ek Soch

The Shahrukh Khan Mantra

Dr. Hemant Mittal MBBS, PG.DPM, MD

Dr. Hemant is a well-known Behavioral, Emotional and Sexual Health Consultant. He is the Owner of Mind Mantra Wellness Concepts and a Leading Blogger at:

www.themindpath.blogspot.com

E: eksoch@gmail.com

―IT IS KNOWN THAT

SHAHRUKH KHAN HAS

MADE IT TO THE TOP THE HARD

WAY… SLEEPING ON A BENCH FOR A

WEEK AND BOR-

ROWING RS. 20 FROM A FRIEND TO TRAVEL TO

FILM CITY‖

Page 14

Music, Metrics and Management How Managers Must Make Sense of Data and Transform it to Actionable Knowledge

Not only in music is

the harmony of tri-

ads an important ele-

ment of style, it is im-

portant in improving our

well-being and good feel-

ings as well.

We find such triads in

management studies and in

our daily lives. One of these

triads is related to figures

that are regularly used to

measure results or dedica-

tion.

William Hewlett

once said: ―You only

can manage what you

measure, and what you

measure gets done!‖

Many of the KPIs used in

our companies follow this

sentence, at least the first

half of it.

An absolute prerequisite

for measuring and there-

fore management, are

numbers.

If many of them are collect-

ed in a table or spread-

sheet, Microsoft has told us

that these are called data.

To alter data into infor-

MedicinMan

mation, data need to be

displayed graphically. For

the mostly optical people it

appears to be easy to ex-

tract or make them under-

stand a specific and clear

informational message

derived from these data.

A company‘s product strat-

egy can easily be displayed

and supported with such

information. Acknowledg-

ing that the details of a

growth strategy vary signif-

icantly from others, the

creation of information

from data can well be a

challenge.

Questions like:

―Does this information

mirror our strategic objec-

tives?‖ or ―Will this infor-

mation point to the right

strategic direction?‖ should

be a mandatory part if you

want to achieve and sup-

port a coherent and con-

sistent strategy.

The third tone of the triad

becoming ever more im-

portant reflects the ques-

tion ―How can I create

knowledge out of this

information for me or my

company?‖

They say we are living in

the era of knowledge today.

But where is the knowledge

of my company?

Does it make sense if

knowledge is stored in the

heads of a few or should it

be made available for

many? How can knowledge

being in the heads of a few

be made accessible to oth-

ers in the same organiza-

tion? At the end the ques-

tion is left how we handle

our individual knowledge

or how we can transfer all

this information into

knowledge accessible by all

concerned.

The necessary pre -

conditions, some call that

IT-systems, are available,

allowing us to intone the

valuable and value adding

triad of transforming data

into information and at

the end create accessible

knowledge.

Pitifully this triad only can

rarely be enjoyed. ▌

Question: Being a medical representative, which of the 5 territories below

would you chose to work in and why?

Lots of Data

Information

Knowledge

Action !

Hanno Wolfram, Germany

Hanno Wolfram is Managing

Director at Innov8 GmbH and

Co-Founder at Pharmainstitut

with over 30 years of experi-

ence in the German and Inter-

national Health Markets.

Contact him at :

hanno@innov8.de

QUESTIONS LIKE ―DOES THIS INFOR-

MATION MIRROR OUR STRATEGIC OBJEC-

TIVES?‖ OR ―WILL THIS INFORMATION

POINT TO THE RIGHT STRATEGIC DIREC-

TION?‖ SHOULD BE A MANDATORY PART IF

YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE AND SUP-

PORT A COHERENT AND CONSISTENT

STRATEGY.

Music, Metrics and Management

ACADEMY

Based on MedicinMan‘s extensive interaction with senior industry professionals to understand

issues relating to the Healthcare Field Force, the following workshops are planned to address the

Learning and Development needs of healthcare industry professionals.

1. A Workshop on Creative and Strategic Excellence in Product Management

2. A Workshop on the Role of Front-line Managers in Sales Force Effectiveness

3. A Workshop on Key Account Management in Pharma

4. A Train the Trainer Workshop – Reframing Pharmaceutical Field Sales Training

5. A 3 month Certificate Program in Healthcare Communications (part-time, weekends) for

Medical Reps and Front-line Managers

These programs are targeted at enhancing the career prospects of Field Sales People as well as

producing better Product Managers, Training Managers and overall excellence among professionals

connected with Pharma Sales and Marketing.

For more information on attending the workshops, sponsoring participants or partnering with

MedicinMan Academy, contact:

Arvind Nair: E: arvindnair@medicinman.net M: +91 987 0201 422

Anup Soans: E: anupsoans@medicinman.net M: +91 934 2232 949

Professionals as Faculty

ANNOUNCING

Professional Development Workshops for Pharma Professionals by Top Industry

www.medicinman.net

MedicinMan

A D V I S O R S EXECUTIVE TEAM

EDITOR

Anup Soans

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Joshua Soans

COO

Arvind Nair

ADVISORY BOARD

Prof. Vivek Hattangadi

Jolly Mathews

EDITORIAL BOARD

Shashin Bodawala

Salil Kallianpur

Dr. Shalini Ratan

Prabhakar Shetty

MEDICINMAN INDUCTS VETERANS AND YOUNG BLOOD

Prof. Vivek

Hattangadi

began as a

M e d i c a l

Rep. He

has the

rare dis-

tinction of working at all lev-

els in sales and brand man-

agement – from Medical Rep

to Head of Sales and Market-

ing in leading companies. He

has developed the curricu-

lum for MBA in pharma sales

& brand management of

Vidyasagar University.

Prof. Hattangadi joins

our Board of Advisors

J o l l y

Mathews is a

Learning and

Development

veteran in the

true sense of

the word.

Till recently Senior Manager,

Training at Novartis India

Limited, He has a total work

experience of 38 years in

Frontline Sales, Field Force

Management and HR.

As a Leadership Trainer in

Novartis, he has trained

managers in various parts of

the world.

Jolly Mathews joins our

Board of Advisors

Amit Shekhar

is a passion-

ate and high-

ly committed

learning and

development

professional.

Amit has risen from ranks

from Business officer (MR)

to Area Business Manager to

Manager Training in the 5th

largest Pharma Company of

India, Cadila Healthcare

Ltd.

Amit is founder of

LinkedIn‘s influential Phar-

ma Trainer's Forum.

Amit Shekhar joins

MedicinMan as Training

Consultant

To receive the latest

issue of MedicinMan

every month in your

mailbox, visit

www.medicinman.net

and enter your email

ID in the ―Subscribe to

MedicinMan‖ widget

below the latest

issue.

Send your queries, com-

ments and feedback to:

E: anupsoans@medicinman.net

M: +91 934 2232 949

E: arvindnair@medicinman.net

M: +91 987 020 1422

WHAT THE PHARMA CEO WANTS FROM THE BRAND MANAGER

A New Book by Prof. Vivek Hattangadi Brand management gurus say the role of the CEO is tied inex-tricably to the brand. They further opine that the most powerful person in the organization i.e. the CEO should be the brand cus-todian. However this is easier said than done. Therefore, in this milieu, the brand manager in the Indian pharmaceutical market (IPM) has a key role to play. Although the brand managers have been given various nomenclatures – ‗Product Manager‘, ‗Therapy Manager‘, ‗Product Sales Manager‘ and a few years back they were also called as ‗Sales Promotion Manager‘, the most appropriate one is Brand Manager.

What exactly is the role of a brand manager? How does he build a brand? What are the characteristics of an effective brand manager in the pharma industry? And most importantly, what does the custodian of the brand - the CEO - want from the brand manager? How can the brand manager fulfill the CEO‘s expectations? What are his worries?

'WHAT THE PHARMA CEO WANTS FROM THE BRAND MANAGER' answers all your questions on this important topic.

Although the book is intended for those who have been recently initiated into pharma brand management, many pharma industry leaders recommend this book even for the practicing brand managers who desire to revisit the basics.

"What the Pharma CEO Wants from the Brand Manager’ is a must read for new entrants in product management and even useful for all those who wish to revisit the basics of pharmaceutical marketing. Chapters/Sections on self analysis, forecasting and brand plan are good. These can make every brand manager introspect/revisit on his current work." – Satish Dandekar, Sr. Vice President, Ipca Laboratories Ltd.

Send enquiries to:

vivekhattangadi@yahoo.co.in

Published and Printed for MedicinMan by Joshua Soans at 22 North Road, Cooke Town, Bangalore—84