Advice You - Business

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. It's a saying so true that it has become clich? -- a phrase used by suit salesmen and purveyors of shampoo -- but it's a saying that should serve as a motto for y

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

our booth staff.

A trade show is a non-stop series of beginnings. Every moment -- from the second the doors open until they blink the lights signalling the end of the day -- is a moment where you could be meeting custom

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

ers for the very first time.

If all goes well, these crucial first moments will launch a mutually profitable relationship that will last for years. On the other hand, if the impression you create is not so positive, you

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

've kissed a lifetime's worth of business goodbye.

Beginning well's means you're half done. Once you've established a rapport with the client, once that positive foundation has been laid, the hard work of negotiating a

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

eal and closing a sale becomes so much easier. Here's what you need to know to create a favorable first impression time and time again, over the long hours and days that you'll be at the trade show.

What's for sale h

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

ere?

Your company might make computers or luxury automobiles. You might sell scrub brushes. You could retail the finest gems found on the Indian sub-continent. It doesn't really matter. When you're at a trade show,

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

what you're selling is YOU.

Today's buyers are nervous. They've been through the dot-com bubble. They've seen Enron blow up and corporate scandal follow corporate scandal. Yet they still have to do business. How do they

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

know who they can trust?

There will always be a due-diligence component to business, but a surprising amount of decisions are made by people 'trusting their gut.' During those crucial first minutes where you're checkin

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

out the attendee, they're checking you out. They are, perhaps unconciously, assessing what they perceive as your intentions and motivations. Few people believe that they can get a good deal from someone they do not beli

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

eve to be a good person.

Key Secret: People have to 'buy' you before they can buy your products.

Can you hear what I'm saying?

Non-verbal communication plays a huge role in creating first impressions. At

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

tendees are constantly watching. If your body language conveys the fact that you don't want to be at the show, would prefer not to engage with attendees, or are just going through the motions, they'll pick up on that and

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

go elsewhere.

Standing at the corner of your exhibit with your arms folded tells attendees "Stay away! I'm on guard." Sitting down, flipping through a magazine, or chatting with colleagues says "I've got better things

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

o do." All togther, it means "You're not important to me," even if you ask the attendees what you can do for them today.

Secret: People won't come in if your body language says "Go away!"

The Wall of Noise
cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
>

You have to approach attendees, engage them, welcome them into your booths. Unfortunately, many staffers take this to mean that they must offer up a constant stream of conversation, from the welcoming hello to the ass
tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
urances that "We'll be in touch!" as the attendee hurries to a calmer, quieter exhibit.

Talking is important, but listening is more so. Shift the focus from your own sales spiel to actually listening to the customer and
t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel
you'll find your results immediately improve. Ask attendees questions, and listen to their answers. Give them your full attention. Hear what they're saying and offer appropriate responses.

The fact that you're focused
ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
n the attendee, wholly engaged with them, and committed, however briefly, to solving their problems, is one of the easiest, most effective ways to create a positive first impression. It sets a good precedent, establishin
y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
g how you will do business with this client further down the road. You're laying the foundation for that positive, profitable relationship.

Secret: Focus on the attendee for maximum results.

These three secrets
.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de
will stand you well in the trade show environment. Remember that to begin new relationships, you must first create a positive impression. Being mindful of the fact that people need to trust you before they do business wi
elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip
th you, avoiding off-putting body language, and listening more than you talk will help you do exactly that. And then you'll be well begun -- more than half done, well on the road to starting a new profitable relationship

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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Advice You - Begin at the Beginning: Secrets for Success

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