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Advice You - Are There Any Sales Yet - It Takes More Than Making Calls And Giving Out Information
Running or owning a company is not an easy task. The pressure to perform is intense. Payrolls and profits have to be met and satisfied. People have to be hired and treated well. And an overall air of dynamic energy has to be created. For some folks the “running a business” learning curve
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
can be quite emotional.
About a year ago, a friend of mine, along with a group of other investors, purchased a sizable company and she became the CEO. The organization is national in scope and reputation, has existing clients, an experienced and trustworthy workforce and, when she bought
About a year ago, a friend of mine, along with a group of other investors, purchased a sizable company and she became the CEO. The organization is national in scope and reputation, has existing clients, an experienced and trustworthy workforce and, when she bought
; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.
Examples of combination products may in
Examples of combination products may in
it, had a significant cash flow.
The company’s focus is in the financial consulting area. Its clients are secured through contracts running anywhere from a few months to a few years. They are paid well in exchange for making and/or saving their clients substantial sums of money.
With a
The company’s focus is in the financial consulting area. Its clients are secured through contracts running anywhere from a few months to a few years. They are paid well in exchange for making and/or saving their clients substantial sums of money.
With a
lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.
proximately seventy-five contracts in place at the time the company was secured by my friend, she found herself overseeing a staff of about one hundred and monitoring some hefty deals. But it wasn’t long before cracks began to appear in the organization’s foundation. Unbeknownst to my fri
here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe
end (we’ll call her Kelly for the sake of this article), the company who previously owned her organization had not supported it with any sizable sales or marketing effort.
Two months after assuming control and with a few contracts at their termination point, she began to realize that the
Two months after assuming control and with a few contracts at their termination point, she began to realize that the
d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.
Combination pro
Combination pro
re had not been (and was not currently) a sustained sales effort to secure new contracts. The existing staff was viewed as the first line of salespeople. However, these folks were consultants and not a professional sales staff. Everyone was told to look for opportunities within the existi
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
g client base or search out other prospects. One problem…none of them knew how to do that.
A marketing firm was hired. They were supposedly familiar with the industry, which according to my friend seemed like a good reason to retain them. After several months of having them on board it b
A marketing firm was hired. They were supposedly familiar with the industry, which according to my friend seemed like a good reason to retain them. After several months of having them on board it b
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
ecame obvious that they talked a good game but their work was not creative, their ad copy was abysmal, the design of collateral materials was confusing and their understanding of the business was certainly outweighed by their inability to market and communicate the expertise of Kelly’s fi
nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically
rm to the industry.
My friend had one other situation that she forgot to recognize. She had never run a company of any size. She had been a supporting senior executive throughout much of her career. And there’s a difference between being a senior executive and being an entrepreneurial CE
My friend had one other situation that she forgot to recognize. She had never run a company of any size. She had been a supporting senior executive throughout much of her career. And there’s a difference between being a senior executive and being an entrepreneurial CE
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
. Too many people stood between the folks trying to sell, including individuals brought on board as salespeople, and those who should have been putting the process together and monitoring it. A middle management layer was firmly in place in a company that didn’t need any, or at best very
ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi
few, people in the middle. Of course she was used to a large middle management staff in her previous corporate life so she built the same in her new life.
Worse yet, there was no strategic sales plan. A catch as catch can atmosphere was created, with an overriding air of tension and pres
Worse yet, there was no strategic sales plan. A catch as catch can atmosphere was created, with an overriding air of tension and pres
ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.
Following aspects would a
Following aspects would a
sure. Those who were given the responsibility to sell (and the responsibilities were shifted continually) were told different strategies on different days. Rather then mining existing clients, dividing prospects into areas or regions, building long tern relationships, networking effective
dd to the challenges in developing combination products:
Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
y and efficiently and asking for referrals, she would walk around the office and/or call her “salespeople” on the phone and ask, “Are there any sales yet?” without consistent and specific guidelines as to how to get prospects and close them.
Since she had never been in the type of busine
Since she had never been in the type of busine
cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
ss she now found herself, she also didn’t take the time to research the average sales cycle. If she would have, she may have realized that it took, on average, eight to twelve months to close a sale. This would have saved her and her employees quite a bit of anxiety and anguish.
All was
All was
tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
not lost however. Kelly woke up one day (after much advice from friends and advisors) and decided to rearrange the sales process. Those who were good at networking were to concentrate solely on that. People with a large referral base were to work their contacts extensively. Existing and p
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
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
evious clients became the responsibility of two people with delineations as who did what. The marketing folks were let go. Middle management ranks were trimmed. And sales training was put in place for the folks in the field.
A retreat was scheduled so that everyone could be given a clear
A retreat was scheduled so that everyone could be given a clear
ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.
Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
understanding about the new direction of the company. Kelly also realized that if she didn’t put herself out as the face of the company she was missing a chance to network with other CEO’s and decision makers. And she also resigned herself to a realistic view of the sales cycle.
Armed w
Armed w
y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
ith her new energy the company has begun to turn around, but not without cost, both hard and soft. New investment dollars had to be, and were, raised and new projections devised. More realistic goals were set and more proficient employees hired.
The job of attaining new contracts is daun
The job of attaining new contracts is daun
.
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
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
ing, but some how I have the feeling that Kelly and her reshaped company is up to the task.
To avoid costly problems:
Have a clear and distinct method for keeping your pipeline filled
Train your employees to optimize their abilities as well as learn new skills
Check out any consultant
To avoid costly problems:
Have a clear and distinct method for keeping your pipeline filled
Train your employees to optimize their abilities as well as learn new skills
Check out any consultant
elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.
Companies that provide selfless information through particip
Companies that provide selfless information through particip
s, advisors, and/or 1099 firms or individuals you engage. Get references.
Realistically assess your strengths and weaknesses.
Assign responsibilities and accountabilities within the framework of well-defined processes.
Know what the average sales cycle is for your product and/or servic
Realistically assess your strengths and weaknesses.
Assign responsibilities and accountabilities within the framework of well-defined processes.
Know what the average sales cycle is for your product and/or servic
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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