KA Approach and Mentality for Pharma Sales Force

For many years the main approach to selling Pharmaceuticals was geared around the Share of Voice Model which focused on Frequency and Coverage as being the main drivers of sales.

Pharmaceutical companies used to rely on a well-established and successful go-to-market strategy: visit doctors, detail new medicines, and ensure product adoption. Hand in hand with increased access, the influence on doctors increased steadily, with the anticipated impact on revenues.
Until recently it was true that increasing the number of sales reps and therefore the number of details done by a sales force did indeed increase the revenue.

Lately, however, the face time that doctors allocate to sales reps has declined sharply. In early 1990s, for example, sales reps talked with physicians regularly and for an average of 12 – 15 minutes per visit. Today more than 30% of doctors meet sales reps less than 7 times per year and these visits last on average just 2 – 3 minutes.
As a result it has become increasingly difficult for pharma companies to establish brand awareness, keep sales force morale up and have the impact required to maintain or even increase sales.

With KAM Business Approach Pharmaceutical companies can revitalize their sales model & regain their consultative status and influential role in physician’s choice of medicines.
It doesn’t mean that all med reps must become KAM. But a KA approach to their daily sales activity becomes a must: the accountability and autonomy to be more selective in targeting his key customers – as well as a call rate target that is directly at odds with the KAM philosophy.

This KA Approach can be customized as a one module (of two day training) or it can be (and this is what we recommend and already implemented) as a 2-3 module program that can really create a mentality change.