37695 drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd:drug rep chron_Nov 09.

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All about Professionalism, Performance, and the Pursuit of Selling Excellence

FACES/PLACES: A PHARMA
SALES CAREER LED AAMIR SYED
Publications Mail Agreement No. 40016917

ACROSS THE WORLD ........14

SAMPLING: AFTER 90 YEARS,

THERE’S FINALLY A NEW WAY
TO OFFER SAMPLES ..........8

HOW WE DO IT: HOW

PURDUE PHARMA MAINTAINS
ITS SALES MOJO ..............10

Welcome to Drug Rep Chronicle. We’re

here to help you make the transition
to the exciting new times we face

Drivers of change

O
nce viewed both inside and outside the sec-
tor as a sheltered safe-haven, Pharma looks
very different now than it did just a few
years ago. And more changes are inevitable. What For Canada’s Professional Healthcare Representatives No. 1, 2009/10 Preview Edition
are the key drivers of these changes, and how do
they affect the drug industry salesforce? 4 out of 5 physicians say you may not be taking
The factors driving change can be categorized the right approach to this unique selling opportunity
as financial, customer, or key success.

‘Please don’t make

Financial: It costs more to run a Pharma
business today than ever before, and revenue is hard-
er to get. Data from the third National Pharma-
ceutical Congress1 in Toronto shows that in 1996 our
industry spent $17 billion on R&D and introduced 53
New Molecular Entities (NMEs). Eleven years later,
we spent $47 billion on R&D, while only 17 NMEs
me work another
medical conference’
were introduced. Get out your abacus: that means
one-third the NMEs, with two-and-a-half times the
spend.
Please turn to page 4

S
tudies have shown that 80 per cent of doctors believe they can
learn something new as a result of visiting company exhibits at
What reps need to know about medical conferences. More important, as many as 50 per cent of
doctors have indicated that they are more likely to recommend or pre-
persuading MDs scribe a company’s drug product after doing so.
Medical conferences provide a unique opportunity for pharmaceuti-

with evidence
Lou Sawaya,
cal sales representatives to interact with “hard-to-see” high prescribers in
a relaxed selling environment. However, to capitalize on this, you must
by MD, MBA have the “right” attitude, and use the “right” selling approach.
Reticulum, Kanata, Ont. Let’s talk about attitude. At a recent medical conference in Toronto,

M
edical practitioners and I spoke to a number of pharma sales reps about how they felt. While
researchers have developed some were very positive about attending the event, other sales reps
several approaches for deal- described it as “boring” and “a waste of time”, and said they would rather
ing with the huge amount of data and be making calls with doctors on their own sales territory.
evidence generated by the large However, only a few sales reps recognized that medical conferences
number of clinical trials and stud- allowed them to spend a lot more time with each doctor than they
ies conducted each year. would normally get during a sales call
Consensus methods, such as Please turn to page 4
expert panels, are a common
means of dealing with scientific
findings using a qualitative assess-
ment of evidence. They allow a wider
range of study types to be considered, in
addition to those customarily Please turn to page 6
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37695 drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd:drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd 07/12/09 3:46 PM Page 3

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.-- Walt Disney
The superior man is distressed by the limitations of his ability; he is
not distressed by the fact that men do not recognize the ability
that he has. -- Confucius

Surviving (and thriving) at medical conferences ......1, 4 Preview Edition • 2009/10

Most likely, you go to enough out of them, but are you getting enough out of them? Published with
Danny Dean offers suggestions on the do’s and don’ts of working congresses The Chronicle of Healthcare Marketing,
Chronicle MONDAY and Chronicle MIDWEEK
PuBLISHER
Persuading MDs With Evidence ....................................1, 6 Mitchell Shannon
Guidelines are a straightforward way to impress a physician, right? Wrong. Dr. Lou
Sawaya cautions often they do not follow the tenets of evidence-based medicine EDITORIAL DIRECTOR SALES & MARKETING
R. Allan Ryan Henry Roberts
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Drivers of change ................................................................1,4 Lynn Bradshaw
PRODuCTION & CIRCuLATION
Cathy Dusome
Welcome to Drug Rep Chronicle. We’re here to help you make the transition to the COMPTROLLER
exciting new times facing professional pharmaceutical representatives Rose Arciero

Sampling in the 21st Century..............................................8 Sign up to receive the free digital

A 90-year-old pharma tradition finally gets a facelift, and Stacey Nauss explains edition of Drug Rep Chronicle,
what that means for bag-carriers everywhere in your e-mail inbox at
http://www.drugrep.tk
Follow us on Twitter at
How we do it... at Purdue Pharma ..................................10
http://www.twitter.com/DrugRepChron
Chris Kostka describes how his Pickering, Ont.-based company, a specialty pharma mar-
keter, is succeeding to a greater extent than competitors with a broad focus
Published four times annually by the propri-
etor, Chronicle Information Resources Ltd.,
Stop waiting and start becoming drug rep 2.0 ..........12 from offices at 555 Burnhamthorpe Rd., Suite
Here are some steps to take, to avoid being pigeon-holed as expendable, as Big Pharma 306, Toronto, Ont. M9C 2Y3 Canada. Tele-
field forces continue to shrink phone: 416.916.2476; Fax 416.352.6199.
E-mail: health@chronicle.org
Contents © Chronicle Information Res our -
Faces/Places: Meet Aamir Hussain Syed ....................14 ces Ltd., 2009, except where noted. All rights
A top performer at dermatology specialty company LEO Pharma, here’s one pharma reserved worldwide. The Publisher prohibits
representative who graduated from two wheels to four reproduction in any form, including print,
broadcast, and electronic, without written per-
mission. Printed in Canada.
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your personal experiences in the field, and you are especially welcome to keep us informed about your team’s $59.95 per year in all other countries.
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My Turn: Opinion pieces of approximately 500 to 700 words, offering original commentary on issues facing the healthcare Healthcare Marketing, 555 Burnhamthorpe
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Please refer inquiries to: Editor, Drug Rep Chronicle, 555 Burnhamthorpe Rd., Suite 306, Toronto,
Canada. E-mail: circulation@chronicle.ca
Ont. M9C 2Y3 Canada. Fax 416.352.6199, E-mail: health@chronicle.org
ISSN 1920-8111

Drug Rep Chronicle 3

37695 drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd:drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd 07/12/09 3:46 PM Page 4

Drivers of change

Conferenc
— continued from page 1
It’s not just R&D. Operating costs for vir-
tually all areas of our industry are increasing sig-
nificantly: $63 billion will be lost to patent
expiry by 2014. The economic reality of today’s
Pharma is that we all must do more with less—
and the demands for salesforce productivity
have never been greater.

You go to enough of
Customers: We communicate with differ-
ent customers today than we did just a few years
ago. Nurse-practitioners and physician-aides are
two examples. The overall physician population

Are you getting enou

has increased slower than our country’s rate of
population growth. Together with physician emi-
gration, death, and retirement, the result is more
difficult access to specialists and greater demands
on GP/FPs. Four million Canadians do not have
a family doctor, with the result of the nature of
the walk-in clinic having changed considerably.
Today’s generation of physicians is more sceptical
of industry, and has higher expectations for
knowledge and service from their
pharmaceutical representatives. In
short, we have more customers
today than we ever had, and they
have higher expectations with
respect to knowledge and service
— while having less
by Lorne Markowitz time to give.
Management consultant Lastly, the
and contributing editor to recipe for suc-
Drug Rep Chronicle — continued from page 1 reality, it provides an excellent forum for
cess in Pharma
representation has always had three key ingredi- in the doctor’s office, and that this would physicians to share their individual clinical
ents; knowledge, skills and relationships. For many enable them to get a deeper understanding experience on how they manage specific
reasons, relationship-building is more difficult of the clinical challenges these doctors problem patients, or their thoughts on an
today and requires more time. The increased were facing with patients in their practice. educational presentation relating to your
challenge in relationship-building, together with In addition, attending this medical confer- therapeutic area that they just attended at
changing customer expectations and demanding
ence gave them a chance to network with the medical conference.
time pressures are shifting the balance of these
sales professionals from other pharma Important Do’s and Don’ts
key-success ingredients. There are greater
demands today on representatives’ knowledge, companies, and to see how they were pro- As experts in pharmaceutical sales and
targeting, planning, and communication skills. moting their products. marketing excellence, we have gained a
In short, the bar continues to be set high- Based on our consulting experience, number of insights into best selling prac-
er for today’s pharmaceutical representatives, as many pharmaceutical sales reps are not tices, and what top performing sales pro-
expectations are higher and tolerance of weak effective in medical conference selling. fessionals do that makes them more suc-
performance is lower. Product discussions in this unique selling cessful than other sales reps.
This radically new environment is the situation often involve interacting with In short, top sales performers have a
rationale for Drug Rep Chronicle. The publica- more than one doctor at the same time. As
tion’s mandate is to foster Professionalism, much better understanding of how to
a result, you can not simply promote your interact with different doctors in different
Performance, and the Pursuit of Selling
products as you would in the doctor’s selling situations. In addition, they avoid
Excellence for Canada’s 7,000 professional
office. Instead, you need to act more like an many of the common mistakes often made
pharma representatives. We’d love to get your
feedback on this new venture, or on any other orchestra conductor, encouraging and facil- by other sales reps.
topic relevant to the subject of what it’s like to itating a group discussion with several doc- Here’s a simple check-list to keep in
be selling pharma today. Write to us at feed- tors at once. mind.
back@drugrep.tk. We want to hear from you. At first thought, this might n As doctors approach your exhibit, do
seem to be a negative; but, in welcome them with a smile and a
1 The National Pharmaceutical Congress is a
major event that takes place in March of every
year that brings together key stakeholders of by Danny Dean, director of Ansera, a specialized pharmaceutical con-
the pharmaceutical industry; see www.phrma- sulting firm that helps its clients to achieve breakthrough sales results.
congress.info www.ansera.com.

4 Preview Edition
 37695 drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd:drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd 07/12/09 3:46 PM Page 5
ences:
h of them.
enough out of them?
warm greeting. Or, are you sitting
down, half hidden within your exhibit
with your arms crossed? And, do you
attempt to make eye contact and
introduce yourself to establish per-
sonal rapport, or do you simply focus
on trying to read the name printed on
their conference badge?
n Do you encourage the doctor to feel at
ease, so that you can initiate a conver-
sation that will allow you to identify
potential selling opportunities for
your products? Many sales reps quick-
ly box themselves into a corner by
asking, “May I help you?” … only to
hear, “No, I’m just looking”.
n Are you able to quickly identify what
information the doctor wants, or
what they specifically want to discuss?
Too often, sales reps assume they will
only have a few seconds with each
doctor, and simply give a short detail
on their product’s key selling features.
In many cases, the doctor already
knows about your product and is pre-
scribing it, so this information is of
no interest at all.
n Finally, at the end, do you ask if you
have fully addressed all of the doc-
tor’s questions, and explore how you
[or one of your colleagues] might fol-
low up subsequently with them at
their medical office to build further
upon your discussion?
An Integrated Approach
From a strategic selling perspective, it’s
important for you and your company to
think about ways to leverage your presence
at a medical conference, prior to the actual
event, itself.
For example, if you are sponsoring a
speaker or educational seminar at the con-
ference, think about how you might pro-
mote your session to all physicians on your
sales territory who might be interested. If
they are able to attend, extend a personal
invitation to them to drop by your compa-
ny’s exhibit booth, rather than just leaving it
to chance.
And, following the conference, make
sure that you or someone else in your com-
pany follows up with each doctor who
dropped by your exhibit to thank them for
their interest in your products. This will not
only help to strengthen your company’s
existing relationship with them as an
important customer; it will also give you an
opportunity to explore how you and your
company might be of even greater value to
them.
In summary, medical conferences pro-
vide a golden opportunity for you to learn
more about your customers, and to help
them better understand how they might use
your products to help their patients. The
secret lies in understanding how you might
best take advantage of this selling opportu-
nity, and how you might most effectively
interact with physicians before, during, and
after the event.
News
tweets
n NOCS OF NOTE: Microbix Bio-
systems of Mississauga, Ont. says its
clot-buster injectable urokinase
(Kinlytic) has been approved in Canada
for marketing and export... n Health
Canada approved alitretinoin (Toctino,
Basilea Pharmaceutica), OD oral Tx
for adults with severe chronic hand
eczema unresponsive to topical corti-
costeroids... n nuvo research of
Toronto says the uS FDA approved the
NDA of topical analgesic diclofenac
(Pennsaid), to be distributed stateside
by Covidien...
n GOOD TO GO: Health Canada’s
Medical Devices Bureau okayed the
Zenith Branch Endovascular Graft-Iliac
Bifurcation from Cook Medical, used
to allow endovascular Tx of both aor-
toiliac and iliac artery aneurysms occur-
ring in patients with abdominal aortic
aneurysms... n The FDA okayed arip-
iprazole (Abilify, BMS) as Tx of irri-
tability associated with autistic disorder
in pediatric patients aged six to 17
years, including symptoms of aggres-
sion toward others...
n PLACES, PEOPLE, PLAUDITS: B.C.
kinesiologist and heart disease
researcher Dr. Scott Lear is the first
recipient of the pfizer/Heart and
Stroke Foundation Chair in
Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
Research at St. Paul’s Hospital,
Vancouver... n The Royal College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
calls on Ottawa to make invest-
ments in human capital, research
and electronic health records to
support Canada’s recovery from
recession... n “This is an exciting
time for our company as we
advance our position as a strong,
global health care leader that will
make a substantial difference to
patients around the world.” —
Carlos Dourado, new president of
Merck Canada, following Merck’s
merger with Schering-Plough...
Get breaking drugbiz news and advisories
from Drug Rep Chronicle on your mobile
phone: follow
http://www.twitter.com/DrugRepChron
Drug Rep Chronicle 5
37695 drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd:drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd 07/12/09 3:46 PM Page 6

Persuading MDs With Evidence

— continued from page 1

included in statistical reviews. They are ical experience; guidelines in recent years suggests a
particularly useful where unanimity of n The number of systematic reviews widespread optimism about their power to
opinion does not exist, and when there is published annually keeps increasing effect change. Academics often use
insufficient information or when the at a disquieting rate. It is not unusu- guidelines as an educational tool. Third-
existing information is contradictory or al now to find more than one sys- party payers use them as a means of influ-
equivocal. tematic review addressing the same encing physicians’ practices.
The output of systematic reviews and therapeutic question, sometimes Pharmaceutical companies are equally
expert panels are then used to inform and published within one month of each active in the design and dissemination of
influence physicians’ clinical behavior other. guidelines, and incorporate them into
and medical decision-making in general. their promotional mix when they happen
One popular application stemming from Clinical Practice to favor a particular drug or therapeutic
systematic reviews is the development of class.
various clinical practice guidelines. Guidelines The persuasive
Understandably, pharmaceutical Clinical practice guidelines powers of guidelines
companies are quite interested in the con- (CPGs) are sets of recommenda- are mixed, howev-
tent of these reviews and guidelines, and tions and suggested courses of er; and physi-
in their development and dissemination. action usually made by a cians’ adher-
A favorable conclusion in a review or a group of medical experts. ence to them
strong recommendation in a guideline can Their purpose is to help can vary wide-
positively impact the sales of a drug or an practitioners deal with a spe- ly. A study that
entire therapeutic class. cific clinical question by assessed
Like any other discipline, evidence- informing them about opti- Canadian
based medicine has its own detractors. mal strategies for diagnosis physicians’
Not unexpectedly, the criticism surround- and treatment. Guidelines are attitudes about
ing evidence-based medicine reflects in portrayed by their proponents CPGs found
part the same concerns voiced over the as a strategy for linking evi- that physicians
design, conduct, and results of clinical tri- dence to practice, reducing prac- use them less fre-
als, and includes the following arguments tice variation and controlling quently than other
and points of views: healthcare costs. traditional
n Lack of evidence does not mean nec- The rapid prolifera- sources of in -
essarily lack of benefit; tion of format -
n The design, methodology and quality
of studies performed can and do
vary considerably, making it difficult
to aggregate the results in a mean-
ingful way;
n Evidence-based medicine applies to
populations, but not necessarily to
individuals. As such, it tends to pro-
mote a cookbook approach to medi-
cine, and discounts the value of clin-

Dr. Sawaya, a physician in Kanata, © Tatayanamirra | Agency: Dreamstime

Ont., is the author of five books on the
subject of industry-
physician interactions.
This article is an
extracted and con-
densed version of
material appearing in
his newest release,
Super Reps III: The
Persuasion Report. To
A
order a copy online, visit
http://www.super-reps.com
c
t
6 Preview Edition
 37695 drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd:drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd 07/12/09 3:46 PM Page 7
ion, and that only 32 per cent of those sur-
veyed reported making one or more
changes to their practice in a year as a
result of a guideline recommendation.
Physicians often choose to ignore
guidelines because of non-clinical factors,
such as the fear of malpractice litigation
or for financial considerations. Physicians
also value ambiguity and flexibility in
their work and as such are more willing
than other professionals to overrule guide-
lines. Rather than follow protocols, physi-
cians prefer to alter their approach and
their decisions based on the task on hand.
The pros and
cons of Clinical
Practice Guidelines
Proponents of guidelines see several ben-
efits to them, and like to point out that:
n High-quality guidelines provide an
unbiased synthesis of expert opinion.
Their development is usually moti-
vated by a desire to improve quality
of care;
n Good guidelines can serve as a valu-
able educational tool and a conven-
ient source of advice. Guidelines can
inform practitioners about what is
known with reasonable certainty and
what is not. By doing so, they can
assist physicians to cope with uncer-
tainty, and help physicians and their
patients sort through difficult deci-
sions and perhaps avoid unnecessary
and potentially harmful interven-
tions;
n Well-written guidelines can also inform
physicians about the state of the art
© Tatayanamirra | Agency: Dreamstime
and current thinking in a particular
clinical field. They can promote
greater consensus among physicians
and reduce variability in care. They
may also serve a ‘quasi-regulatory’
function by discouraging physicians
from ‘unreflective engagement’ in
treatment patterns that deviate dra-
matically from the guidelines.
A favorable guideline recommendation
can be a rep’s best friend, but don’t count on
the persuasiveness of any one single review
On the opposite side, critics like to tally
the numerous shortcomings of guidelines:
n Guidelines diminish physicians’ pro-
fessional autonomy, promote an over-
simplified or ‘cookbook’ medicine,
and are too rigid to apply to individ-
ual patients;
n Some guidelines are not written for
practicing physicians, but focus
instead on the current state of scien-
tific knowledge. Physicians can have
difficulty applying such guidelines
to specific patients;
n The proliferation of guidelines (now
in the thousands) is confusing to say
the least. Many have been developed
in a poor fashion. In fact, there are
now guidelines on how to design
guidelines;
n More than one guideline might
address the same clinical topic. This
can lead to information overload or
conflicting guidance;
n Many guideline developers do not fol-
low the tenets of evidence-based
medicine. For example, a compari-
son of nine guidelines on migraine
found that the proposed selection of
drugs was opinion-based rather than
evidence-based;
n Many consensus and guideline devel-
opment panels are supported by
pharmaceutical companies with
vested interests, and many panelists
receive research grants and personal
compensation for lectures and
advice from those companies. A
report on more than 200 guidelines
(from various countries) deposited
in 2004 with the US National
Guideline Clearinghouse found that
“more than one third of the authors
declared financial links to relevant
drug companies, with around 70 per
cent of panels being affected.”
However, almost half of the guide-
lines reviewed provided no infor-
mation about those conflicts of
interest.
37695 drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd:drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd 07/12/09 3:46 PM Page 8
Sampling
A 90-year-old pharma tradition finally gets a facelift
A
s pharmaceutical representa-
tives, sampling is still an inte-
gral part of our daily routine,
and for good reason. It’s one
of our most important selling tools;
whether it is a complement to detailing
a clinical study or in conjunction with
other promotional strategies, and it is
often used as leverage to gain access to
a physician that may be difficult to see.
For more than 90 years, physicians
have relied on sampling to try patients
on our products. For representatives,
there is a responsibility to manage these
samples, whether it is through proper
temperature storage (especially for tem-
perature sensitive products), or check-
ing expiration dates or returns for
proper destruction.
When I was promoting a con-
trolled substance the company could
not provide the salesforce with physical
samples. This made it more challenging
to get physicians to use it in their prac-
tices in order to see how the patient
would tolerate it before the patient had
to incur a financial investment since
there was limited coverage.
The company decided to sample
this controlled substance through STI,
using new SmartSample technology; in
turn the physicians were provided with
branded SmartSamples for patients.
Since SmartSamples are legal sample pre-
scriptions they are given to patients and
redeemed at that patient’s pharmacy of
choice. The sample quantity is taken from
actual pharmacy trade stock which deals
with all issues of storage, expiration, etc.,
and provides patients with added pharma-
cist counselling and drug checks. At the
time this non-traditional way of sampling
was foreign to everyone involved.
Stacey Nauss is currently a Professional
Sales Representative for Women’s Health
with Schering-Plough Canada Inc. The
views in this article are personal opinions
based on Stacey’s career in consumer and
pharmaceutical sales and in no way repre-
sent the views of Schering-Plough Canada
Inc. or any of its affiliates.
8 Preview Edition
As with any change there was resist-
ance at first when I was introduced to
SmartSamples and I wondered if it would
take away from the short time frame that
by Stacey Nauss
Professional Pharmaceutical
Representative, Nova Scotia
we have with the physician in a call. I was
worried I would end up spending more
time explaining the program which could
possibly take away from selling my product.
I quickly learned that it took literally sec-
onds to explain at the end of a call as it
mimics all current physician behaviors.
The SmartSample is a small card that
fits in your hand (making it very discrete),
the newest version is folded in two, the
front of it is branded with your product,
once opened, the left-hand side has the
sample prescription and the right-hand side
has a repeat script. The physician is
required to fill in the patient’s name, any
prescribing information, and sign, date it
and provide their medical ID number.
They can also fill out repeats for chronic
therapies which are logged at pharmacy,
saving time for the physician and the
patient if they tolerate the sample. Patients
benefit from a pharmacist checking for any
drug interactions and medication/disease
state counselling which in turn saves the
physician time in their office with
patients. However, the most important
benefit for reps comes with the fact that
the sample is redeemed at a retail phar-
macy in your territory. This has an
immediate impact on your sales and pro-
vides information on where, when, how,
and what was prescribed by physicians
when linked to CRM distribution tools.
Reps try and monitor the movement of
traditional samples in an office, as more
samples are used more patients are try-
ing it (we hope.) But what really happens
to those physical samples once they are
put in the sample cupboard?
This is where SmartSampling made
the biggest difference in my territory.
I’ve been fortunate now to work on
three brands using SmartSample tech-
nology and I’ve seen benefits for normal
Schedule F drugs also, not just con-
trolled medications looking for alterna-
tive sampling. The sales information
which is key can be sent in real time as
all pharmacies report the utilization daily
and it comes in different forms such as
pie graphs that include age and gender
of patients. This information can be a
very useful tool to help with more quickly
identifying key physicians that are prescrib-
ing, as well as knowing the age/gender of a
patient, which helps paint the patient pro-
file to the physician on the type of patients
that are using the product. The information
can also be useful in helping to manage
your territory by obtaining reach and fre-
quency on your targeted physicians. The
sales data also helps by providing an instant
gratification by seeing which physicians are
using your products and how often they are
being redeemed at a specific pharmacy.
As the industry changes we reps need
to adapt and I believe the introduction of
SmartSampling allows for better business
analysis of our territories while still provid-
ing an important access tool to physicians
and patients.
37695 drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd:drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd 07/12/09 3:46 PM Page 9

HEALTHCARE SPECIALISTS
SINCE 1989
Marketing
Advertising
Sales
C.H.E.
Managed Care
Business Intelligence
Clinical/Regulatory/Medical
Government Relations
Corporate Communications

CONTACT:
TORONTO
Darren Kruszynski
Grapevine Executive Recruiters Inc.
Telephone: (416) 581-1445 x 225
e-mail: darren@grapevinerecruiters.com
MONTREAL
Yves St-Aubin
Grapevine Executive Recruiters Inc.
Telephone: (514) 499-1445 x 30
e-mail: yves@grapevinerecruiters.com

FOR A COPY OF OUR
CORPORATE BROCHURE
E-mail: ray@grapevinerecruiters.com
37695 drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd:drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd 07/12/09 3:46 PM Page 10

Marc Lalande, M.Sc., CTDP

How we do it
... at Purdue Pharma
W
ith increasing physician expectations, pharmaceutical selling has never been more chal-
lenging than it is today. However, in several cases, specialty pharma marketers are suc-
ceeding to a greater extent than competitors with a broad focus. One such example of a
specialty company achieving its aims while others struggle is Purdue Pharma. Drug Rep Chronicle
recently spoke with Chris Kostka, sales vice-president at the Pickering, Ont. maker of pain and
CNS Txs.
So, tell us: Just how does Purdue do it?
Pharmaceutical companies need to take a scientific approach to salesforce effectiveness, if they
want to be successful.
It all starts with hiring the best people that you can—individuals with high emotional intelli-
gence and a strong customer orientation. To do this, we use a
very sophisticated approach to identify the right people for
our organization who also have those sales competencies that
Needs / attitudes
we believe make a difference in the marketplace.
assessment Pharma companies have always emphasized product and
Learning experience design
disease knowledge as an important part of the overall training of
their sales representatives. We take this a step further, by
Learning facilitation
demanding that each of our sales representatives achieves a per-
Learning and change evaluation fect score on all knowledge tests. As a result, when our cus-
tomers ask a question, we know that our sales representatives
Learning transfer
will always provide the right answer … 100 per cent of the time.
Coaching to the application In addition, we have high standards in place to ensure
excellent communication skills. By regularly assessing our
Trainers guidance and training
sales representatives in a variety of simulated selling situa-
Training practices sounding board tions, using a validated scoring system, we are able to evalu-
Chris Kostka ate the ability of our sales representatives to sell our prod-
ucts effectively and provide them with feedback on how
they can improve.
Tel: 514-674-1851
Fax: 1-866-225-3973 Sounds like you put a lot of emphasis on salesforce metrics.
mlalande@learninggps.com Yes, we’ve also done a lot of work with our sales managers. using a formalized coaching model, we
www.learninggps.com
regularly measure their coaching skills and the value they provide to our sales representatives, and
Icons courtesy of CSTD
we use this data to help them be more effective.
Most important, we interview our customers to get their perceptions, and to ensure that we deliv-
er value every time we are in front of them. This gives us another measure of how effective our sales
representatives are at selling, and what we need to do differently in terms of continuous improvement.
Finally, we work closely with our marketing group to ensure all selling tools that we provide to
our salesforce are aligned with our selling approach, and useful in supporting their product discus-
sions with our customers.
What does this mean, going forward?
More than ever, physicians today are increasingly questioning the value that sales representatives
Sign up to receive the bring to them and their patients.
free digital edition By using a systematic approach to gather data on how we do things, we are able to identify
of Drug Rep Chronicle, performance gaps, and determine what we need to work on to continuously raise the bar, and stay
ahead of our competition.
in your e-mail inbox at
www.drugrep.tk n Each issue, this feature profiles unique selling approaches and highlights best practices at specific
organizations. We invite your comments and feedback. Write to: howwedoit@drugrepchronicle.com

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20Solutions to
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37695 drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd:drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd 07/12/09 3:46 PM Page 12

Y
our old grandpa might have con-
ducted a successful sales career
based on the familiar principles of
“ABC”: Always Be Closing, if you want to
win the steakknives.
Your daddy was a much more sophis-
ticated specimen, relying on the scientific
approach to sales-as-solutions-providing,
that was inculcated at a Dale Carnegie
trainer’s knee, or the Xerox Sales Course, or
somewhere else with good air-conditioning
and plenty of fluorescent lighting.
You, on the other hand: you, my friend,
are an altogether different slice of sacher-
torte. You are a 21st Century professional
pharmaceutical representative, and, as such,
must make your way confidently through a
constantly-evolving landscape, where there

waiting becoming
are few signposts, and where many of the
dependable superhighways seem to have Stop and start

drug rep 2.0

been washed out in the last big flood.
We’re talking about change.
Probably your department has been
reorganized a few times over the past cou-
ple of years; possibly your team objectives
have been revised along the way. That, by
any reasonable standard, doesn’t count as
change. The tablet-computer you’re carry-
ing, and the smart-phone on your belt-
loop? Consider those simply fashion accou-
terments, or a taste of what’s in store.
All the changes we’ve seen
up to this point have simply
been preparation for what’s
next, which will be the com-
ing tsunami of: (a) billions of
dollars worth of
by Nino Avanti blockbusters
Agent of change, motiva- going off-patent,
tional speaker, futurist. with nothing to
His blog: www.tocome.tk take their place;
(b) reduced ability of worldwide popula-
tions to pay for new therapies; (c) repudia-
tion of previous health industry operating
tactics, and resulting greater transparency
through all facets of the care process, and,
with that, (d) a more complex—and expen-
sive—regulatory environment.
But you already know all that, and wis-
dom doesn’t pay the mortgage. The ques-
tion is not whether your skills and profes-
sionalism are up to snuff. The question is:
How do you position yourself for this com-
ing change, in order to avoid being referred
to behind your back in the company cafete-
ria as “Poor Ole Gil?” It’s expected that Big
Pharma field-forces in the new decade will
comprise perhaps only two-thirds to one-
According to the industry’s current wisdom, field forces will
continue to shrink, as drug marketers embrace
‘non-traditional’ channels and tactics. Here are some steps
to take, to avoid being pigeon-holed as expendable
half of the 1990s headcount, as the term
“grounded in the traditional sales app-
roach” becomes synonymous with “We
don’t need you.”
That should prompt you to take some
careful inventory of your current skills and
competencies.
I’m not volunteering to become your
career coach—try asking Malcolm Glad-
well; maybe he’s got some spare time—but
here is your takeaway: four questions that
could assist you in auditing, navigating, and
mastering, all the anticipated changes in
Are you fluent in the New Literacy?
both your avocation and your economic
sector.
Are you sustainable? The Olde Pharma
business was all about chemicals, and if
your previous company-sponsored
salesmobile, the Pontiac Gran Prix,
happened to burn up a lot of fossil
fuels—well, you had to carry big boxes
of samples, and drive some wide-bot-
tomed cardiologists, and their nib-
licks, to the golf course, didn’t you?
Today, it’s about Life Sciences, which
indicates it’s now a matter of engaging
the environmentally sensitive physi-
cian. So, unless your territory includes
Dawson City, you want to put in an
early request to your manager to trade
the 4x4 SuV for a gas-miserly, tree-
hugging hybrid, or Smart car. Don’t
neglect to point out how much it will
save the company in petroleum ex-
penses. Oh: and always make a point
of flamboyantly turning off the light-
ing as soon as the boardroom meeting
adjourns.
used to be that if you could sort-of
peck out a periodic call report, and
talk half-knowledgeably about last
year’s John Grisham novel, you had
all the literacy skills required to get
by in your organization. That won’t
suffice anymore, as pharma enters
the age of “non-personal promo-
tion” to multiple channels. Invest at
least 20 minutes learning a couple of
things about the new tools of your
trade. Start by learning the term
“cloud computing.” Next, discover

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obscure little career-enhancers, such

as Microsoft Movie Maker. And,
while you’re at it, set yourself up
with a Twitter account, and sign up
for a social networking site—or
three. Learn some of the essential
skills that professional communica-
tors use each day to sell ideas in this
still-new century.
Are you responsive, in real-time? (10
second pause.) Quickly, now. Are
you? Your customers, your contacts,
and your managers don’t want your
voicemail, bright boy, they want you.
Like, five minutes ago. You can avert
your eyes and murmur defensively dur-
ing your next performance review
about how “emotionally intelligent”
you are, but no one ever promised that
the world was a reasonable place that
always rewards the slow and kindly.
Make sure your IM and Twitter acc-
ount information is prominent on
your business card, and appended to
your e-mail messages.
ll
Do you provide value for your pay-
cheque? Finally, consider the ques-
ps tion no one ever wants asked, but is an
unavoidable part of your career equa-
tion. As part of the knowledge base
tomorrow’s drug reps will require,
you’ll need a working understanding of
basic pharmacoeconomics, as well as
your organization’s ROI expectations,
and the ability to honestly assess your
axis within that plane. Having add-
ressed this potentially uncomfortable
matter, you should emerge confident
that you can articulate your personal
value proposition to your customers,
your community, and your bosses. And
if you can’t? At the very least, you’ll be
taking heed of Socrates’ 2,500-year-
old management tip, nosce te ipsum.
Know yourself, drug-rep dude.

AMESSAGEFROMSTI,
FOUNDINGSPONSORofDRUGREPCHRONICLE
PaulTobin, Managing Partner on behalf of
STI, is proud that SamplingTechnologies’
corporate support for Drug Rep Chronicle is
helping to launch the first pharmaceutical sales
publication in Canada, that will most certainly
aid pharmaceutical salesforces to excel in their
everyday selling of pharmaceuticals and med-
ical devices.

Drug Rep Chronicle 13

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Faces/Places

Meet Aamir Hussain Syed, a representative

with LEO Pharma, the dermatology specialty company based in Markham,
Ont. Aamir has been with the company for more than 10 years. He has complet-
ed seven CCPE courses, as well as the Toastmasters International Communication
and Leadership program. He earned LEO’s “Representative of the Year” award in
2003, and is always among the top performers in the company. He previously
worked in the company’s training and marketing departments.
He is currently detailing the fast-growing area northwest of Toronto, which includes the
bedroom communities of Georgetown, Brampton, and Orangeville.
Before joining LEO, Aamir worked as a medical representative for Novartis in Karachi, Pakistan. Karachi, a not-so-small city
of 15 million people, is very much unlike Georgetown, Ont. It is the largest city in Pakistan, the 20th largest city in the world, and is
Pakistan’s financial capitol.
In his Pakistani territory, Aamir called on dermatologists: along with GPs, internists, cardiologists, OB-GYNs, pediatricians,
EM doctors—and, oh, yes, pharmacists. He averaged 13 calls per day.
His Novartis-supplied vehicle was a motor-scooter. He worked his territory six days each week, and his manager joined him for
at least one day weekly. He had to submit a route plan every week with potential meeting points, and his manager could be waiting
for him at any one of them (the process is known as chappa).
The work day in Karachi usually started with hospital calls at 9:00 a.m., followed by community-based office visits. At 1:00
p.m., Aamir went to the office for a weekly meeting, and on the other five days he went home to do clerical tasks, and study. At
5:00 p.m. he would go out into the territory again, calling on doctors in their private offices. This usually wrapped up at 9:30 p.m.,
but would occasionally continute until 11:00 p.m.
Aamir notes that pharmacy regulations in Pakistan are far less restricted than in North America. Pharmacists can dispense pre-
scription medication even without a physician script, or substitute an MD’s order.

I’m not a fan of facts. You see, the facts can change, but my opinion will never change, no matter what
the facts are.--Stephen Colbert
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive
to change. --Charles Darwin
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Ad-Persuasio
37695 drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd:drug rep chron_Nov 09.qxd 07/12/09 3:47 PM Page 15

PERSUASION Rx:
How to Influence Ethically
(1st edition)

“You can’t catch a caterpillar

with a butterfly net.”

CCPE, together with

Excellerate developed a much
needed program. This new
and exciting program teaches
pharmaceutical associates
FROM ALL DEPARTMENTS
4 how to apply the art and
C.E.U. science of influence and
persuasion; the two pillars of
behaviour change.

Since 1969, The Council for Continuing Pharmaceutical Education has

been accrediting pharmaceutical professionals.
Our course curriculum is accessible without prerequisite to anyone.
For information about this
and other SOFEDUC credit
courses (some only ½ day),
please see our website:

From Knowledge to Application www.ccpe-cfpc.com

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