Changes In Sales Strategy For Pharma Companies

Developments in the customer base in the pharmaceutical industry are fundamentally changing sales and marketing practices. The increasing importance of large purchasers such as Managed Care Organizations in the USA and hospital trusts in the UK is leading to the development of multi-layered sales teams, according to a recent report, entitled The Changing Medical Market by management consultants Datamonitor, available through Marketletter.

New sales and marketing roles are being developed, which require more sophisticated selling to senior health service managers, and which involve new elements such as negotiations over price. Some of the new selling roles are based around strategies such as disease management, the study notes, where drug companies contract to supply all the needs of a health care unit, such as a hospital or HMO for a particular disease state.

In a number of cases, the promotion of disease management packages requires coordination between two or more manufacturers. Whilst this creates the potential for conflicting messages, it also presents an opportunity for sales people within the drug industry to become familiar with the sales techniques of other industries.