pharma communication & selling skills
TRANSCRIPT
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Communication & Pharmaceutical
Selling Skills One day participatory training.
Exclusively designed for Pharmaceutical Sales Reps.
SYNOPSIS: Pharmaceutical representatives deal with the promotion of pharmaceutical drugs.
They work for drug companies to promote their medicines to physicians. Pharmaceutical
marketing is a specialized area, which is distinct from general selling. It imparts sound
knowledge of Anatomy, Physiology, Disease and Management (Drugs) coupled with
Communication & Selling skills. No doubt scientific knowledge is paramount to the selling of
highly specialized products like pharmaceuticals, Selling Skills cannot be overlooked. Selling
skills demands 2 things first fully understand and practice the Selling skills course contents
secondly apply at the workplace with full letter & spirit. You will be amazed to see the results
and relations with your customers which are crucial in the business.
Contents: 1. Personal Hygiene, grooming and dress for success.
2. Know your territory
3. Planning the sales call
4. How to develop discussion objective.
5. Interest generating opening
6. Product attributes and benefits
7. Question techniques
8. Listening techniques
9. Customer’s Body language
10. Handling questions using Assertive tools
11. Asking for commitment.
Methodology: Instructional Manual, Ppts, videos, Exercises, workouts.
Who should attend: Medical Representatives, Pharma Sales managers, Supervisors,
Training Managers, HR Executives.
Duration: 01 Day Participative training
Date: (9:30 am- 7:00 pm)
Venue: Training Hall
Contact person:
Facilitator: Sohail Riaz (Healthcare strategist, Biomedical & Sales educator)
0345-508 5042; [email protected]
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About Facilitator:
Aims:
Understand the program objectives.
Learn new Communication & Personal Selling skills
Learn personal grooming & Etiquettes
Practice the professional Selling skills to apply at the work place.
Sohail Riaz
Healthcare Strategist, Biomedical educator.
Sohail started his Professional career with Merck Sharp & served for 17 years
from Sales Representative to Senior Sales Management positions. He has
successfully launched 14 innovative branded lifesaving products. Conducted a
number of advocacy campaigns for the dissemination of new perception and
treatment options that offered better disease management and benefits to patients.
He has worked on developing KOLs (Medical Consultants) to carry out group
discussion meetings, presentations on contemporary medical issues and panel
discussions with peers. He has carried out impact analysis to assess change in
doctors’ behavior in disease management.
Sohail has extensive knowledge of creating practical tools, frameworks, as well
as requirement analysis for capacity building programs with over 10 years Training
experience Performance enhancement & Training of Trainers for Cascade training.
With over 25 years of professional experience, He is a professional
1. Strategist “Plan and Prepare organizations for the future”.
2. Executor “Leaders take action to achieve Goals.”
3. Talent Manager “Direct others through Motivation, Communication,
Encouragement and Direction.”
4. Human Capital Developer “ Nurture future Leaders”
5. Personal proficiency” Decisive, Ethical, and Intellectual”
He has expertise in edifice competence and visual impact in trainees’ behavior
at work place enabling efficiency and productivity enhancement.
He is a Customized content developer to cater diverse business needs of clients
including medical college, MNCs, Govt sector and public workshops. He has done
degrees in Marketing & Management. He is in visiting faculty with 3 universities
teaching Marketing and Management subjects.
He lives in and travels from Islamabad.
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Overall Program Learning Objectives
1. Learn & practice Planning sales call, Communication skills
2. Learn Territory management, Goal setting techniques, Concern resolution, closing
sales call skills.
3. Demonstrate capabilities of participants to use for pre call analysis
4. Acquire proficiency of territory management, goal setting, questioning and listening
techniques and apply in the field.
5. Exhibit verbal and non-verbal selling techniques.
6. Demonstrate expertise in applying selling tools and skills at appropriate place.
Evaluating demographics. Locating town sales potential.
Pharmaceutical companies that focus on pre-launch market research activities
calculate sales potential and develop positioning strategies Sales forecasts play a
significant role in determining resource allocations for marketing expenses. Sales
forecasts directly impact budget allocation, and indirectly impact marketing
staffing. Companies determine a product's sales potential based on market
dynamics, including competitor products, competitor pricing and disease state
revenue.
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1: Call Objective (Discussion Objective): Remember each call objective is
different from other. So the strategy would also be different.
“A Discussion Objective is a written statement that specify Drs Current
perspective*, the Desired outcome and the Action taken to achieve the Desired
outcome”.
The 3 steps are:
Discussion Objective = Drs Current perspective +Desired outcome + Action
taken
*Dr’s Current perspective = Behavior towards your product. He may be at one of
the following stages:
a. Awareness b) Interest c) Trying d) Limited Rx e) Broadened Rx
Key: a) Awareness: the Dr is aware about the product, indications and have read
about its results. But no practical experience to use in his patients.
b) Interest: The Dr. is showing interest to use your product based on your efforts
and clinical material you have discussed.
c) Trying: Dr. has used your samples in few of his natives or relatives who
required them, but he did not prescribed in the patients so far. He has gained some
confidence about the drug but hesitate to use it frequently.
d) Limited Rx: Dr. has used your drug in limited patients has shown some
confidence but did not make it a drug of choice in the indication the drug is used in.
e) Broadened Rx: Your specific product is being prescribed as the 1st choice in
most of the patients. Dr some time convinces even the non affording patients to use
it for its patient benefits.
On the basis of Dr’s Prescribing Continuum you will prepare call Discussion
Objective as discussed above in detail. The discussion objective has to be
documented on individual Dr’s Card under visit date.
Case # 1 Dr’s profile: Dr.Mansoor Ahmed is an A-class GP I. Check up all types
of patients including panel patients, poor as well those who can afford some high
priced drugs too. He is Ethical and prescribes drug on the basis of Efficacy,
tolerability, compliance and affordability. He likes to use new drugs happily, but
after making sure that it is value added than the previous drug from the same
therapeutic class.
You are planning to visit him and develop a discussion objective.
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Note: you are introducing a new PPI and during your last visit you promised him to
discuss with him the reprint that shows the superiority of you new drug over the
available one in area of efficacy and long term tolerability.
Develop a Discussion. Obj: as per the above Dr Profile using 3 standards mentioned
above:
1) Current perspective:
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2) Desired outcome:
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3) Action taken to achieve the desired outcome:
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Interest generating Opening
Interest generated openings have the following 3 objectives:
Gain the doctor’s attention
Focus on the importance of your key message
Focus on the target patients
Focus on the key message; buy doing it so you will show:
How the key message is relevant to the doctor.
Increase the impact of your key message.
Easily move the Dr in the product discussion.
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Questioning Techniques
Open and Closed Questions
What happened at the meeting?
Why did he react that way?
How was the result with Renitec?
Tell me what happened next.
Kindly elaborate the experience in more detail in new patients.
Open questions are good for:
Developing an open conversation: "In how many patients you have tried Renitec
samples?"
Finding our more detail: "What else do we need to do to make this a success?"
Finding out the other person's opinion or issues: "What do you think about those
changes?"
Closed questions are good for:
o Testing your understanding, or the other person's: "So, if I get this qualification,
I will get a raise?"
o Concluding a discussion or making a decision: "Now we know the facts, are we
all agreed this is the right course of action?"
o Frame setting: "Are you happy with the service from your bank?"
o A misplaced closed question, on the other hand, can kill the conversation and
lead to awkward silences, so are best avoided when a conversation is in full flow.
Assumptive questions:
These are closed-ended questions. It is used to check your understanding
about some issue or clarification required.
They are asked to check the client understands about the matter under
discussion.
Examples:
Dr. Asad Am I right in assuming that after your successful clinical
experience with Noroxin, will you prefer it as 1st choice drug in UTI?
Can I assume that samples for 5 patients would be enough to have a
personal experience with the Esso?
I am sure you will now use Levosin as 1st choice drug in patients with
URTI & LRTI?
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Develop at least 5 open ended and 5 closed ended & Assumptive questions you will
ask your Dr.
Open-Ended:
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Closed Ended:
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Assumptive:____________________________________________________
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Active Listening
Hear What People Are Really Saying
Listening is one of the most important skills you can have. How well you listen has
a major impact on your job effectiveness, and on the quality of your relationships
with others.
We listen to obtain information
We listen to understand
We listen for enjoyment
We listen to learn.
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Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material into your own
words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased
material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader
segment of the source and condensing it slightly.
Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including
only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to
the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a
broad overview of the source material.
Good Example:
Cozaar: Efficacy beyond BP control.
Tell the Dr that Cozaar does something more than just lowering BP (prevents
stroke).
Cozaar: Superior stroke prevention beyond BP control
Tells the Dr. that Cozaar is number 1 in stroke prevention beside excellent BP
control.
“Allow me to demonstrate to you the study in the NEJM which proves that
Cozaar gives superior stroke prevention beyond BP control.”
Product attributes:
Cozaar reduces stroke by 25% compared with beta-blocker.
Cozaar effectively reduces BP in 87% of the hypertensive patients.
Cozaar is the only AIIA that reduces stroke by 25% compared to beta-
blocker.
Exercise: Develop similar key message as in the above examples
1:_______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
2:a)_____________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
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b)_______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
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c)_______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Listed below 9 questions / concerns:
1. QUESTIONS: A question is when Dr is asking for additional relevant
information that helps him to take a decision.
Dr: What tablet strengths are available?.
2: FALSE: A concern is false when it can be proven medically inaccurate.
Examples:
- Dr: Zocor does not work
- Dr: Zocor has many side effects
- Dr: The product in this class has same efficacy.
3: GENERIC: A concern is generic when its issue is not specific to the product,
even if the level of problem differs. This issue could be raised for any product
within a therapeutic class.
Examples: Dr: Cozaar causes hypotension.
In fact all antihypertensive have potential to cause hypotension.
Dr: Often , I have to combine Cozaar with other antihypertensive to control BP
IN MANY CASES.
This is also indicative for all antihypertensive.
Dr: Cozaar is expensive than Diuretics
Infact, all AIIA’s are expensive than Diuretics.
4: SPECIFIC: A concern is specific when it only be raised for your product
.Dr: Why Cozaar is introduces in combination (Hyzaar) like other AIIA’s
5: SMOKE SCREEN: When Dr wants to stop the call or test the representative , he
uses a smoke screen concern. Smoke screen are common even if the representative
has good relationship with the Dr.- it is a way for the Dr to defend himself against
hyper communication. Usually smoke screen at the beginning of the call where the
real issue does not deal with the product attributes .
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Example:
- Dr: I prescribe a lot of Renitec.
- Dr: I know every thing about Tienam.
- Dr. Your colleague has told me every thing.
6: NOTIME: Some time in the beginning of the call, the Dr. will interrupt the sales
representative with a concern that he has no time and wants to stop the call.
Example:
Dr: I have to go ,I have an emergency”
Dr: I have to go to a meeting or simply I have no time for you today.
Dr: We have to stop here
Without saying any thing Dr repeatedly looks at his watch.
7: NOT READY: If the sales representative does not know the answer to the
question or concern, he is not ready. Sometimes the representative knows the
answer but he is not ready. This may be because they think answering will take
away too much time or focus from the key message or even create more questions
or concerns. It is important to note that it is the only types of question or concern
that relates to the representative’s level of readiness level and NOT the Dr.
Dr: How does Cozaar works at the receptor levels in the kidneys?
8: BUYING SIGNAL: A buying question Dr is asking additional information for
the usage of the product or makes a positive statement about the product attributes
or benefits.
- Dr: The Cozaar stroke data are very impressive
- Dr: Should I start treatment with 50 or 100 mg tablet.
9: NON-VERBAL: A non –verbal signal is when the Dr. in signaling that he is no
longer paying attention or has lost in the presentation.
For example, he starts to read some information on his desk or write.
Putting all together in the exercise: In the table below there is a list if 9 types of
questions / concerns and the corresponding Dr. dialogue .Make a group and
practice each of the 9 types. Before returning to your course manager each member
ensures that he is familiar with the terms, definitions and the corresponding Dr’s
dialogue.
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Question/Concern Definition Dr’s Dialogue
1- QUESTIONS
when Dr is asking for
additional relevant
information
What tablet
strengths are
available?
2: FALSE
when the concern can be
proven medically inaccurate
Zocor does not
work
3: GENERIC
When the concern / issue
could be raised for any
product
Cozaar causes
hypotension.
4: SPECIFIC:
concern could only be raised
for your product
Why Cozaar is
introduces in
combination
(Hyzaar) like other
AIIA’s
5: SMOKE
SCREEN
This is the way for the Dr. to
defend himself against hyper
communication. Usually this
occurs in the beginning of
the call where the real issue
does not deal with the
product attributes
I know every thing
about Tienam.
6: NO-TIME
Some time in the beginning
of the call, the Dr. will
interrupt the sales
representative with a
concern that he has no time
and wants to stop the call
I have to go ,I
have an
emergency”
7: NOT READY
If the sales representative
does not know the answer to
the question or concern, he is
not ready. Sometimes the
representative knows the
answer but he is not ready
How does Cozaar
works at the
receptor levels in
the kidneys?
8: BUYING
SIGNAL
When the Dr. is asking for
the additional information
related to the usage of the
product or makes a positive
statement about the product
attributes or benefits
The Cozaar stroke
data are very
impressive
9: NON-
VERBAL
When the Dr. in signaling
that he is no longer paying
attention or has lost in the
presentation. For example,
he starts to read or write.
he starts to read
some information
on his desk or
write.
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Customer’s Body Language - A Guideline to your Communication Style
Skill #1: Bridging…
When you use a bridge…
1. Lean forward, palm out!
2. Stretch the last letter of the bridge.
3. Lean back and cup.
Skill # 2 THE HEAD NOD
1. Powerful persuasion tool Easy to learn
2. You’ll nod your head if… You feel positive 3. You’ll feel positive if… You nod your head!
Mirroring effect
Making Positive Impressions…6 Powerful Techniques
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Hand to ear Touching ..Not interested to listen.. Negative body language..Lying
Product attributes and benefits
Example #1: Product Attribute:” Cozaar is the
only AIIA that reduces stroke by 25%
compared to beta-blocker”.
“So what”
Product benefits: Which means that Cozaar
increases patients quality of life by providing
reliable efficacy and reduces cardiovascular
Mortality and Morbidity.
Example#2: Product attribute: Cozaar
effectively reduces BP in 87% of the hypertensive
patients.
“So what”
Product benefit: It means that majority of
your hypertensive patients would have
superior BP control at that same time they
enjoy better quality of life. This will give you
the confidence that you are providing your
patients with the best care.
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Mirroring will…
• Create rapport
• Avoids conflict
• “I’m the same as you”
• “I agree with you and your attitudes”
• Translate feeling of security enable other to make best decision.
Thinking, Evaluating, Openion making process,Taking decision.
Commitment & the doctor’s response
Asking for commitment:
The commitment questions are linked to the discussion objective and the key message and
usually ask for increase prescriptions of the product for specific target patients. For example the
rep. may ask the Dr. to prescribe the product to all hypertensive patients, hypertensive patients
with diabetes, hypertensive patients currently treated with beta blockers or all new Hypertensives.
It is important never to ask to Dr “Do you promise”
There are 5 commitment questions that follow:
1. Patient focused
2. Positive Alternative
3. Challenging
4. Dramatic
5. Negative Alternative.
(Point to point details, examples and related exercises for the participants will follow).
Exercises for each step are designed for understanding and practice)