Dec
23
The Incredible Importance Of Effective Implementation For A Sales Group
December 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment
The key to effective marketing essentially lies in taking action. Someone once said that you cannot score a goal unless you first take a shot, so in marketing terms the best intent in the world is worthless unless you actually go out and do something. Within the pharmaceutical industry, effective marketing is more than just making professionals aware of the products available, it is about a host of other objectives as well, including reputational management, education and positioning. Indeed, sales and marketing can sometimes be more concerned with positions, placing and protection rather than the ultimate dollar transaction. This complexity certainly requires the selection of a top class sales and marketing team, and a pharmaceutical consulting firm can often be a significant ally in this pursuit.
Management is all-important and all those supplemental activities must be brought together to make the whole more effective. As such, implementation includes measurement and control, as well as overall co-ordination of daily and weekly activities. All members of the sales and marketing team must be clearly aware of what is required of them and that their actions cannot be isolated, but must be seen as an integral part of the company’s overall objectives.
Most pharmaceutical consultants will confirm that the heart of any plan implementation is in the execution, and no amount of paperwork, charting or spreadsheet construction will be of use unless things actually get done. All activities must first be co-ordinated, indicating who, what, when and where and the sales force must be conditioned to eliminate any potential distractions or objections that they may face. This level of coaching is essential, especially where some members may be somewhat new to the arena. They must be able to focus without distraction if need be and single-mindedly concentrate on the task in hand. If a team member is not familiar with time management, this rises to job number one, as prioritisation is critical to production. Of course this does not mean that more mundane elements should be ignored, just categorised and prioritised accordingly.
Effective implementation requires attention to detail and an ability to be thorough. Every member of the sales team contributes to the whole objective and other members must be aware of each contribution. Assumptions should never be made, as vital tasks or elements could be missed in this way and procrastination should be viewed as the enemy of efficiency.
While detail orientation is very important, as is time management, this level of implementation should not stifle the creative powers of the salesperson. He or she must understand that one of the obstacles ahead is the threat of becoming overwhelmed. Whomever is able to rise above distractions will really produce good results for the organisation. Through prioritisation, primary tasks are always achieved. If and when possible, delegate, but once again never assume that somebody else is “taking up the slack.”
Generally, pharma consulting organisations are well trained in the keys to effective implementation and are more than capable of training a sales and marketing force to take on the complex, challenging yet rewarding role of marketing within the pharmaceutical industry.
Alan Gillies is the CEO of L2L Consulting, a cutting-edge pharma consultancy firm which specialises in optimising productivity and performance within international companies by applying tailored organisational strategies.