Business N Finance

Effective implementation is critical for any organisation engaged in today’s cut-throat business world, as with traditionally slim margins the difference between so near and yet so far can aggregate into a considerable problem. Many stumbling blocks await even the most experienced of all sales executives, threatening the employee’s total productivity, yet it is still so important to focus on each prospect and to try and move the closure rate up. While there is little that business chiefs can do to affect the closing rate when the sales executive is in the field and meeting prospects face-to-face, there is much that they can do to prepare the employee to engage in the first place.

To start off with, a sales executive must work to build the trust of a client. It is difficult to earn trust, yet everything must be brought to bear to achieve this goal and personal preparation is just as important as professional care. This will flow from a position of consistency and may take numerous visits or interactions to cultivate. At the very least, the executive must be prompt and attend all meetings on time, must call back as promised and follow-up any questions asked. The professional will be looking for the right information and will expect the sales executive to know what he or she is always talking about, without question. In the pharmaceutical industry, professionals and practitioners can be somewhat jaded and are used to dealing with executives from pharmaceutical companies that promise the earth, but don’t deliver. Through bad experiences, they may expect a representative to be interested in just selling and will have set up barriers accordingly, meaning that the first meeting or two would be involved in the breaking down of barriers in search of trust.

Once trust is established and the client believes that the executive can have some potential in future, the door is definitely open. This is not to say that sales will be a guarantee, but unless you reach this critical position you have very little chance of ever reaching the “Holy Grail.” Do not be afraid to present testimonials from happy customers in your role as a sales executive, especially if your target has a personal experience with one of the testimonial providers.

Invariably, pharma consulting firms talk about the importance of effective implementation and the various tactics required to get the prospect to agree and to say “yes.” The modern-day sales executives should realise that most of the “old” techniques are so hackneyed that they should be laid to rest. You would not want to build up all this trust and then try and apply old-fashioned pressure tactics, whether they are obvious or not, as it could lead to disaster. Time is so important and effective use of this resource will surely tell whether the sales executive’s day will represent success and profit to the employer, or not. As a rule, pharmaceutical consultants have much experience in the various sales techniques, specific and pertinent to the industry. The parent organisation should see how much potential benefit could ensue from an arrangement with a pharmaceutical consulting firm, especially where the issue of effective implementation relating to a sales executive’s approach is concerned.

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.

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