AM PL E PA G ES S A G ES S the front line (2016) A FirstWord ExpertViews Dossier Report
the front line (2016) Published Copyright 2016 Doctor s Guide Publishing Limited All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or storage in information retrieval systems without the express permission of the publisher. This report contains information from numerous sources that Doctor s Guide Publishing Limited believes to be reliable but for which accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Doctor s Guide Publishing Limited does not accept responsibility for any loss incurred by any person who acts or who fails to act as a result of information published in this document. Any views and opinions expressed by third parties and reproduced in this document are not necessarily the views and opinions of Doctor s Guide Publishing Limited. Any views and opinions expressed by individuals and reproduced in this document are not necessarily the views and opinions of their employers. Cover image: yanlev AdobeStock
Contents All Contents Copyright 2016 i Executive Summary... 1 Definitions...3 Research Objectives and Methodology...4 Expert contributors...5 KAM and the call for customer centricity...6 KAM enhances customer engagement...9 KAM can drive better commercial performance...12 KAM helps manage resources...12 KAM is not a customer centricity silver bullet...13 Road blocks to KAM excellence...15 Forging a way forward...18 KAM and Complete Business Buy-in...19 Poor business buy-in leads to gaps in support...20 KAM exacerbates the sales and marketing split... 21 Buy-in struggles often start with senior leadership...23 How to make buy-in happen...24 KAM and New Colleague Competencies...33 Good sales reps make bad KAMs...34 Hire KAMs with diverse backgrounds... 37 Set up hiring assessments around specific attributes...38 New training is imperative...39 Integrate outside expertise into training...40
All Contents Copyright 2016 ii Pfizer case study: Intensive induction programme and regular follow-ups... 41 Use incentives to reinforce new behaviours...43 The power of prestige and advancement...45 Competitive Differentiation and the Future of KAM...46 Reach new customers and reach them earlier... 47 Harness data for deeper customer insights...48 Get better at collecting feedback...49 Know when not to use KAM...49 Get back to basics... 51 KAM best practice... 51
All Contents Copyright 2016 4 Research Objectives and Methodology The insights in this report emerged from detailed secondary research that is publicly available and footnoted for the reader s reference, and primary research that entailed 60-minute telephone interviews with eight thought leaders in key account management and sales performance. These experts live and work around the globe from North America to Europe to Australia. The objectives of the interviews were to: Identify the least understood yet most important challenges facing KAM today; Identify solutions to these challenges drawn from real-world experience; Explore how KAM is helping pharmaceutical companies in their journeys toward customer centricity; Illuminate what has worked, what hasn t, and what key account managers must do to better align with external stakeholders and deliver real value; Detail how KAM creates alignment challenges inside of companies and provide clues for how to overcome these challenges and create complete business buy-in; Investigate whether sales representatives make inherently bad key account managers (or good ones); Understand the new core competencies that key account managers need, and how best to instill that new skill set from traditional sales; Arrive at a set of best practices and key learnings that KAM leaders can use to implement better KAM initiatives and achieve competitive advantages.
Expert contributors 1. Heléna Bargiel, Head of Global Field Force Excellence, Global Patient Solutions and Strategic Marketing, LEO Pharma 2. Ashok Bhaseen, President of Thyroid Federation International; former Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Pediapharm 3. David Hennessy, National Sales Director, Genentech (Roche) 4. Robert Perry, Former Strategic Account Manager, Zoetis 5. Matt Pitzel, Managing Partner at Kameleon Partners; former Head of Pfizer s Key Account Management Organisation All Contents Copyright 2016 5 6. Matt Portch, Former North America Global Innovative Pharmaceuticals, Team Lead, Commercial Effectiveness, Pfizer 7. Viv Rees, Performance Director at Ashfield Insights & Performance; former Learning and Development Manager, Lundbeck UK 8. Adam Wood, Manager Australia Operations, STEM Consulting & Marketing; former Head of Training and Sales Excellence, Global Commercial Operations at Bayer Pharmaceuticals
Buy-in struggles often start with senior leadership All Contents Copyright 2016 23 The lack of alignment goes all the way to the top. Strong leadership with a clear understanding of KAM and why it s important not just to sales but to each department in the organisation can be tough to come by. Most senior leaders grew up in a different era and this just wasn t part of how they did things, says Wood. They can hear it now and agree to it now, but there are basic instincts and practices that we all return to, built from years of experience. It s not their fault, per se, but it s why they can come across as glacially slow and struggling with this shift. There always seems to be a pressure that comes back from leadership that asks, How is this driving business for my brand?, quickly into the process instead of trusting the process, says Matt Pitzel. They ve got 1,000 reps out there selling their brand and maybe 30 key account managers in their organisation. And yet they re looking for those 30 to do the same thing as those 1,000. They have to change their mindset because these 30 are doing something fundamentally different. If you just want 30 more people to drive the brand, hire 30 more reps. You have to have good strong leadership conviction, understanding and commitment for KAM to thrive. When leaders do embrace KAM, that generally trickles down through their entire team. The trouble is, pharma is a fluid world, and the leader of a team today will likely be somewhere else within the same company or at an entirely different organisation a few years down the road. This is especially true at a time of industry downsizing. We continue to re-organise all the time, so most of the people that I worked with that were marketing leaders three and a half years ago have now moved on to new roles and now I m working with new colleagues. It can feel like reinventing the wheel over and over again, says Portch.
The power of prestige and advancement All Contents Copyright 2016 45 As senior employees in a pharma organisation, key account managers are also generally motivated by prestige and advancement. This may range from being viewed as a thought leader to getting to travel the world and attend conferences, from having the opportunity to mentor younger colleagues to speaking on behalf of senior management at a regional level. The more successful they get, the better the reward needs to be, says Bargiel. You could say, Okay, if you succeed doing this or you succeed maintaining this really important account, then you will be able to attend this health economic course in France. A place where you know they would be excited to visit and a topic you know they would be interested in. Bhaseen says that sending key account managers to conferences is a good motivator as it a) helps them see themselves as thought leaders, b) reinforces that the company sees them that way and c) exposes them to new ideas and best practices. Training only works if people elect to do it, says Bhaseen. It needs to start with them, with self-motivation. So you need to strive to create an environment in which people want to continuously improve. When I go to conferences, I go sincerely and attend the conference fully. When I do any proposition, I go and learn a lot about my competition; I m learning a lot about what they have, what they provide. I m learning a lot about the approval process of their products and I m learning a lot about clinical support, if they have it or don t have it. I go and evaluate all planograms and look at the products. I am trying to understand how the category is placed or managed within the shelves. I try to understand the turnovers. I try to understand market shares, how they are doing, how they are not doing. I try to get a very good depth of my competition, because if I don t know my competition, I really don t know my GPS in terms of where I have to go. Apart from knowing the competition, I am going to look at regional health authorities, what are they proposing, what is going on. I look at social media, what are they recommending. That makes me a whole person, it makes me a better key account manager, and it s not something that you can force on anyone. You have to encourage it through the goals that you set and the incentives that you put into place.
Unique insight into current and future pharma market dynamics through quantitative surveys with physicians, providing essential data in major disease areas and on key industry issues. A personalised and comprehensive intelligence service delivering up-to-the-minute pharma news, insight, analysis, and expert views of importance to your company's success. Critical and unbiased intelligence derived from in-depth interviews with the world s foremost thought leaders on the current and future treatment landscapes in major disease areas. Reports include three quarterly updates to ensure insights remain current. A personalised and comprehensive intelligence service reporting on the latest news and developments for the medical technology and diagnostic industries. Unbiased and concise analysis based on interviews with leading industry experts on important trends and challenging issues affecting the pharma industry today. FirstWord delivers timely, need-to-know intelligence about your products, your competitors and your markets.