Pharmaceutical Sales Force Effectiveness Metrics

Summary

With the ever increasing pressure to ensure maximum return on investment, sales force effectiveness is becoming a high priority area in the global pharmaceutical industry. Sales force represents the largest spend in sales and marketing and yet, study after study show that the returns gained from this spend is not particularly strong and one recent IMS report found that pharma sales force effectiveness declined by 23% in the recent period of 2004 to 2005. Better metrics must be used to measure both the effectiveness and financial impact of SFE for this very significant budget.

The startling discovery that this comprehensive report uncovers is that the very metrics currently being used to assess sales force effectiveness are in fact the ones aiding the decline of the sales force effectiveness. Traditional pharmaceutical organizations are rigorously tracking and managing sales activity, but still falling short. Data emerging from the research concludes that current metrics are more focused on efficiencies rather than effectiveness - and do so to their own detriment.

This report dissects current SFE metrics and their limitations, for the pharmaceutical industry in the United States, Europe and Japan. The report then discusses appropriate metrics to solve these problems, and demonstrates implementation methods and issues.

Sales force effectiveness is a difficult concept to measure, but doing so can push pharmaceutical companies past today�s hurdles and into increased productivity and sales.

The report also identifies core issues at play in SFE, such as:

Why sales call frequency metrics are deeply flawed

What impact the marketing message has on the customer during the detail

Which SFE issues vary by region

How to target the right audiences

How to incorporate appropriate influencing behaviors into SFE programs

The report discusses appropriate metrics to solve these problems, and demonstrates implementation methods and issues.

Sales force effectiveness is a difficult concept to measure, but doing so can push pharmaceutical companies past today's hurdles and into increased productivity and sales.

About the author

Dr Andrée Bates is the Managing Director of i>Eularis, a company that applies sophisticated analytical processes to quantify the sales impact of specific marketing programmes for pharmaceutical brands.

Contents

SECTION 1: Background - The Scale of the Sales Force Effectiveness Problem

SECTION 2: Assessment - Current Metrics Used and their Contribution to the Problem

a. Sales Force Size and Share of Voice
b. Sales Calls Per Day
c. What�s Missing
d. Future Measures

SECTION 3: The Problem With Sales Tools

SECTION 4: Changing the Focus

a. Customer Focus
i. Targeting
United States
Europe
ii. Relationships
iii. Call Quality
b. Message Focus
c. Continuous Monitoring

SECTION 5: Problems Specific to Europe with Sales Force Effectiveness

a. Western Europe
b. Central and Eastern Europe

SECTION 6: The Japanese Market: Sales Force Effectiveness Issues

SECTION 7: The Right Metrics to Solve the Problems

a. Efficiency versus Effectiveness
b. Targeting
c. Effectiveness Measurement: Moving Beyond �Recall� and �Intent to Prescribe�
d. Sales Forces Optimisation

SECTION 8: Implementation Issues

a. Productivity
b. Action Plan
c. Emotional Buy In
d. Where does �e� fit in: The Role of eDetailing
e. CRM and other Technologies

SECTION 9: Results Analysis

a. Case Studies