Pharma boom aids tech sales

Medical representatives ride a motorcycle to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. The number of reps has trebled over the past decade. Photo: Amran Hossain

The pharmaceutical sector in Bangladesh now contributes hugely to the country's economy. The Tk 5,782 crore pharma market here has grew 18.4 percent last year alone, and is also one of the most technology-oriented sectors, particularly in its sales force. The industry has many customers -- patients, corporate hospitals, government and NGOs -- but its relationship with physicians remains its lifeblood; one created, nurtured and expanded by its sales force.
In 1995, when I used to work in Beximco Pharma, the sales force numbered about 200. Now, there are that many manufacturers, and each of the top 10 have sales forces of more than 1,000 in the field. The total number of representatives is now pegged at 50,000 -- nearly triple the number just 10 years ago. That is at least one rep for every practicing physician.
Pharma sales forces use a variety of mobile technologies. As the return on investment in traditional product promotions waned, wireless tech and applications were adopted to integrate information and resources across organisations. Popular Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a manufacturer of insulin, first used these to submitting daily call reports. Gradually it expanded into sales order submission, order processing, electronic approval and access to sales and rep-performance data. It even implemented a rep movement tracker with mobile service provider Robi (then AKTEL).
Mobile devices and applications can provide the “always-on” information, resources and flexibility sales teams need to better target physicians with the greatest prescribing potential, and to transition from simply promoting products to becoming a trusted and valued source of medical and scientific information. The ever-growing numbers of reps today both generate and draw upon vast amounts of market, physician, product, regulatory and scientific data, and do so with the speed and accuracy demanded by this fast-paced, high-stakes industry.
Some of the biggest pharma companies have invested in sales-automation tools and mobile sales supports are gaining in popularity. The industry has turned to mobile tech to boost productivity, cut costs and build competitive advantage. Mobile devices, from cell phones and PDAs to tablet PCs and even iPods (which can manage messages downloaded as MP3 files) give reps on the road the flexibility to use their time more efficiently while providing better service to their customers.
Personal digital assistants (PDAs) allow reps to do pre-call planning, including research on physician prescribing and preferences, information on prior contact details, and post-call info and enquiries. Some manage email, and documents with a level of ease and flexibility not afforded by a laptop computer.
PDAs are more powerful when a wireless connection is available to allow reps to access and retrieve documents when meeting with a physician. The interaction can be personalised and tailored instantly if the rep can pull documents and details to answer a physician's questions, and even email documents to the doctor's PDA.
The increased memory capability of today's PDAs even allows reps to use animated presentations, video clips and other digital frills. The applications of wireless and mobile tech includes contact management, physician profiling, sales analysis and planning, call reports, competitive analysis, sample tracking, meeting and event management, compensation and incentive tracking, expense reports and budgeting.
Some people say “selling is selling,” and that whether you peddle water or widgets makes no difference in the skills and strategies required for success. But pharmaceutical sales and marketing managers will tell you otherwise: The staggering amount of information required to prepare for and carry out a call puts greater demands on mobile solutions than in other industries.
According to a Pace Productivity Report, pharma sales reps spend just 23 percent of their time selling; and most of the rest searching for the information they need to be able to sell. Sales force automation can collect and provide much of the information reps need, but industry experts caution they are “just one spoke in a wheel of capabilities” needed to make the rep an indispensable resource for physicians. Better information-management and remote access, they say, helps reps focus on value-added tasks and provide more personalised service.
To gain the respect and loyalty of physicians, reps must strive to become educators and consultants armed with information tailored specifically each physician's needs, helping them improve their practices and patient care. Technology -- mobile and otherwise -- augments reps' efforts to build richer relationships with doctors. In the past decade, the industry increased sales force spending by nearly $500 million each year -- not including free samples of more the $700 million, while maximising promotional return on investment.
But rapid expansion of sales forces was a cost that made sense only as long as sales continued to rise. The top 20 companies, accounting for 84 percent of the national market, doubled the sizes of their sales forces in five years while prescribing increased only 50 percent. That ballooning of sales-force costs amid more modest sales gains makes efficiency critical for to future profitability.
If current trends persist, this competitive market will now favour those who only invest in new technologies that truly drive productivity. Wringing more value out of existing systems and integrating resources across the organisation will be crucial to elevating pharma relationships with doctors.

The writer is a physician and pharmaceutical entrepreneur.