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If your business uses direct mail to reach C-level prospects, you face a unique challenge: getting past the gatekeeper.

Gatekeepers are usually found in Fortune

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

1000 firms, where the CEO, CFO, CIO and other chief executive officers are too busy to open their own mail. Gatekeepers are usually the C-level executive’s pe

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

rsonal assistant, and sometimes the mailroom.

A gatekeeper will generally do everything in her power (depending on the express wishes of her boss) to screen al

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

l mail for sales pitches. And since the gatekeeper does not appreciate the value of your unique value proposition, the odds are against your sales letter ever r

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

aching the desk of her C-level executive. So here are some tactics you can employ to get past the gatekeeper with your direct mail.

1. Use an invitation

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

Send your sales pitch in a wedding-style invitation envelope, with a typical invitation card inside that invites the executive to respond to what you are offe

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

ring (usually a sales meeting, but maybe a white paper or other information).

2. Sell to the gatekeeper

Address a letter to the gatekeeper by name. State

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

your value proposition, explain why it is of value to her boss, and ask her to pass along the sales letter that you enclose. Be sure to thank her in writing for

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

her help.

3. Make a sweet offer

Send a box of chocolates or flowers to the gatekeeper, wishing her a great day and asking her to pass along your sales l

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

etter, which you send as a separate package.

4. Reason with the gatekeeper

Phone the gatekeeper, treat her as a peer, and ask her if she can help you get

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

your message to her boss. Ask for her advice. Ask her to recommend the best method (mail or phone or something else) for you to reach her boss.

5. Use an un

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

usual tactic

Commission a white paper. Write directly to the C- level executive, but instead of giving a sales pitch on paper, ask the executive if you may in

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

terview her (or him) for your white paper (or article or special report). Ask for an appointment.

Be sure to make your interview topic one that appeals to the

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

business challenges that the executive faces every day, and one that helps you present your credentials simply in the way you present your questions and explain

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

the thesis of your writing project.

6. Use a dimensional mailer

Dimensional mail is effective because it stands out. It doesn’t look like everything else

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

that the executive is receiving that day. Dimensional mail is also effective because it always gets opened.

No one who receives a box three feet long, 9 inches

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

wide and 5 inches deep, bearing the prospect’s name and job title on the top and an intriguing headline, is going to pitch the box in the trash unopened (I have

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

a client who mailed a canoe paddle to prospects; it worked). Innate human curiosity is too powerful for that. Just make sure that what’s in the box ties in wi

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

th what you are selling.

One rule to keep in mind throughout this lead generation exercise is The Golden Rule that Jesus Christ taught and practiced. If you alwa

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

ys do unto others as you would have them do unto you, you will succeed in reaching more C-level executives than you ever will using less-than-honest practices

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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