Digg It - Business

Sales planning is critical to sales success. Return on Time Invested (ROTI) should be key criteria that every salesperson should use when evaluating their account base. The biggest asset a salesperson has is their time. It is imperative that they manage this asset carefully. Time management is called the queen of the management sciences and the reason why they call it the queen of management sciences is that time management – needs to be “romanced” –salespeople need to go through a fundamental management course

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

every 12- 24 months.

A 120 Day Sales Plan is a great first step. This plan is the company’s first attempt to build an integrated business plan. Start by evaluating your territory with respect to economic conditions, competitive pressures, opportunities, threats and key customer and vendor objectives. What is really needed is to step back from the trees so you can see the forest. Some quality thinking will give you your baseline and then you can set your own goals, as well as plan out the major actions to achi

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

Examples of combination products may in

ve them.

You will repeat this process later in the year. You should strive to be realistic and also stretch in setting your objectives. This means that your “gut feel” says there is an 80% chance that you will achieve 100% of your goal. The company is going to be making investments in resources and support so that a significant growth rate can be achieved. There will be some ramp up benefit during this planning window, so be open minded rather than optimistic or cynical.

Your actual performance should be track

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

ed against your goal to help develop some planning and forecasting skills.

First you need to list your key objectives for the next 120 days. Next list the key action items that are required to achieve your plan. Each section item must have a brief task description, a tangible output (i.e. meeting held, quote submitted, credit approved, management visit made, return authorized etc.), a person named who is responsible for the output and a due date. Then interview your top 10 customers and work out your best es

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

imate of their predicted sales and gross profit volumes. Finally, do this again except from a supplier perspective. It is not important to tie supplier volumes to specific customers. This forecast will be used for two purposes; To make sure that your inventory is adequate to support your efforts, and to see if any of the combined volumes are large enough to help negotiate a better purchase price. Build a sales and gross margin forecast of your top five vendors in terms of year to date gross profit volume. F

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

Combination pro

r planning purposes assume that volumes of all other vendors add up to your total customer forecast.

• What will a sales plan do for me?

A sales plan systematically provides focus on specific territory objectives that are congruent with overall corporate objectives.

• Determine the following territory characteristics:

o Segmentation – forecast potential by product and by service

o Identify potential within new and existing accounts. Check marketing resources for new account development.

o Listen to your cu

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

stomers. Find the major pain that wakes them up at night. Take away the pain and become their distributor of choice.

o Promote the team-selling concept with inside sales and management. Make it part of your master territory plan. Become a team player yourself.

o Create these habits:

Habit of Prospecting
Habit of Planning
Habit of Professionalism, Presentations, Appearance
Habit of Goal Setting
Habit of Record Keeping
Habit of Time and Territory Management
Habit of

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

elf Development

o “A” players balance time

Prospecting
Account Development
Maintenance

Before we continue, we need to list exactly what an “A” player is. An “A” player must have the following characteristics:

1. Appearance – personal, vehicle and sales material

2. Pride – in yourself, your company and your profession

3. Confidence – in yourself, your company and your product/service

4. Sincere and trustworthy

5. Desire to achieve – wants to help others get what

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

they want and, in turn, earn a higher income

6. Excels in time and territory management

7. Does not ignore prospecting

8. Creates definitive, comprehensive, documented sales plans for all major accounts

9. Never visits a customer without a call plan

10. Seeks self development

11. Enjoys selling

12. Persistent

o Sources of Resource

Eliminate small, highly unprofitable accounts
Reduce call frequency on your buddies
Reduce call frequency on accounts close to office
Crea

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

e team concept

Don’t try to be all things to all customers

o Create “To Do” lists
o Plan each call
o Create master plan on all key accounts
o Set measurable objectives
o Create weekly itineraries
o Complete weekly call plans
o Schedule account and territory reviews

• Be professional, thorough, and document everything. For New Customers include all pertinent information like Company Name etc. and then briefly describe the scope of the project and what the customer

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

ants.

• You also must have a Customer Cost Savings Evaluation. The following is an example of this.

Customer Name: __________________ Sales Representative: ___________________

Month Savings Achieved: _____________ Amount of Monthly Savings: ___________

To our Valued Customers,

Our sales representatives have a major part of their incentive plan linked to their ability to help you reduce your costs. This form is the means that Corporate Management will use to measure their effectiveness. Your best judgment

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

Following aspects would a

of true cost savings is defined as the best measure of their success. In the space below please provide a brief, and specific description of the results of our mutual efforts. Each major success should be documented on a separate form.

Many of our mutual cost savings opportunities go beyond the industry, “three bids and a buy”, mentality. Changes and innovations in your purchasing practices may offer significant opportunities. We are willing to consider any changes in our practices that may help in this en

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

eavor.

Your sales representative can provide additional details upon your request.

SITUATIONAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COST SAVINGS IMPACT

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

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

______________

________________________________________________________________

Approved by: _______________________________ Date: ____________

Customer Signature and Printed Name

Key Processes in Distribution Field Sales

The role of field sales in the past focused around selling products to customers. The role is shifting rapidly to developing solutions and programs for customers that, once sold, allow product to flow through the business-to-business relationship. When developing process management tools f

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

r use in the field sales management function, the list below should be addressed carefully.

The professional field sales representative must. . .

1. Plan allocation of their personal time and other available resources to optimize performance against the expectations (frequently conflicting) of their employer, their customers and their suppliers.

2. Gather information from customers, suppliers and their own employer in areas of needs and requirements. Needs would include organization, job and personal needs wi

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

hin all three groups.

3. Continually gather information on threats and opportunities as well as emerging trends within their industry from sources outside of their customers, suppliers and their own companies.

4. Analyze information from their three constituencies and outside sources to formulate and develop solutions that increase economic value.

5. Plan, present, persuade and implement identified solutions.

6. Keep their employer informed with respect to activities, results, work in process, threats and op

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

portunities.

7. Support the ongoing transaction management activity including pre-sell activity, transaction activity and post-sell activity. As distribution companies evolve, the role of field sales in this activity shifts from primary to supportive.

8. Ensure that they maintain an ongoing training and development activity to increase their knowledge and professional effectiveness.

The Solution May Not Be What it Seems

In times past, salespeople were trained to focus on their product. They knew everything a

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

out it - what features it had, the benefits, how long it could last and what the red button did when pressed. Salespeople talked about the product until they were blue in the face. Armed with brochures and warranties, they were ready to attack. But, in today's environment, customers want more, not just the latest technology and the best "widget" a person can buy. They want complete solutions to all their problems. Suddenly, the brochure and other marketing materials are simply support functions. Buyers are more

.

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

educated, more professional and seek more than just products. They want efficiencies, market share and profit generation.

Finding the Pain

Be more knowledgeable and conscious of your customer's problem. You're no longer selling a product, you're selling a solution to make their life easier, happier, better, less complicated, or more fun. By understanding the customer's business and his customers, you help them make a profit through both cost reductions, improved efficiencies, increased value and increased sale

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

. Those solutions come in many forms and may have nothing to do with your product. That's okay. Look for the pain regardless of what it is and focus on the solution.

Customers don't want products, they want profits - or ways to make profits. They want satisfaction, feelings of comfort, pride, praise and self-esteem. They are people just like us. Well, maybe they don't have the same crazy genetics that we have as salespeople, but they are just as smart, just as caring and have similar personal needs and feelings

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

HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.diggit.org.ua/article/38349/diggit-ABCs-of-Sales-Planning.html">ABC’s of Sales Planning</a>

BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.diggit.org.ua/article/38349/diggit-ABCs-of-Sales-Planning.html]ABC’s of Sales Planning[/url]

How you prepare to take on the challenge of a detailed job search will be as important as the resulting effort you put into the search itself. Good preparation means focused effort, minimal stress, and as a result, a relaxed presentation to potential employers. Mr. Mitchell, a certified professional resume writer, breaks down the various areas to address regarding your Job Search Control Room in order to maximize your effectiveness.

Too much overhead will eventually either kill a business or cause it to restructure itself and uncontrolled overhead can stop it before it really gets going. There are things a businessperson can do to check their expenditures before they begin. It takes quite a bit of self-control for some types but it's worth it. Here are some common situations to ponder.

Might be time to expand your view of public relations to emphasize the behaviors of your unit's key outside audiences rather than publicity placements?

Tags

Links

Digg It - ABC’s of Sales Planning

Related Articles: