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Customers and prospects have a great deal on their plates today. They have the demands of their customers, bosses, fellow staff members, suppli

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

ers and a variety of organizational, government, financial, department and industry issues that take a great deal of their time and energy.

Whe

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

Examples of combination products may in

salespeople call on these busy prospects or clients they must realize that what they are selling is not the most important thing in that prospe

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

t’s life. Although what they are selling might be of interest and value to them they often just do not have the time to do the salesperson’s wo

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

rk, the follow-up.

More often than I can state over the years, when I have followed up with a prospect that has been considering my services, I

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

Combination pro

have heard, “thanks for getting back to me. I had every intention of calling you but have just been too busy. Lets get this program rolling.”

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

Why don’t salespeople follow-up? And, what are the benefits of an effective follow-up strategy? Two critical issues that will determine the su

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

ccess of salespeople today. Why don’t salespeople follow up?

1. They fear a no or a rejection.

2. They believe if the prospect is really inte

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

ested they will call and help the salesperson do their job.

3. They are too disorganized and are not even aware that they should follow up.

4

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

They lack a positive attitude about their product, service or offer.

5. They know the prospect is not going to buy, so why bother.

6. They be

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

ieve the prospect is too busy to talk with them or to see them.

7. They are too scattered.

8. They lack confidence in themselves or their orga

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

Following aspects would a

nization and its services or products.

9. They believe their competitors are going to get the business anyway.

10. They don’t have an effectiv

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

follow up strategy.

11. They have nothing else to say or offer.

12. They knew they had a poor prospect anyway, so why bother.

Guilty of any

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

f these? I have been, and I have been selling for over forty years. It is easy to fall into the – no follow up trap. It is just as easy to pr

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

ospect effectively, present your product with confidence and professionalism and then the follow up is a natural conclusion to the previous step

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

if you didn’t close the sale on that visit, for whatever reason. Here are a few ideas to consider when you next follow up a sales call.

1. Do

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

’t open with a closed ended question like, “have you made a decision yet?” Rather, “where are you in the decision process?”

2. Don’t ask, “did

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

you get the information I sent?” Rather, “what is your impression of it?”

3. Don’t ask, “when can we get together to discuss our next step?” R

.

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

ther, “let’s get together next Monday to…..”

4. Don’t ask, “do you have any question about the proposal?” Rather, “Is there anything in the pro

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

osal that would prevent us from getting this order started?”

These are only four examples. Now see if you can come up with several of your own

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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The old adage goes if you can't measure it, you can't manage it. Measurable results are the bottom line for any business. Learn if you measuring what you need to manage.

Your imagination and ability to implement are your only true obstacles. Few, are the businesses that do not desire to increase their market share. Unfortunately, very few know how to achieve this lofty goal. Below are a number of ideas that should prompt your thinking in areas of developing strategic alliances to increase your market share.

I remember it all so well. The dot-com had just dot-bombed, the stock market was suffering from a sucker punch to the throat, and we were beginning to hear about some guy named Ken Lay. A little while later, news came out about Arthur Andersen, WorldCom, and Adelphia, among others. It seemed that companies were going under and CEOs were getting indicted faster than you can say 'stock option.' And then came the layoffs. Thousands upon thousands began losing their jobs on a regular basis. We started hearing about places overseas that were getting all kinds of work from US companies.

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