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“I hate cold calling!”

Of course you do. It’s the worst way to generate qualified business leads, it’s the hardest form of selling, and it’s often tasked to those who are least qualified to do it.

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

It usually leaves you disheartened with its minimal results. But, unfortunately, there’s no way around it: sometimes it must be done.

“So how can I make the most of a cold call?”

Determine y

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

Examples of combination products may in

ur objective

Salespeople cold call for all sorts of reasons:

To gain information about the decision maker

To qualify the prospect

To gain an appointment

To make a sale

Before picking up the phone

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

or stepping into your prospect’s place of business, have a clear understanding of what YOU hope to gain from the cold call experience. But make sure your expectations are realistic!

Usually, the o

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

ly realistic expectation of a cold call is to gather the information needed for a successful next attempt. The purpose of the experience is NOT necessarily to sell your product, but to sell

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

Combination pro

he next step toward purchasing that product.

Research your prospect

Always take the time to get to know your prospect before you contact them. Cold calling should NOT be used for research. Searc

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

for your prospect on the internet or read articles about their business. Don’t waste their (and your) time by asking your prospect simple questions that could be answered within five minutes of looking

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

t their website.

Knowing the basics about your prospect will show them that you respect their company and their time. It will also help you tailor your comments and questions to match their individual qu

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

lities and needs. This will easily distinguish you from all those other salespeople who hope to learn about that prospect after calling them.

Find value

After research, you should gain an idea of

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

the types of business problems your prospect may face. Use this knowledge to prepare information that is relevant and valuable to their company.

Any salesperson can ask qualifying questions during a cold

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

call to uncover the business problems of their prospect, but a great salesperson will already know their prospect’s problems, and have a solution before calling.

Create a customized document with their bu

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

Following aspects would a

iness name and tips to improve a specific situation, or give them an article that they may find useful in their industry. Whatever it is, make sure it is something that your prospect will see as valuable,

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

and be ready to present this material immediately in the cold call.

Giving them value first will grab your prospect’s attention and will change the tone of the entire experience. Your prospect will see y

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

u as a resource, rather than just a salesperson.

After all, people don’t want products, they want solutions. If you can’t help them solve their problem, then they won’t listen to you!

Know how to mak

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

a friend

In sales, it is all about who remembers you.

Who will remember you enough to call you back?

Who will remember to refer you to others?

People remember friends, not strangers

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

ho try to persuade them to purchase their products. Creating a relationship with your prospects will ensure a memorable experience that will lead to more communication and potential sales.

Combine friend

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

iness and value by giving your prospect a joke or cartoon that is sure to get a chuckle. Make them laugh and feel relaxed around you. If they feel at ease with you, they will feel comfortable discussing

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

usiness matters and problems with you.

Be enthusiastic and friendly to everyone you come in contact with. (Not just those you think are important). If you aren’t speaking with the decision maker, you ma

.

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

be speaking with someone who will determine whether or not you ever speak to him/her.

Although cold calling is a difficult way to generate leads, there are ways of making this initial contact enjoyable.

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

Have a clear objective and determine what needs to be done to achieve it before calling. Being prepared will make the experience enjoyable for you and your prospect and will set you and your company apart

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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