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If salespeople expect to be in control of their financial destiny, they have little choice but to make prospect calls. Few salespeople I’ve met

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

actually enjoy making cold calls, but since they are a necessity for any true professional salesperson, every salesperson should suck it up and b

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

Examples of combination products may in

egin developing their cold-calling skills. Here are several steps that I believe will make the cold calls less unpleasant.

1. Do your homework.

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

Try to never make a cold call until you have done enough research on a particular prospect to know a few facts about him and his company. Some

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

personal information will help tremendously. This step alone will set you apart from the great majority of your competitors.

2. Be prepared to

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

Combination pro

open the conversation with a prospect with a sincere compliment…with emphasis on sincere. Everyone enjoys receiving a compliment, so either fro

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

m the homework you have done or from observations you’ve made in the field, do your best to find something positive to comment on. This is a gre

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 way to make a good first impression.

3. When I introduce myself to a prospect, I like to introduce the prospect to an idea that is unique to m

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

e. I do everything in my power to avoid duplicating an introduction that the prospect has heard dozens of times before such as: “Hello, my name

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

is Bill, how are you today?” Just about all salespeople open conversation this way. Instead, try something like this: “This weekend I was work

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

ing with Prestige Homes over in Spalding Farms and I couldn’t help but notice the split level you’re building next door. I know how busy you are

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

Following aspects would a

, but I have a great idea for that house that I’d like to share with you. Is now a good time?”

4. If you have been given the prospect’s name fr

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

om, say, a current customer whom is a friend of the prospect, you might open conversation with something like, “Yesterday, I was visiting with on

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

e of my good customers, and also a good friend of yours, Liz Sheffield. She asked for me to give you a call and I promised that I would. Do yo

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

have a couple of minutes to spend with me now or would it be better if I called back at a more convenient time?”

5. Depending on the prospect’s

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

reaction to your innovative idea (see #3 above), ask permission to stop by for a visit. Explain that you would like to gain a better understand

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

ing of the service levels that are most critical to him and see if you can find an opportunity to improve on the service he’s receiving from his

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

current vendor.

6. Resist asking for an order on the first call unless the prospect makes the offer. Remember that the purpose of the initial c

.

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

all is to make a strong enough impression to get permission to come back.

7. Before you leave, always express a sincere thank you for the time t

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

he prospect has spent with you.

8. Before the day is over, also drop a thank you not in the mail. This is the final mark of a true professional

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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Too many SUCCESSFUL entrepreneurs ride the 'Feast or Famine' wave. They have almost too much business and are SO busy, or they're worried, anxious, and restless because nothing is going on. There's nothing more draining and exhausting than riding that wave all the time (it's NOT a day at the beach, if you know what I mean).

Why does your marketing success depend on knowing your prospective clients? And where is it particularly important to know them well?

Business to business direct marketing can be improved with some simple steps outlined in this article. Bethesda List Center is an experienced provider of mailing lists, both postal and eMail in the US, the United Kingdom, Canada and worldwide. Speciality areas include: medical and life science, information technology, association members and association executives, human resource and development/training, business executives and small office/home office, often known as SOHO, executives.

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