Pharma sales experience is not of value anymore

Mar/04/2007 08:44 Filed in: Pharma Business
CRBR004631
Why do the senior people at pharmaceutical companies feel that employees "need sales experience" in order to advance their careers? I don't understand this mentality because it has no basis in reality in todays changing marketing environment. The problem seems to stem from the fact that most senior managers have come from the field and they believe that their company is a "sales driven" organization rather than a "marketing driven organization". That is a dangerous belief.






Someone I worked with at Lilly, with a very strong consumer marketing background, is now working as an Associate Sales Director. When I asked why, all I head was "well he realized that in order to advance his career he needed to do a rotation in sales. Bullshit ! That is mindless thinking and should be a warning that the company does not value marketing. I have seen the Lilly salespeople at work and I can see why the sales force is becoming less effective. Sure let's send someone right out of college to a talk to a physician who has spent over 10 years of her/his life learning medicine. Let's keep them waiting in the lobby for 30 minutes so that they can drop off the samples and tissue boxes.


The fact is that doctors just don't have the time anymore to meet with pharma reps. "Just give me the samples" is the rule now rather than the exception. Doctors do so much research on the Internet now that both Google and Microsoft are developing search engines just health care professionals. Still senior managers want that sales experience because they just don't understand the changing environmental factors. It may take 10 years before a "new crop" of CEO's takes the helm at the top pharma companies and is able to change the business models but for now we have a lot of very good marketers out in the field because it's the right thing to do not because it's the right way to address the coming changes. That's too bad because it shows how insulated senior managers are from the reality.
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