How can pharma maximize sales force effectiveness in the post-pandemic era?
AI-translated from the Chinese original · editorially reviewed
Back in 2000, Courtney Ness was one of 3,000 sales reps at Forest Laboratories detailing the antidepressant Lexapro.
A relentless stream of product calls
She and her colleagues sold Lexapro by calling on the same group of physicians. For example, Courtney would call on a doctor in the first week of the month, and a colleague would call again after the second week. A second team of reps would then follow up in turn — four teams of reps ensured physicians heard the Lexapro product message every single week.
Pharma's traditional call model
For decades, drugmakers reached physicians through traditional in-person visits. The pandemic pushed pharma to develop digital strategies and tools — even artificial intelligence — so that reaching physicians is no longer limited to a single office call.
Two trends that will continue
Shrinking rep headcounts and expanding digital resources are both here to stay. The pandemic forced pharma reps to engage physicians through virtual platforms, while machine learning and AI now help reps put their data to more effective use.
Pharma is hiring the minimum number of reps
As for Courtney Ness, mentioned at the start — she is no longer a pharma rep. She founded and runs Field Factor Training, a company that trains sales representatives for biotech and medical companies. She says drugmakers are trying to hire the smallest sales force that can still support physicians and patients.
The new value of the pharma rep
Chris Cullmann, Chief Innovation Officer at RevHealth, says the pharma sales role is no longer just showing up at a physician's office or clinic with samples — it is about whether reps can help physicians manage their patients' treatment.
"Virtual reps"
Another winning strategy: product launches will field fewer and fewer reps, replaced by more "virtual reps." For example, Cullmann worked with a biopharma company on a new drug launch with no physical sales force at all — launching the product with two customer experience managers instead. These "sales reps of the future" use real-time data to rapidly assess and anticipate physicians' needs, and build personal relationships with physicians via text message.
Willingness to meet in person is recovering
ZS data shows that in 2023 the share of physicians willing to meet reps in person recovered to 52%, roughly on par with 53% in pre-pandemic 2019 — but still far below the 80% of 2008.
Reference: https://endpts.com/pharma-considers-alternatives-to-large-sales-forces/
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