A Marketer’s Life

The key to effective marketing essentially lies in taking action. In a ballgame, you will be unable to score a goal if you don’t take a shot and in marketing parlance this can be compared to actually going out into the marketplace and putting theory into practice. The pharmaceutical industry is most competitive and requires a multifaceted approach to marketing, management of reputations, education and strategies included. Often, sales and marketing is involved with stating a case and protecting a position, rather than achieving the results in terms of dollar revenue. This complexity certainly requires the selection of a top class sales and marketing team, and a pharmaceutical consulting firm can often be a significant ally in this pursuit.

Effective marketing begins and ends with the management of all those elemental sales and marketing activities. As such, implementation includes measurement and control, as well as overall co-ordination of daily and weekly activities. All members of the sales and marketing team must be clearly aware of what is required of them and that their actions cannot be isolated, but must be seen as an integral part of the company’s overall objectives.

Most pharmaceutical consultants will confirm that the heart of any plan implementation is in the execution, and no amount of paperwork, charting or spreadsheet construction will be of use unless things actually get done. All activities must first be co-ordinated, indicating who, what, when and where and the sales force must be conditioned to eliminate any potential distractions or objections that they may face. They must be adequately coached and aware of any loopholes and obstacles that they will undoubtedly encounter. They must be able to focus without distraction if need be and single-mindedly concentrate on the task in hand. Time management is another important element of education and the sales team should ensure that they are able to prioritise. Of course this does not mean that more mundane elements should be ignored, just categorised and prioritised accordingly.

Important characteristics of a sales team member include thoroughness and attention to detail. Every member of the sales team contributes to the whole objective and other members must be aware of each contribution. It is never smart to assume anything as something critical could be missed out in this way, while procrastination helps to achieve nothing!

Effective implementation does not require the practitioner to be an automaton, just because attention to detail and an ability to manage time are of high importance. It is easy to become overwhelmed and this must be guarded against. This is where this person can set him or herself apart and really go the extra distance for the company. Through prioritisation, primary tasks are always achieved. Delegation is fine if it helps with the overall goal, but no assumptions should ever be made.

Generally, pharma consulting organisations are well trained in the keys to effective implementation and are more than capable of training a sales and marketing force to take on the complex, challenging yet rewarding role of marketing within the pharmaceutical industry.

Alan Gillies is the Director of L2L Consulting, an elite pharmaceutical consultancy firm which specialises in Strategy Development and Implementation Excellence for prestigious multi-national organisations.

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