MIS of the Medical Representatives

The management information systems of the medical representative is one of the key requirements for measuring and monitoring and improving marketing performance. They determine the performance of the marketing department, hence that of the organization. So measurement of the work done by the medical representative also determines the performance of the marketing function. What are the parameters on which monitoring, measurement, evaluation should be done depends on the nature of the products, the company, its markets and other parameters. The following listing suggests the focus on the measurable performance indicators:

• Total sales
• product wise sales.
• brand wise sales.
• tablets
• formulations
• injectables.
• pellets
• powders.
• size wise
• total number of packs.
• total quantity
• total value in rupees.
• rate of growth.
• new orders booked.
• new prescriptions received.
• new doctors visited.
• new hospitals visited.
• area wise quantity sales.
• area wise value sales.
• area wise quantity booked.
• area quantity sold.
• payments received product wise.
• payments outstanding
• non moving stocks size wise product wise.
• estimated sales product wise size wise.
• physicians samples received.
• new product lanunched: number of doctors/ number of dispensaries.
• existing products launched in non-prescribing doctors.
• existing products launched in new doctors/ hospitals.
• total percentage of doctors still not covered.
• gifts received
• gifts distributed.
• local seminars done.
• total number of participants attended.
• number of distributors visited.
• number of distributors appointed.
• stocks position distributor wise.
• Product wise forecasts :
• number of doctors to be visited.
• incremental product wise sales targets
• supports required from the corporate offices for promoting the product.

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MIS Systems for a Medical Representative

Management systems are must for all organizations of all kinds. Most structured are the MIS systems of an organization, better shall be the analysis, resource depoloyments and their effective use and thus realization of the organizational objectives. Pharmaceuticals marketing is signficant for establishing a long term base market in the minds of the doctors since these shall serve the purpose of the organization for a very long time..may be more than 20 years. So any organization, before interacting with a doctor, must do a very good homework that its first impresssion must be good and second impression should never be lesser than the first impression. That means pharmaceutical function has to improve its marketing and sales planning with the doctors and through doctors. Designing the management information systems of the medical representative is very critical and it must have the following classified information and this must as applicable in terms of quantitative parameters : numbers, value in ruppes or percentages. And the information has to be against objectives, planned and achieved.

• number of visits to the doctors.
• number of visits to the distributors.
• number of visits to the retailers.
• number of visits to the government organizations.
• number of visits to the hospitals.
• new products briefs and number of doctors visited.
• new products brief : segment wise.
• existing products brief: segement wise.
• estimated prescriptions : area wise.
• estimated quantities to be sold.
• estimated value realizations.
• stocks with the distributors : quantity; value item wise.
• stocks likely to be exhausted: quantity;
• stocks : non moving items.
• stocks : likely to expiry.
• stocks damaged.
• distributors complaints
• retailers complaints.
• doctors complaints.
• hospitals complaints.
• negative remarks against the products.
• negative remarks against the company.
• positive remarks against the products.
• positive remarks against the products.
• e mails received.
• mails replied.
• telephones done.
• monthly targets
• targets achieved.
• weekly targets
• weekly targets achieved.
• estimated sales of the territory in next three months.
• etc.
• etc.

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Planning for Improvements in MRs Communication Skills.

Communication skills of the medical representative are very critical for organization's success of marketing and logistics and distribution plans. For pharmaceuticals organization and in a pharmaceutical organization, like any other organization, there are three kinds of communications :
1. Internal Communication.
2. External Communication.
3. Internal and External Communications relating regulatory requirements.
Internal communication is a process and one has to identify the list of processes where communications are required. Similarly, listing has to be done of the processes where external communications shall be required. In fact, the item number 3 is a subset of first two types of communication processes of internal and external kind. Following are the situations where a medical representative is required to communicate.

• Product Brief : One to One. Verbal. Oral Communication. Body language and gestures are critical. Quality of flow and words very critical. Telephonic. One to One. Video conferencing. Written communication. One to Multiple-Conference Room type presentation.
• Product introduction : As above.
• Product promotion : as above.
• Submission of Physcians Samples : One to One. Verbal. Oral communication.
• Product Withdrawals: Written. E mail announcements.
• Customer complaints/ Customer Grievances: Written. One to One listening. Recording. Documenting. Communicating. Follow up. Telephonic.
• Product Recall : Written. One to One. Regulatory officials. Telephonic. Video conferencing.
• Distributors meet : one to one. one to multiple: conference room. written. power point presentation. written product information. company policies. Group discussion. Brain Storming.
• Retailers Meet : One to one. One to Multiple Conference room. Group Discussion. Brain Storming.
• Price Incentives based on performance : Written communication. one to one meeting as applicable.
• Order booking and amendments in the orders booked or communication of the customers/ distributors orders. : verbal. written. Properly recorded. Duly authorized and signed.
• Training of the Distributors : Written. One to One. One to Selected few personnel of the distributors. Manual based. Procedures based. Training in formats.
• Training of the Retailers : written. one to one. one to selected few personnel of the retailers. Manual based. Procedure based. Training in formats.
• How to protect the quality of medicines at distributors premises.
• How to transfer the medicines to the retailers.
• How to transfer the medicines from one city to another.
• Daily management information system
• Weekly management information system.
• Monthly management information system.
• Customer feedbacks on new products.
• customer feedbacks on existing products.
• customer feedbacks on modified products.
• etc.

A master list of the all the processes which are required to be carried out by the medical representative need to be prepared and in those processes, a training is required to be imparted and ensure that communication and awareness requirements are fully saitsfied. Further to this list of the processes which shall require a single or multifaceted type of communications need to be prepared and a process flow chart contents of that communication need to be written and proficiency installed and improved of the medical representatives in such processes.

A criteria need to be designed and developed which shall establish the measurement of communication skills. And each element in the marketing, logistics and distribution department undergoes that communication training and acquired efficiency and proficiency in such processes.

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Identification and Development of Communication Skills.

Without communication nothing can be achieved. Communication is a tool, resources, input, output and process that it achieves the intended target. If the intended target is the realization of prescriptions from the doctors, then the communiation skills of the medical representatives are required to be understood from this single perspective. What are the expectations from the medical representatives through communication :

1. Effective product introduction.
2. Release of prescriptions from the doctors.
3. An ever registration of the company and its products in the minds and reference list of the doctors : the name, brand, dosages and therapeutic values and likely range of prices.
4. Dominant displays of the company products at the shelf and identified places for quickets selection for sale to the customers/patients.
5. Effective Tendering process.
6. Effective tender presentation and tender negotiations.
7. Auditing skills of the distributors/ retailers storage facilities and communication of the gaps in writing and verbally..which may include the training of their shopfloor workers.
8. Communication skills in english and hindi or local language with equal respect and emphasis.
9. Internal communication skills with seniors : marketing/ sales/ import/ export/ logistics/ distributions.
10. External communication : with hospitals/ hospital doctors/ medical officers/ hospital nursing staff/ hospital supporting resources/ hospital purchase department/ hospital godown/ warehouse departments.
11. External communication with regulatory authorities.
12. Most critical communication skills at the time of customer complaints.
13. Most critical communication skills at the time of product recall.
14. Most critical communication skills at the time of adverse reactions, as per his involved and identified roles.
15. Critical communications with his equal rank fellows in marketing/ sales.

For an effective communication, it is be ensured that the medical representatives does the following processes effectively and these need to be measured and without measurement of these values/inputs/ processes, the whole purpose of creating the medical representative as infrastructure shall be defeated. And These are :

a. Hearing : Does he hear completely? To monitor and measure.

b. Seeing : Does he see properly? To monitor and measure.

c. To Smell : Does he smell correctly? To monitor and measure.

d. Does he touch correctly? the products/ stationery/ shake hands.

e. Does he taste correctly? depending upon the processes involving his role during tastes: For example in the local meet: he tastes the tea or coffee and provides positive feedback of the negative quality tastes of an item; this shall be such an embarassing situation. So whether his tasting skills are in order.

There are various ingredients of the communication process of the medical representatives and these need to be understood for their significance and in accordance these need to be measured and for any gap training to serve as a resource for improvement in communication skills. Total communication process and levels of communication need to be mapped out and shown to the medical representatives.

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Quality Personality Attributes of the MR

A medical representative is essentially required to have a number of quality personality attributes and any compromise with those values would jeopardize the short and long term business prospects of the organization.
These personality attributes are as under:

• Educated.
• Qualified.
• Competent.
• Soft spoken.
• Polite.
• Straight.
• to the point.
• no time waster.
• diary driven.
• honors appointments.
• updates the doctors and seniors.
• proficient in e communication.
• good english language.
• good local language / other languages.
• sober personality.
• neat and tidy personality.
• well mannered.
• highest degree of patience.
• ensures effective follow up.
• good knowledge of anatomy and science.
• good knowledge of the functioning of the human body.
• good knowledge of the pharmaceuticals industry.
• computer skills.
• calculations skills.
• negotiation skills.
• product presentation skills.
• powerpoint preparation skills.
• good command over excel sheets.

to be continued.

drbmsharma.

Market Intelligence by MR

Medical representative is one of the resources for the market intelligence of the organization for the primary data. There are n-number of organizations which gather, analyze and present the most accurate data on the pharmaceutical formulations town wise and product wise and key brand leaders wise. Still for a new product launch and a sort of internal validation of the already published data, the medical representative as posted at an All India level should be used and are used for the collection of primary data. Primary data means the data as gathered directly and freshly without any prejudice from the doctors, retailers, distributors and other sources such as hospitals.
The growth of the medicines and its market depends inter alia on various factors such as the growth of the local population, industrialization, urban migration, disease profile and growth and opening of new dispensaries; opening of new hospitals- government, superspeciality and speciality and within those hospitals - existing and new hospitals the opening of new departments.
All this data is very important for territory planning and monthly planning and thus in accordance the logistics and production planning of pharmaceuticals formulations. A qustionnaire and one to one contact with the key source of information need to be designed and training provided to the medical representative. Following information and their sources need to be formalized and used for update of information :

1. number of government hospitals.
2. number of municipal hospitals.
3. number of any foreign hospitals/ corporate hospitals.
4. number of new dispensaries.
5. number of new professional doctors and their branches.
6. total population.
7. local budget of the government on health.
8. per capita expenditure on health of that town.
9. number of distributors.
10. number of medical shops/ stores.
11. within hospitals.
12. type of diseaseas : seasonal/ heart/ others.
13. number of government employees.
14. number of industrial employees.
15. child hospitals.
16. ortho hospitals.
17. data on number clustered population vs scattered population.
18. per day arrival of the patients.
19. etc.

Medical representatives should be provided training on collection of primary data and its significance and elimination of bias in the data collection. And a mock drill of the data collection need to be done under the supervision of seniors need to be done.

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Sales Responsibility of the Medical Representative

Once the marketing role of the medical representative is over or progresses on a day to day basis, the organization and department expects the arrival of the effective sales orders from the retailers to the warehouse/ distributors and which in turn places orders with the sales/logicstics/ distribution department of a pharmaceutical formulations company. The sales responsibility of the medical representative is as under :
a. meeting the distributors/ depots/ wholesalers.
b. audit of the depots and warehouses of the distributors.
c. monitoring and measuring the dispatch analysis of the distributors.
d. doing the exhaustive field visits of the medical stores/ retail outlets and checking the availability of the marketed products of the company on the countrs.
e. brand wise quantitative trends : actual sales and expected sales.
f. brand wise price comparisons in the market.
g. analysis of the moving and non moving stocks in the same town/ territory and shifting of such stocks.
h. booking the orders from the wholesalers/ distributors/ stockists and forwarding them to the corporate offices.
i. distribution of incentives.
j. sales proceeds realization/ follow up on payments.
k. appointment of new distributors/ stockists.
l. meeting the distributors and understanding their problems and resolution.
m. meeting the distributors and recording their demand for medicines in the next month and follow up with the sales/ marketing/ logistics/ distribution to ensure that distributors are provided the stocks as per their orders.
n. giving comments on the creditworthiness of the distributors.
o. organizing the returns of the unsold stocks/ non moving stocks/ expired materials/ rejected materials/ during storage quality loss products back to the organization.
p. training of the distributors.
q. coordination for clearing the outstandings of the distributors/ or that of the organization with the distributors.

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Handling Complaints and Adverse Reactions.

This is the most undesirable event for any company and a medical representative. And any occurrence of such an undesirable event mean the loss of confidence in the quality of the medicine and it may have its own chain reactions on similar other products of the company. Therefore the control, management, treatment of customer complaints and adverse reactions is the most critical job. Normally, this is handled by one of the most responsible officers of the organization. Medical representative is one of the elements of that customer complaint managment and management and addressal of the adverse reactions.

The word customer need to be defined for the medical representative. Customer means the distributors, retailers, the doctors, other intermediaries namely hospitals, dispensaries etc. and definitely the end consumer..the patient. Adverse reactions means that the medicine has not served the end use intended therapeutic functions and thus has become a source of risk to life or injurious to health in any manner. Normally such complaints are brought to the notice of the doctors, government authorities, hospitals and surely and definitely to the organization. If the adverse reaction of the medicine is non-fatal, then the consequences are of little less magnitude and when for any reason the adverse reaction means the fatality, that time the whole nation, media and other institutions swing into actions for remedial and punitive actions. In such cases, normally a medical representative is not associated for any kind of supporting role to the organization. Such matters are handled and managed by the authorities having competence and knowledge and background information on the batch etc.

Customer complaints may be on any of the following :

a. empty pockets.

b. empty bottles.no medicine or less medicine.

c. foreign particles.

d. broken tablets.

e. colour variations.

f. size variations.

g. missing labels; wrongly inserted labels; wrongly applied labels;

h. excess deliveries

i. short deliveries;

j. non availability of the medicines on the retail outlets.

k. distributors not responding effectively;

l. company not responding to supply demand
m. other complaints of any kind.
Any customer complaints requires its timely and effective communication. The role of the medical representative in resolving a complaint must be spelled out in the organization's procedure. The process flow suggested is as under :
receive customer complaint.
fill up the form : hard copy or soft copy.
transmit to the senior.
communicate and do follow up.
as per directions provide information or solutions or results to the customers : sorry/ replacements/ information etc. as relevant.
During adverse reactions, the role of the medical representative need to spelled out in the product recall, adverse customer complaint handling and emergency preparedness and response and a training to that effect must be provided and effectiveness of that training established. A mock product recall or a mock adverse reactions handling should be done and it should be tested uniformly upto the medical representative distributed all India basis.
Means of communication as available to the company and medical representative should be on and effective for 24 hours during customer complaints and adverse reactions handling.

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How To Maximise Your Sales

This is one of the smartest questions. And its answers are known to the experienced and smartest medical representatives. And one must seek their guidance in knowing the mysteries and secrets of how to maximise sales. First of all a doctor would like to ensure that the medicine which he is giving or prescribing is of an excellent quality. Reliability and reliance on the medicines must be there and there should be highest degree of confidence in the medicines and least degree of risks in the medicines marketed.
There is no other solution for selling more..show more.. present more...and show up more of your products.. and doctors have to be convinced that the company exists.. the products exists..the product is of quality and reliability and it is available and there is no likelihood of adverse reactions in the short and long period. Maximisation of sales is possible through following indicators:

1. Ensuring that the product is known to 100% doctors.
2. Ensure that the product is known to 100% hospitals and dispensaries.
3. Ensure that the product is available easily at the nearest medical shop.
4. ensure that the quality of packaging and presentation and ingredients are in order.
5. ensure that the doctors write down the prescriptions.
6. get the sampled information on the numbers of prescriptions written and byt the doctors and analyze what is the percentage of the products in question for your sales/ marketing.
7. ensure that almost all doctors are at the same percentage of prescribing the medicines. the prescriptions should not be skewedly distributed.
8. that the incentives are provided in time to the doctors.
9. that the product is standing in some way in the eyes of the doctors.
10. ensuring that the timely visits are made where prescriptions are moving and also where prescriptions could not move one or other reasons.

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How to Be An Efficient MR

Everyone needs to be an efficient person. But it is easier said than done. To be efficient means, the highest degree of alertness and awareness and on the tasks and task assigned to you. And doing each task for quality and with quality and delivering the quantity and that too in time. Following are the tips to become an efficient medical representative :

1. Be polite.
2. Keep the self updated.
3. Ensure that you know all the terms used in the product catalogue and you have no confusions on them. And you understand them and you can explain to even a rural man without any confusion.
4. Keep focussed on your goals and the goals must be measurable.
5. Have the habit of defining and writing down your daily goals/ targets.
6. Keep updated with approprite means the seniors on the problems, achievements and failures, come what it may cost to you.
7. Always improve continually the power of presentation and communication.
8. Ensure that your manners of talking are as per acceptable and respectable social norms.
9. your dress codes also should be as per company's specifications. Dress must be neat and tidy.
10. Ensure that you make notes.
11. List down the informations required by your customers/ doctors and ensure such informations are provided as per agreed timings.
12. make a visit plan. ensure that visit frequency is sufficient enough to keep doctors mind on the products of the company.
13. before you start, ensure that everything has been taken.
14. never forget to check that before you leave the doctors premises, you have given him the physcians samples, his card or your card given to him; your goggle, diary and other belongings.
15. never forget to say greetings and thank you at the end of the visit.
16. be cordial to the entire staff associated with the doctors.
17. prepare the daily reports and other MIS in time.
18. never suppress any information. never exaggerate any information.
19. do justice with the tasks assigned to you.
20. keep adequate inventory of product catalogues; pamphlets, and other informations.
21. be systematic.
22. analyze the marketing and sales data and establish the correlations in the efforts made for marketing and sales realized.
23. ensure that retail outlets dont get out of stocks.
24. understand the customers requirements very clearly and ensure for every product the same quality information is available with you and the same is provided.
25. provide equal quality information to all respondents.

drbmsharma.

Territory Management.

Territory is the unit of pharmaceuticals marketing. This blog is not on how to define and make a territory. Territory is a single unit through which a pharmaceutical company and its marketing organization position its products, provides support infrastructural needs and other resources namely : the depots, the dealers, the distributors, the retailers, the marketing managers, the marketing and sales offices, the information network, the communication network and other backend and front end resources for the promotion of the sales of the existing products. A territory is designed on a number of performance indicators. Once the territory has been defined and its definitions are known to the medical representatives, it is now the duties of the marketing function of that territory to ensure that the phamaceutical management of territory takes place effectively with required level of emphasis.
Territory management involves the following ingredients:
Planning.
Control.
Supervision/Check
Review.
At each of these stages, first the medical representatives have to identify what are the risks to the marketing and sales. Risks management need to be a core competence for the medical representatives. Identification of risks, prioritization of the risks, treatment of such risks and prevention and review of risks by the medical representatives is a must. Planning of the territory means the availability of high quality reliable information and this has to be done by the medical representatives by using local resources. And some of these are as under :
a. list of the hospitals.
b. list of the dispensaries.
c. list of the private hospitals.
d. list of the doctors with their full details.
e. list of the medicines marketed by other companies.
f. total population and profile of the population.
g. disease analysis and trends of that area.
h. percentage of treatment people having in the local area and outside.
i. outside vs inside populations treatment details.
j. outside doctors visits to the territory.
i. inside doctors visits to the places outside the territory.
j. local taxes.
k. list of the seasonal diseases.
l. list of the distributors.
m. list of the depots.
n. list of the medical stores.
o. the names and addresses of the organization which update the above information.

All this information must be handy and updated with the medical representatives. Total monthly and daily or weekly sales of the medicines of the same therapeutic category must be made available so the medical representatives could grasp the extent of competition. Following parameters are required to be monitored, measured and analyzed :
a. medicine wise total sales: quantity.
b. medicine wise total sales : value in rupees.
c. % shares in quantity and value.
d. incremental growth of sales.
e. number of doctors contacted- new
f. number of doctors contacted- existing.
g. number of new prescriptions- new
h. number of new prescriptions- existing.
i. etc.
Of the total resources for marketing potential, the medical representative has to ensure that territory is covered as per projected sales targets. MIS of the territory is a must and it must be as comprehensive as possible. It is ideal if the medical representatives are provided the internet facility and organization's websites for need based communications for logistics, marketing and sales support. Availability of stocks and other information must also be part.

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How Does A Human Body Work..An Awareness for the Medical Representative.

Medical representative need to know the basic of the human body. Since that information is a must to associate and influence the doctors to understand the product and its relevance and therapeutic value. Of course, doctors are provided the printed and video information with other authentic data on the efficacy and potency of the pharmaceutical formulations, still a one to one marketing of the product by the medical representative requires a basic information about the human body. The following are required to be understood by the medical representative:

1. Parts of the Body.
2. Internal parts of the body.
3. their functions.
4. their anatomy.
5. their physiology.
6. their basic merits.
7. their basic defects or ailments causes and causes thereof.
8. how a pharmaceutical formulation namely tablets function.
9. how an injection works.
10. how a liquid formulation works.
11. how other drugs function.
12. what is a drug delivery system.
13. what is the meaning of the expiry period.
14. meaning of the active pharmaceutical ingredient.
15. meaning of the excipient.
16. meaning of other ingredients.
17. what are bacterial infections.
18. what are viral infections.
19. what are the infectitious diseases.
20. what are fractures and how fractures are healed.
21. what is the heart and heart surgery.
22. what is diabetic and how does it impact.
23. like this key diseases and their ailments.. and their cures and doses and curing methods.
24. what is the role of the doctor.
25. what is the role of medicine.
26. why we fall sick.
27. why we take medicine.
28. what is cold and fever.
29. what is throat infection.
30. some other common diseases and their causes.

So a medical representative should be provided information on the human anatomy, physiology and other key subjects as a general grasp and basic awareness to communicate meaningfully with the doctors.

drbmsharma.

Role of the Medical Represntative

Medical Representative is a person, an entity and a personality which the organization appoints on its behalf. Truly speaking, the medical representative represents that organization and this aspect should be well rooted in the minds of the medical representative and the same must be remembered by the institutions which interact with the medical representative. From this perspective, the organizations have not recognized this perspective; still it is a fact that MR forms an important ingredient of the marketing and sales. In the marketing organization, MR is the foundational structure and architecture.
Listing the Role of the Medical Representative :

• To understand the product brief and communicate the same to the relevant public namely doctors, compounders, nursing staff; hospital institutions and distributors and retailers.
• To have reliable market intelligence on the pharmaceutical formulations.
• To analyse the sales data in terms of value, quantity and other parameters.
• To promote the market share of the product.
• To promote the brand loyalty.
• To promote the company image.
• To act and be alert during product recalls and adverse reactions.
• To ensure that the customer complaints are effectively resolved.
• To ensure that medicines are available at the required locations through information sharing with the logistics and distribution.
• To ensure that prescriptions move in more numbers.
• To keep updated the self and the doctors.
• To provide the physcians samples.
• To report the market and sales estimates, forecasts and actuals to the organization.
• To provide full support in product launch.
• etc. etc.

Why Personnel Opt for Medical Representative Position :

• In a country like India, it is very difficult to attribute why the personnel opt for medical representative position. And it shall be worthwhile to know from the mouth of the medical representatives how and why they opted for this job.
• There are a number of reasons for becoming the medical representative and a definite conclusive answers can never be given.
• It is a challenging assignment.
• For graduates in science and pharmacy this is one of the most suitable opening.
• It is based on their performance.
• It provides ample opportunities for growth of the income and hierarchial growth.
• With experience and competence, personnel can rise to the higher positions in the marketing and sales.
• This helps in establshing good social contacts with the doctors, distributors.
• This is an open ended job. Where it is the responsibility of the self to ensure that responsibilities are shouldered.
• This is a performance based assignment.
• There are alternative companies employment opportunities for higher income while the working package and energies may be more or less the same.
• Medical representative job commands social respects since you work for a very professional industry.

Qualities of a Good Medical Representative :

• Highly active.
• Informed.
• To the point.
• No time wasters.
• Persuasive.
• Open minded.
• Leadership.
• Self leadership.
• Motivated.
• Excellent in manners.
• Excellent in communication.
• Excellent in sociability.
• Committed for excellence.
• Committed for performance.
• Committed for promotion of the brand loyalty.
• Committed for promotion of the company image.
• Accurate in information collection and dissemination.
• Good analytical bent of mind.
• Acts on customer feedbacks.
• Acts on Customer complaints in time.
• Prompt in provide information and services.
• presentable.
• Presentable personality.
• Dynamic.
• Good listener.
• Non argumentative.
• Logical.
• Systematic in thinking and action.
• Works as a effective team member.
• etc
• etc.

Marketing and Selling Skills of a MR

Marketing and Selling Skills of a Medical Representative.

Marketing and selling skills assume the highest signficance for the pharmaceuticals industry and on him depends the growth of the pharmaceuticals. Marketing means introducing the product to the doctors and sale means ensuring continued flow of the availability of the information and services and pharmaceuticals in the relevant segments and retail outlets and thus ensuring that sales realizations are there. Product information, market intelligence, disease profile, seasonal or otherwise trends of the disease, relative competitive scenario, clustering of doctors and disease wise clustering of the customers and other informations are must to the medical representative. Back end support to the medical representative is a must.

Market intelligence : This would include the market shares of various companies, the numbers of doctors in the practicing of such disease; general practioners vs specialist; company wise volumes sold; number of prescriptions per day; duration of the disease; nature of disease; when to become active for sales and marketing; critical features of the disease from the marketing and sales viewpoints; degree of confidence in the authenticity of the market intelligence; etc.

Product Information : This would include name of the molecule or formulation; brand name; the dosage form; dosage size; per pack the number of units; doses manufactured and available; recommended dosage patterns; therapeutic values; side reactions; packaging features; label claims information; price; expiry period; storage conditions; opening and closing aspects of the containers; how to dispose the medicine; how to take or administer the medicine; drug delivery systems related information; precautions; and other aspects.

Knowing the Doctors and Customers : End customers are required to be known by the pharmaceutical industry and end customers in the territory of the medical representatives. The maximum potential of a medicine and its dosage form. And if the disease is of seasonal kind; then the total marketing potential and sales realization depend on the qualitative attributes of the applicable disease market. The names and addresses of the doctors with their communication details; and the general practice vs specializations etc. need to be known. His current loyalty with the organization vs other competitors. This is the key responsibility of the medical representative, that the long term market of the medicines in the minds of the doctors is possible through quality reliability and consistency in all aspects : product quality; quality in packaging; quality in communications and other aspects relating quality.

drbmsharma.

Self Evaluation of Marketing : Tips for MR.

This may happen to any one of the medical representative. One ponders to know and evaluate the self. Whether the marketing job has been done correctly, effectively and adequately. And this is more true for the self development and also to the organization that medical representative as a marketing force add to the competitive strengths, build and promote doctors loyalty and brand and medicine loyalty and company image. Most of the organizations determine for the purpose of customer feedback form or customer satisfaction form or the product campaign feedback form and such forms are either filled by the doctors and they are requested to send to the company. Or medical representative themselves fill it and then send it to their marketing bosses. Or someone senior from the marketing department visits to the doctors and seek their evluations and views on the company, its products and services and feedback on the information and services provided by the medical representatives. In such situations, any positive and negative feedbacks of the medical representative may work as a negative or positive influence and thus may change the directions of his / her motivations.
Informations if unbiased and gathered by the seniors in the marketing must handle and analyze very carefully and it should always be taken positively. Lessons learnt from the negative feedbacks must be an eye openers to the marketing seniors and they should redesign their marketing interactions processes with the key elements that is doctors.

There are normally three elements in the product information campaign. Introduction of the medical representative and the company. If the company is old and its products are well established, then this aspect would not matter much with one or two medical representative not doing justice with one or two doctors. Nevertheless, introduction of the self and the organization is the key communication base. Since it focusses the attention of the doctors on the recently achieved image and regulatory achievements of the organization. Medical representatives must be apprised in their training the following aspects:

• New technologies added.
• New machineries added.
• New certifications achieved like ISO 9001/ISO 14001/ OHSAS 18001/ WHO GMP/ GENEVA WHO GMP/ MHRA/ USFDA/ TGA and others.
• customer complaint management procedures and their effectiveness.
• online systems of the organizations.
• website related details.
• product details.
• new acquisitions.
• new modifications in the plant and machinery and how does it add in the quality of the products; reduction of quality risks and control and reduction of the impurities and stability profiles of the product shelf life and stability and error terms of the impurities.
• other informations.

Customer feedback forms must be simple and to the point and it should provide a comparative scale evluations. And this form should be filled without putting at inconvenience to the doctors. And never and never through manipulations or proxies.

Tips for the medical representatives for self evaluation marketing are as under :

1. Cordial welcome by the doctor.
2. cordial welcome by the hospital staff.
3. smile at the face of the doctor throughout the interaction process.
4. doctors doing eye to eye movements and eyelids movements. No boring attitutes.
5. Doctor attempting to listen and not avoiding kind.
6. if the doctor is already prescribing such medicine; then only the additional and incremental aspects of the medicines must be communicated.
7. doctors asking question. And if the answer to the question is not avilable, instant phone /mobile to the seniors if the information is handy. And ensuring that the queries of the doctors are resolved by the medical department through letter/ email and phones.
8. doctors giving his own mobile number and visiting card in smiling and cordial manner.

drbmsharma.

Quality Attributes of a Medical Representative.

Medical representative is a front end managment resources of the organization. And it is this force which can make difference to the growth of the organization and this force only makes the organization growing and growth oriented. And planning of the medical representative by the marketing organization and the vision of the top management.
Following are the quality attributes of the medical represenative :

• Preferably post graduate.
• Communication flair.
• communication competence.
• written communication competence.
• verbal communication competence.
• e mail communication.
• debating skills.
• brain storming skills.
• conference room management and compering skills.
• good personality.
• good height.
• good physique.
• good presentable outlook.
• man of character.
• good moral values.
• leadership values.
• transparency.
• sharing attitudes.
• filled with positive values.
• patience.
• not argumentative.
• not biased.
• always an attempting and getting achieved personality.
• planning skills.
• aptitudes for current affairs and knowledge.
• reasonable updated knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry and pharma marketing, brand management, advertising management, doctors communications, tendering skills, tender negotiation skills.
• keen observer.
• keen listener.
• to the point.
• no time waster.
• punctual.
• disciplined.
• good MIS skills.
• analysis of sales data.
• retail sales analysis.
• projections of the sales figures.
• interviewing through one to one meeting.
• interviewing through questionnaires.
• product introduction/ product launch
• market promotion methods.
• local lanaguage communication skills
• good knowledge of the culture, etiquettes of the local places where posted.
• updated with current affairs.
• total information on the product of the company working.
• other qualities.

Now on each of these parameters, the measurment matrix is required to be develoepd. And during the course of five years, the candidate must score 100 marks. And any replacement, on a position should be from the ladder which scores the same level of marks. For example, a fresh joinee should be considered at the zero mark, and then after 3-4 months training the candidate must come to more than 50 marks in the second year the candidate should score 70-80 marks; in third year the candidate should score 80-90 marks and and in the final year, the candidate should be upgraded through training and field interactions upto the level of 100. Then the organization must ensure policies by which the candidates with more than 70 marks are retained for a durable/ long term employment and thus remunerations polcies are required to be attractive, commensurate and appreciable.

drbmsharma.

Listing the responsibilities of a medical representative

Each one in the marketing organization has a responsibilities, role, authorities and accountabilities. In this submission, the responsibilities of the medical representative (MR or mr ) have been described. These may or not be matching with each MR of each organization. These are simulated account of responsibilies and these are as under :

1. To be committed for the organization's vision, mission and quality and other management policies.
2. To be committed for the marketing policies of the marketing and sales department.
3. To be a man of commitment, values and always eager to learn and correct the self and set a process of improvement in the efficiencies and energies in the self.
4. To ensure that the territory and market shares for which he is responsibile show continual improvement in the sales in terms of quantity and values and the incremental rate of growth of sales in money and real terms is positive and encouraging.
5. To ensure that the market share of the respective products and brand does not decline.
6. to provide timely meaningful information on the products comparative qualities packaging etc. vis a vis consumers/ doctors views and retailers' views and provide such accurate and unbiased inputs to the marketing function which in turn shall use that input for continual improvement in the quality excellence of the marketing functions.
7. not to use any unlaw means.
8. not to commit any legal non compliance of any kind.
9. to comply all regulations relating FDA Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules and all rules relating good distribution practices.
10. to ensure timely planning and execution of daily schedules and reporting the MIS to the senior management.
11. to keep adequate inventory of leaflets, visiting cards, physicians samples, product catalogues and ensure that these are of good quality and physicians samples are not outdated or to be expiring;; these must be of recent batches; and that the physcians samples are good in quality, printing, packaging and ensure respect for the product in the eyes of the doctors and supporting staff.
12. to ensure good dressing codes at all the times.
13. to ensure right quality communcation.
14. to ensure that to the point talks are done and no time wasting is done.
15. to ensure that his attitudes are unbiased and has no favouritism.
16. to implement the company's incentives policy in the most honest and committed manner.
17. to ensure highest effective mobile communication with relevant consumer segments the medicines outlets, the hospital and doctors.
18. to continuously upgrade the self on the communication abilities.
19. to demonstrate leadership in marketing and sales.
20. to do a thorough job in understanding the technical and therapeutic applications of the medicines to be marketed and provide balanced and accurate information to the doctors and other relevant segments.
21. to have customer feedbacks and report the same to the functional head.
22. to have feedbacks of the retailers and report the same to the functional head.
23. to do the analysis of data on the marketed medicines; doctors visits and correlate the sales and visits effectiveness.
24. to be proficient in computers, analysis, MIS and communications and product information.

drbmsharma.

Second Line Communication of the Medical Representative.

The medical representatives are required to have at any marketing point, first the entry communications. And this communication is normally done with the second line employees of the medical dispensaries and hospitals by the medical representatives. And to influence this segment is one of the key requirements for a medical representative to get access to the doctor (s).

Any introduction with that second line staff has to be simple, truthful, filled with respect and manners. The following is the flow of information:

1. Name of the self.
2. name of the company
3. designation.
4. purpose of arrival.
5. purpose of meeting
6. how much time shall be required.
7. confirming appointment.
8. noting the in the diary.
9. pre intimation.
10. meeting with the second line staff.
11. expressing thanks.
12. Entering into the doctors cabin.
13. end of the process.

Any interaction with the second line staff has to be in the language those personnel are comfortable. the medical representatives are obviously required to be proficient in the local languate. The role plays and modules are required to talk with the second line staff. Second line staff proficiencies are required in the following combinations :

• Mobile talks from outside.
• One to one talks at the premises.
• In few cases, there could be E mail communications.

Such role plays must be done with respect to the government hospitals, private dispensaries and individual practicing doctors.

drbmsharma.

Redeployed Effective Utilization of Medical Representatives.

Currently the pharmaceutical companies are mostly utilizing general pool of medical representatives and that too the same man for all kinds of end market segement marketing. Stratified sales specialization though exist in a number of pharma companies, still it is now now a very loved concept. The same medical representative meets all sort of end consumer segements namely hospitals; all kinds of therapeutical applications. Same medical representatives is required to know all kinds of products of the organization and thus acquire mastery over all kinds of products marketed by the organization. In result, the focus of marketing may be of little impact. Of the total marketing and sales resources, strageties now need to be focussed in the following directions:

• Right now dedicated distributors are hardly playing any significant in pushing, retaining and promoting the companies products in the existing market penetrations. The logistics and distribution department of the pharma companies must review their strategies that how can they use the distributors awareness, education and competencies for retaining their current market shares.
• Further to this, those distributors who are holding franchise of many companies in the same therapeutic categories, one has to analyze what the incremental marketing and sale promotion role the said distributor is playing in retaining and enhancing the market share of the company in the given product segement lines.
• Selection criteria of the distributors and retailers need to be worked out and through education awareness and communication, the companies are required to use to retain their current market segment and share in over the counter sale drugs which normally is purchased without prescriptions.

Phamarceutical formualations marketing is right now sales/marketing staff driven. An organogram is drawn. Requirements of the qualifications, experience and competence are taken. The companies have to benchmark themselves with the marketing and sales experience and competence of some of the global leader companies. Indian top marketing brass has to find time to review their own organogram and redesign the structure. Since marketing strategies and their risks do depend on the structural differences in the marketing tools and approaches adopted by global players and national players.

First of all, renewed energies and efficiencies are required. At the same time, to ensure that the marketing resources do stay with the organization, the concept of stress management need to be thought from the field staff positions. The cost benefit of marketing should not be enhanced which become disadvantageous. The cost of marketing need to be understood and rationalized. And this data must be shared with the marketing and sales staff. The gross contribution and net contribution need to be thought in following positions:

a. Without marketing and sales costs: what is the net contribution organization proposes to have. This is the cost plus profit without marketing costs.

b. Now incremental marketing cost and benefits in terms of net value additions should be shared with the key marketing officials and such incremental resources need to be now on permanent resources base and temporary annual target basis achieved basis.

Of the total staff, whose experience is more than five years, such marketing and sales resources to be utilized by putting them in specialized product marketing and sales, and their reliance not to be put on junior and new teams. Value added product and their gross contributions should be with the experienced personnel. Twenty percent products if adding 80% gross contributions, such products and their marketing and sales strategies should essentially be with the experienced marketing resources. And incremental strategic marketing training of such resources need to be imparted where in the continual communication net work with the doctors through websites, mobiles, and other communication resources need to be worked out.

This requires a detailed market structure analysis and then redeployment of marketing and resources.

Specialized marketing by experienced personnel and their training and personality assumes a significance and this need to reoriented and focussed by the HR and training resources of the marketing department. Final one point need to be made: quality of the training resources of the HR and Marketing plays a serious role in motivating and instilling marketing strategies confidence. This training resources need to upgraded, refreshed and reviewed seriously by the organization. Normally, this is very often an ignored aspect of the marketing functions. Training of the marketing resources should not be taken as a routine activities but an opportunity to fill energies and motivations and building a personality.

drbmsharma.

Marketing Kit of the Medical Representative.

Marketing kit assumes a great significance in marketing and presenting the product and service to the doctors and hospitals and institutional segments. Of course, the personality aspects of the medical representative are critical but in that personality the supporting presentation tools and resources which we call as marketing kit is very important.
Defining the Marketing Kit : A list of the items alongwith its carrier which normally the medical representative takes alongwith is known as a marketing kit. Normally, it is a specific shape leather bag which medical representatives take with them. And almost there is hardly any difference between the leather bag of the medical representative of one company with that of another. In the marketing kit, now is also included the mobiles, ipods, the laptop. Mobiles, ipods and laptops ( preferably with two screens); and other items.
The size of the marketing kit, its colour codes, the company logos, even the name of the medical representatives, and other aspects. At the moment, the company's have not very clearly defined several aspects associated with the marketing kit. Now let us take these items one by one:
a. Hand Leather Bag: Specifications loosely defined. And bag polishing and maintenance and replacement frequency not determined and not reviewed. What the medical representatives keep inside, that is also not at all or loosely defined. However, these are critical aspects since it all conveys company image and quality of that medical representative.
b. Visiting Cards.
c. Daily planner.
d. Daily report format.
e. Physicians samples : here extra precautions are required, that when meeting a given doctor, the products of his relevant need to be taken out and not other items which may waste time or put the doctor under boring embarassment.
f. Gift items for the doctor if any.
g. Promotional Stationery/ product catalogues : for demonstrations and product catalogies for giving it to the doctors.
h. Video Film/ Video CD.
i. other items.

Senior supervisor present in the town must inspect and get edited the medical representative kit and ensure that it serves in building the image of the pharma organization and that also of the medical representative.

drbmsharma.

Task Planner for the Medical Representative.

Task planning and its effective implementation is one of the key expectations, requirements and objectives of the medical representative. Planning the task and its realization not in terms of physical terms but in real terms the goals expected and realized.that is the sales of the medicines is one of the key responsibilities of the medical representative. After all trainings provided and their effectiveness established at the conference room level, the well dress medical representative is now expected to deliver the results. And in this connection, he has to plan his tasks. For planning the tasks on a monthly, weekly and daily basis, the following inputs are required by the medical representatives :
a. map of the town.
b. list of the doctors and their communication details.
c. the timing of their dispensaries or availability of timings or duration of the time for appointments.
d. list of the products which the medical representative has to present.
e. technical write up.
f. therapeutic guidance document of the proposed or prevalent products.
g. the video film.
h. the physicians samples.
i. recommendations/ testimonials/ published data on the said medicines in India and abroad.
j. also the data on adverse reactions or side effects etc. for better decisions on prescriptions.
k. the dose sizes of the medicines.
l. the regulatory aspects of the medicines.
m. the price tags, the expiry periods.
n. storage and use instructions.
o. labelling requirements and label claims details.
p. comparative studies.
q. the doctor's diary.
r. his own appointment diary.
s. write note pad or making notes.
t. any other support resources which help in ensuring perform his role,tasks and responsibilities.
u. communication information and contact details of the seniors and other relevant officials of the organization for putting an online and on the spot information and clarity should the doctor need or the medical representative need, depending on the context of discussions with the doctors or other supporting staff.

Quality Specifications of a Medical Representative

Medical reprsentative is a front end marketing and sales support resource for product introduction and promotion of the pharmaceutical formulations. First of all now there is a time that for this profession, equal opportunity employment should be created. At the moment, the employment of medical reprsentative is a skewed in favour of males. Following are the suggested quality specifications :

• science or pharma graduate.
• tall.
• presentable.
• polite
• command on two languages, in which one language should be English.
• good health.
• no colour blindedness.
• oriented for to the point
• unbiased.
• well read on local langauge literature.
• aware and competent in local customs.
• good moral character
• body movements and eye gestures normal, social and pleasant and acceptable.
• well mannered and cultured.
• respects all religions equally.
• preferably knows minimum required religious aspects for conducting his communications.
• medically fit. no visible infectious and skin diseases.
• good family background
• proficiency in driving.
• planning and scheduling skills.
• written communication.
• verbal communicatin skills.
• presentation skills.
• group discussion skills.
• well aware about the topography of the town posted.
• well aware about the town and its roads for effective functioning.
• he should not be a time waster of the self and that of the hospital/ dispensary staff/doctors.
• efficient in E communications.
• efficient in mobile communications.
• efficient in video conferencing skills.
• logical in thinking.
• awareness and comptent in good distribution practices of the medicines.
• proficient and competent in key terms and definitions used in medicine : expiry period, humidity, temperature etc.

to be continued.

drbmsharma.

Induction Training - Continuing Further

A well thought process is required to structure out the process of induction training. And in designing the induction training module, a thought process is required to include a number of aspects. While essentially there should be a common minimum ingredients of the induction training, still a fact has to be remembered that regional profiles of the pharmaceuticals marketing should not be overlooked. The organization must have a well defined market research analysis and stratified market segments for its pharmaceuticals formulations and allied products and that product wise, therapy wise and other perspectives. When coming to the induction trainig, the moment positional employment aspects of the medical representatives are considered, after a point his orientation should commence on the regional marketing fundamentals and his slow introduction and exposure and response to the marketing needs from regional perspectives. In an organization, these are the departments and all of them are required to participate :
Quality Unit.
Quality Assurance
Quality Control.
Pharmaceutical formulation development.
Medical Diagnostics.
Regulatory Compliance.
Materials/Distributions/ Good Distribution Practices.
Marketing.
Market Research.
International Export Marketing.
Imports and their Marketing.
Materials/Purchase.
Human resources.
Personnel and Administration.
National Regulatory Compliance on matters of personnel and administration.
Environment, Health and Safety.
Strategic Energies/ Risks Management.
Company Secretary.
Finance.
Projects.
and
others.
All of them have their own signficance on providing the inputs for induction training. And all these functional heads have to list out what is that information and requirements which they need to get collected and complied from this vital field staff. For example, the distribution problems of the medicines and their quality risks during distribution need to be ascertained by a viable mechanism through this staff only so better packaging designs could be considered. And such data and inputs must be gathered during annual or biannual refresher training.

To be continued further.

drbmsharma.

Process Mapping: Induction training of the medical representative

Induction training of the pharma marketing human resource or medical representatives is required to be a well defined process. It must list clearly the inputs required and outputs to be achieved and how such outputs and deliverables shall be achieved. A general induction training of the employees by the human resources department is a separate process. What is being discussed here is the induction training of the pharma marketing executives, officers and supporting resources as the base resources for achieving corporate sales and business objectives.
A medical reprsentative is an employee and the key element of the marketing and sales function. Therefore, first his induction training is required as a general employee and this job normally is required to be coordinated by the human resources and /or personnel department. Once the medical fitness criteria is over and the employee reports for duties, day one becomes the basis for association of the new incumbent with the organization. HR must know when so and so is required to join or otherwise what date he has informed for joining the offices. As a general mangement system, the HR has to document and implement the procedure how well the employee shall be received at the gate. And what sort of unexpressed embarassment the employee has to face from the security staff and personal staff of the HR function. HR has to clean up and re clean up and calibrate and recalibrate its own function first. Any indifferent or little negative attitude of the HR and security department sets the process of making up the mind that whether the employee has come to the right organization, right department and right management resources. In fact, both are directly correlated with each other. The quality of the top management; the quality of the top marketing and sales departments and the quality of HR department is critical and correlated. And this sets the process of putting the best. If the organization is attempting to get the best out of suspecious natures, whip methods and others then the organiation is likely to have a long term incremental accelerated growth. The moment one analyzes the incremental growths of the companies relating incremental sales, it shall become obvious the quality of all three ingredients: the quality of the top management; the quality of the marketing function and the quality of the HR department.

Induction procedure should be well defined from this perspective. Taking into account this aspect, the general training contents of the induction training would include the following and this should be addressed only by the head of the respective functions. And there also sharing the information with the new inducts has to be a cordially shared values of the organization. Further to this, most of the organization through the world have defined initial 2-3 days for general induction training and then somehow this is completed without considering whether the justice has been done or not. People join and these are forwarded to logical listed department heads like flowing water drops and sometime this author wonders what really goes on and happens. HR must conduct a survey on the level of input satisfaction received from the employees during induction training, not after completing induction training ( since at that time no employee shall give a realistic feedbacks). Alternatively after taking such feedbacks the HR must re survey the inputs of the employees at the time of exit and revalidate the previous data and this data and thus take preventive actions that induction training remains and serves as a process for delivering useful information which again serves as the basis. There is hardly a point in telling to the employees..Look this is our quality control laboratory.. and then the employee walks in the corridor of the quality control..peeps on the people working and sees certain instruments workings and so on. The head quality assurance and quality control must provide information on quality control in such a manner that it is helpful for marketing and sales purpose ; promotion and awareness.


drbmsharma.
22/04.2010