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.

drbmsharma.