Can we KAM ?

 It is an increasingly common question being asked or investigated within the majority of Pharmaceutical companies these days.The intriguing question is what is the driver behind the  foc

By Alan Gillies on Aug 19, 2009

 It is an increasingly common question being asked or investigated within the majority of Pharmaceutical companies these days.The intriguing question is what is the driver behind the  focus on Key Account Management, is it a well thought out strategy that is responding to the changing environment or is it How do we structure our sales forces now they are (or need to be) vastly reduced in number ?


In answer to my  question my own view is-Yes we can !!  sorry  Mr President..however I am not sure we are going to do so,in this current wave of restructures. As has been highlighted in a number of other posts on this forum, the Industry finds it very difficult to make proactive strategic changes and prefers to be reactive or adjust things around the edges or more often tries to see how it can do what it has always done but just  with a different vehicle.


As was pointed out in another article, relabeling Medical Sales Representatives as Account Managers or one of its variants is the simplest approach, with predictably poor results. The next approach may be retraining the sales teams in Account Based Selling or Key Account Management This is certainly a huge step beyond the rebadging of the sales force, but from my perspective is only a small part of what we really need to do if we truly want to have a succesful Key Account Management Approach.


I remember well having developed a Key Account Management strategy and process for once company being asked in all seriousness- This is great but how do we fit this around seeing 95% of our customers 6 times a year, as this is our number one priority and measure? 


If we look at Key Account Management in other industries there are some key areas that the Pharmaceutical Industry has traditionally struggled with that I would suggest are fundamental to being successful with a Key Account Approach namely :



  1. Ability to identify your most Profitable Customers

  2. Willingness to prioritise that relatively small % of profitable customers and focus your resources solely on them

  3. Develop a detailed and in-depth understanding of your customers needs and wants and then provide solutions to these

  4. Successful Key Account Management is a total company Philosophy it is not about re-skilling the sales force

All of the above are areas that in my experience most companies cannot or will not tackle in the manner of other industries that have been taking this approach for years-think FMCG, Brewing etc.


I believe that KAM is the right way to approach the changing environment and indeed have personal experience of effective Key Account Management approaches within the Industry but they tend to be the  exception rather than the rule. Unless we are prepared to really grasp the nettle with this it may go the way of many other approaches within the Industry that have been poorly thought out and badly implemented.


So Can We KAM -Yes I believe we can-but this time,will we really do what it takes ?


If you are looking at Key Account Management or want to discuss your Key Account Management approach in more detail feel free to contact me at info@L2LGroup.com