Mals Musings: Sales force effectiveness 2.0
To make SFE relevant again, we need to start adding value rather than extracting it.
By on Jul 19, 2010To make SFE relevant again, we need to start adding value rather than extracting it.
The last decade was dominated by sales force effectiveness programs that helped deliver stellar growth and numerous initiatives, including customer targeting, territory alignment, and CRM, to name a few.
In the brave new world of the post-financial meltdown, is SFE still relevant?
Yes, but the scope and focus require a rethink.
The days of SFE being about how to be a better poacher are gone.
The SFE we want moving forward needs a strong emphasis on adding value rather than extracting value.
It is time to begin the repair job from a decade of discontent.
Gamekeepers versus poachers
Some executives view of the current situation is that increased complexity in the market almost makes SFE irrelevant, as the focus has now shifted to market access challenges.
I wonder if increased complexity has led to confusion.
Access to market is more difficult not by accident but because governments cannot afford the current rate of healthcare budget growth and they have concerns about value for money.
We may disagree, but those are largely the drivers.
With this in mind, are we in danger of throwing the baby out with bathwater?
Value is being questioned and, in a very old school manner, we are trying to apply the same thinking that got us into trouble in the first place to resolve the market access challenge.
The gamekeeper versus poacher approach can be effective in the short term but for the long term a collaborative approach is the optimal option.
A collaborative approach
In the good old days we used targeting, messaging, frequency, and coverage to dominate illiterate and unorganized gamekeepers.
Since then, the gamekeepers have regrouped, reorganized, and upskilled.
In addition, they are scarred from the memory of the last battle and have been exerting measured revenge.
Our response is to move from SFE and tackle the new challenge by setting up a new team of poachers.
Are we missing a trick here?
While we need to follow a certain amount of protocol concerning market access, the big picture lies in asking why market access is more difficult.
The solution is to deliver and prove value in an integral manner, not the old poacher approach.
Either we change our business model or it will be changed for us.
What does this have to do with SFE?
A collaborative approach to SFE will help improve access and reduce confrontational relationships.
Both sides will be able to achieve the same results with fewer unnecessary.
The focus has to be value.
Instead of targeting, we will focus on segmentation first, ensuring that we understand the needs of differing customer groups before targeting the ones for whom we offer the right value proposition.
We should emphasize ways to support and enhance the doctor, rather than just messaging.
Finally, the use of CRM needs to be refocused on the issue of relationship management and adding value rather than the complex systems that are still largely internally focused with little external value.
For market access, the real challenge is not only demonstrating value but also demonstrating our ability to engage in an open, honest relationship.
For Mals musings on segmentation, see Segmentation, Segmentation, Segmentation.
For more on market access, see Pharma 3.0: What it means for market access