Technology: friend or foe?

Technology: friend or foe?

This month, Pf looks at sales professionals’ use of Electronic Territory Management systems. Is it a technology, or is it a philosophy? Used properly, ETM can provide great support for the aspiring representative. But do you support it as much as it supports you? Pf Editor Chris Ross assesses the data.

Technology, it is said, is the great enabler. It can also be your worst enemy. In the early 1970s, British writer and scientist CP Snow described technology as ‘a queer thing’. “It brings you great gifts with one hand, and stabs you in the back with the other,” he told the New York Times. More than 35 years later, technology has moved on but its rapid development and frightening capability has failed to quell its mixed reputation as both friend and potential foe. Ever lost your internet connection at a vital moment? Ever experienced email failure when you’re awaiting an important message? Ever been exposed by a credit card statement that suggests you were in a nightclub in Soho when your wife thought you were working late at the office? In each case the subsequent pain can resemble being forced to watch England v Andorra. And in each case, technology lies at the root of it. For those that dislike it, the truth is uncomfortable: technology pervades almost everything that we do and it is here to stay. The trick is to learn to consider it more friend than foe. At its best, it is, after all, the great enabler.

So what does this mean for medical sales professionals, detailing their products to a traditional NHS audience? All you want to do is pitch your product. Sure, the aid of an electronic presentation may well offer you great support, but in a human-to-human interaction, all you really need is the spoken word, a credible product and the goodwill of an NHS customer. There’s no great call for technology to invade the process, is there? In fact, technology is an important part of the process, though not necessarily during the one-to-one environment of your sales call. How? Through the ‘enabling technology’ of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or Electronic Territory Management (ETM) systems.

Anecdotally, sales professionals have often been sceptical about the industry’s use of territory management systems. In some cases it has been considered as another move towards Big Brother surveillance and, in the language of CP Snow, could be used to ‘stab you in the back’. But times have changed and attitudes have moved on. Sales professionals in the modern market now appear to be embracing ETM for the added value it can provide. Assuming it works, and assuming they use it.

According to Pf ’s Company Perception, Motivation and Satisfaction Survey 2008 (which examined opinion on the drug industry in 2007), the vast majority of medical sales professionals in today’s market have access to an ETM system. The survey, which comprised data from 1552 respondents in 2008, showed that only 4% of the sample do not have access to an ETM system. Of the 96% that do, an overwhelming 90% access their system via a laptop, with a further 10% enjoying the additional benefits of a supporting PDA (see Figure 1). Despite such a comprehensive volume of sales professionals with portable ETM access, only 56% of survey respondents use their management system in the field, with most seemingly preferring to upload or access information at the beginning or end of the working day. Irrespective of the location of use, 85% of the market spends over an hour each day using ETM, with 29% spending up to two hours on it and 22% over three hours. The reasons for such low usage in the field environment are varied and range from awkward transportability of their device, to poor battery life. Worryingly, almost a quarter of respondents (24%) claimed their system was of marginal use to them (see Figure 2).

Although the number of sales professionals using ETM in the field is disappointingly low, data does suggest that individual engagement with sales technology has improved in the past few years. The frequency and accuracy of call reporting among medical sales professionals has risen dramatically since 2006. Two years ago, less than half of the market (45%) claimed to report their findings accurately 100% of the time. This has now risen to 63%, with a further 23% reporting activity ‘most’ of the time. However, the number of ETM users who log their pre-call objectives remains low, with less than a third of respondents (31%) claiming to upload these all of the time. 12% of our sample never records pre-call objectives – whilst this number has dropped since 2006, when 20% never recorded pre-call objectives, the 2008 figure suggests there is still some work to be done in this area. In fact, in a market environment that is steadily moving towards an Account Management model where planning and organisational skills are an essential factor for success, it is clear that technology can play an important part in measuring achievements against objectives, providing, of course, that they were identified in the first place (see Figure 3).

The Pf Survey also provides a fascinating insight into salesforce scruples. How honest are you in your call reporting? Ironically, over the years this question has shown medical sales professionals to be surprisingly honest about their dishonesty! Once again, the figures make fascinating reading and reveal that some of those among you are happy to be dishonest, but at least you’re honest about it. Confused? I know the feeling. According to the survey, honestly levels within the industry have improved significantly. In 2006, only 45% of our sample claimed to provide accurate records in four major areas where they are called upon to report field visits: the number of customers seen face-to-face, the number of customers sold to at meetings, the number of products sold and the delivery of key messages for every product sold. This year, assuming you’re all being honest, 69% of our sample claims always to be totally accurate in their call reporting in the four key areas, with a further 27% stating accuracy ‘most’ of the time. Critically, in 2006, 12% of the market said they never reported accurate information in any of the key criteria. By 2008, this figure has crashed to just 1% (see Figure 4).

Such an increase in usage and accuracy levels clearly indicates that medical sales professionals are recognising the positive benefits of technology in the field. The data suggests a shift in how sales representatives view ETM – what was once perceived as a means for management to monitor activity is now increasingly regarded as an opportunity to maximise customer data. This data can then be exploited either during a call situation, or help segment customers to identify high-potential accounts. Once again, this can be a vital tool in the era of Account Management. At the moment, however, figures suggest that ETM is not yet regarded as being as useful as it could be for Account Management purposes. 55% of the survey nominated ‘Call Reporting’ as the most useful feature of their ETM system, with only 14% identifying it as a worthwhile utility for KAM, Planning and Targeting. Only a small number of respondents found mapping and graphing functions useful (see Figure 5).

Clearly, sales professionals’ appetite for using ETM and/or CRM technologies has increased in the past few years. The role of the sales professional is evolving to suit market needs and, with the emphasis shifting away from traditional noise-based methodology, pharmaceutical sales teams are requiring a more sophisticated approach to reach new and emerging customers. For sales management, monitoring activity provides only one part of the picture and to thrive, sales professionals need greater support in how they target, profile, plan and manage their key customers. ETM and CRM systems are valuable tools that can help to support you in your role and, if the Pf Survey is deemed representative, it would appear more and more of you are embracing the opportunities technology enables. However, the study also revealed the areas where you think ETM could be improved. 41% of respondents were disappointed by their ETM’s Customer Database, while 22% felt that their system could be made easier to use. A worrying 29% questioned the usefulness of their system as a whole.

The Pf survey asked respondents to identify one area that they would change about their ETM. Here are just some of the comments we captured:

Ways to improve ETM systems

“Make it application-based, so I don’t need an internet connection to update notes on it.” “Make batteries last 8 hours!” “Make the process of adding and removing target customers easier.” “Allow me to alter the database myself, rather than having to submit laborious requests.” “Give me better business analysis capability” “I need a higher level of functionality integrating account management data for different NHS structures.”

As you can see, despite their inherent criticisms, the suggestions above indicate that sales professionals can see the value in ETM systems and recognise the potential for technology to improve interaction with their customers. Requests for functional improvements to customer databases and to assist targeting and profiling represent a dramatic improvement on previous studies which have indicated a fear that information reported through ETM systems might be used against you , rather than to support you. Criticisms will, of course, continue – there are few things in professional life likely to frustrate you more than technology – but it does appear that medical sales professionals are beginning to regard ETM as an enabler rather than an enemy.