Moira and Jonny going to collect their 2004 Top Territory Team of the Year Award New kid on the block At a time of widespread uncertainty in the pharma industry, Sankyo appear to have come from nowhere in the last couple of years. They are gaining market share and respect in the highly competitive hypertension market with their new AIIA brand Olmetec. With superior head-to-head efficacy data against all of its major competitors, Sankyo have delivered the highest depth of prescription and the second best cash launch of any AIIA. This has enabled Olmetec to overtake the first of its six established competitors in only 15 months. “I am very proud of what we have achieved in such a short space of time because we have done all of this with a new organisation, no previous position in this market sector and fewer people than our competitors,” said Sankyo Pharma UK Managing Director Stephen Lightfoot. “And we’ve only just started, so just imagine what we can achieve with even more products and experience under our belt!” Rising sun Sankyo have been one of the UK industry’s best kept secrets until now. The company was set up over 100 years ago in Tokyo and is still one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in Japan. Sankyo is now building a competitive international position and is already one of the top 25 pharmaceutical companies in the world, with a £3 billion sales turnover. Sankyo also has a strong pharmaceutical R&D heritage which led to the first isolation of adrenaline, the first vitamin B1 preparation, the first cephamycin antibiotic in Japan, the first statin and the first glitazone. In fact, the Sankyo discovery of the statins has revolutionised the treatment of cardiac heart disease. Olmetec is the latest product in the long list of Sankyo innovations. And unlike many of its rivals, Sankyo have a promising R&D pipeline, with a wide range of new cardiovascular and diabetes compounds at various stages of development. Better than the rest Sankyo are building a high performance organisation where people work hard, play hard and are treated as individuals. High performance is rewarded, recognised and developed. People make the difference and the Sankyo Team is made up of high calibre professionals who are ambitious, committed and passionate about taking on and beating the best in the industry. The company’s real strength is its diversity of talent, combined with a culture where people can express their opinion and dare to be different. After all, not every company has directors who know your name and want to know what you really think! But Sankyo’s performance-driven culture may not suit everyone. High standards are set and every person is accountable for their own sales results because they are published to the whole company every week! This meritocracy is backed up with Quarterly Performance Reviews to ensure that the highest performers in every part of the company receive the competitive salaries, bonuses and promotions that they deserve, regardless of how long they have been in the role. Performance development is also driven actively at Sankyo and Personal Development Plans are reviewed and updated on a quarterly basis to ensure they remain relevant so that everyone can fulfill their potential. These plans may involve individual coaching or attending a training course, but they could also include being an Area Mentor, a member of a multi-functional project team, a secondment to another job role or joining the Fit for the Future career development programme. Moving on up Sankyo are going from strength to strength as the company becomes more established and begins to show its true capability. An internal staff survey conducted in April 2005, for example, showed that 92% of its staff judged Sankyo as a good company to work for, with particularly high scores on its leadership, communication and future prospects. The Pf Company Perception, Motivation and Satisfaction Survey also confirmed a dramatic rise in Sankyo’s rating as a desirable company to work for in the industry: Sankyo were 32nd in 2002, 24th in 2003, 16th in 2004 . . . and are looking to break into the Top 10 in 2005. However, the biggest endorsement that Sankyo are on the right track came at the Pharmaceutical Sales Awards in April 2005, when Sankyo Representatives entered three of the twelve categories for the first time and then won two of these nationally recognised awards. And if that weren’t enough, Sankyo are still making relentless progress with Olmetec and two of its highest performing Representatives have achieved a 10% monthly market share within 18 months of launching the product. These are remarkable achievements by any standards, and it just goes to show what can be done when you bring the right people, the right products and the right plans together. Sankyo are moving on up – so watch this space!

CALL RATES in the pharmaceutical industry have kept Sales and Marketing management talking for almost as long as which model of company car sales professionals should drive. However, in what context do the discussions take place? To what extent are NHS changes really taken into account when devising new marketing campaigns? When you look at the history of the NHS, the one thing that has remained constant is change. Change is usually brought about by each government tinkering with the previous government’s changes. NHS staff have become accustomed to major changes every 3-4 years. “Why don’t they give change the opportunity to work?” is a common protest. If you consider all the change that has happened in the past decade, is it any wonder that your customers are fed up with and demotivated by the current changes in the system? 81% of NHS spend will be controlled by PCTs in the year 2004/05, so this is not a marketplace to be ignored. If you ignore the current changes, it could be detrimental to your sales progression. Can the industry continue to target customers in the way it has done for the past 20 years? Are the customers you call on the right ones to help you achieve national and local product sales? The way we conduct business with our target customers needs to reflect the changes they are experiencing. Change continues to be a driving force within the NHS. Targets need to be met, star ratings continue to have influence. It would be arrogant and regrettable for our industry to continue along the same path it has travelled for the past two decades, with a customer base the previous generation would find difficult to recognise. The changing customer base 2004 saw the introduction of the new GP contract and with it, new ways of delivering healthcare to the patient. GMS, PMS, APMS, PCTMS and SPMS are all new means by which your customers deliver healthcare. 2005 will see the gradual introduction of practice-based commissioning: for the first time since fundholding, practices will hold budgets and commission local services for their patients. The new primary care contracts will provide better ways of rewarding health professionals for their commitment to improving patient care and public health. These contracts move away from payments based largely on capitation to rewards that directly reflect the quality of healthcare provided. Is it any wonder that gaining access to your target customers has become even more difficult? Why are more and more health professionals reducing the amount of time you can spend talking to them about your product? How can you secure regular contact with them? Your customers’ priorities have changed to match an agenda that is designed to make them more accountable to their patients and to achieve better value for money (for example, in tackling chronic illnesses). What are your long-term prospects for continuing to hit your company’s call rate? You could ignore the changing priorities of your customer – but then you might end up like Marks & Spencer, lost in the commercial wilderness. Or maybe the sensible thing to do would be to change your priorities to meet theirs? The answer to all of this is empathy and understanding. Ask yourself: what changes are being introduced? How can you help reduce some of your customers’ frustrations? How can you help them increase their earning potential? Empathy is a word used in every sales training course, but we cannot achieve it if we don’t fully understand what it means: the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings. How can we put this into practice at customer level? The key word Step back from these changes, and you will see they depend on NHS Connecting for Health (formerly the NHS National Program for IT) delivering an IT infrastructure that will free up clinician and staff time to realise the Department of Health vision. Currently, your target customer practices are busy getting linked to the new N3 NHS spine. This will allow them access to NHS information and communication systems that will help them to organise and simplify their workload, such as Choose and Book, Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS), Patient Administration Systems (PAS), Non-Conformance Reports (NCR), Secondary Uses Service (SUS), Quality Management Analysis System (QMAS), Electronic Transmission of Prescriptions (ETP) and Repeat Prescribing. IT plays a greater role in your target customer practices than ever before. No longer are their clinical systems used as glorified prescription printers. The Quality and Outcomes Framework has changed that. If you have a product associated with one of the ten QOF clinical indicators, you need to be talking to your customers in order to assess their needs. But how can you obtain selling time when they have so many new targets to deliver? A recent survey by Doctors.net.uk informed us that 50% of GPs who see reps leave decisions about who they will see to their practice staff. So could it be that the practice staff are at least important as the GP for gaining access? If so, what can you offer to ensures that you gain valuable access to doctors? The survey also recognised that repeated visits to the same doctor can have an influence on prescribing. What new and effective ways can you employ to increase your call frequency on important prescribers? Sandwiches, lunches and evening meetings really won’t help them to deliver their new agenda. IT plays a greater role in general practice than ever before, but the level of prescribers’ knowledge on how to maximise, for example, their Quality and Outcomes Framework Points (QOF) using their clinical system is sometimes patchy. Some of your practices will be highly motivated and trained on the finer points of this system, but many others have a long way to go. They need your help to source relevant clinical system training that will allow them to maximise their QOF points, enabling you to reclaim the access to your target customers that has been lost in all the NHS changes. Your customers will all have had their PCT QOF visit. Some of them will be extremely happy with the progress they have made over the last twelve months, and will be banking well in excess of £100K. Patients will also have benefited, as chronic diseases will be treated in a uniform and systematic way in line with clinical evidence. However, many of your target customers will be disappointed with their achieved QOF outcome, and will be looking for ways to improve their achievement drastically in 2005/06. They will be unsure of the best way to do this, mainly due to their lack of IT literacy. These target customers will appreciate your help with achieving a positive outcome for themselves and their patients. Making connections In summary: to secure regular quality time with your target customers, you must understand and apply the concept of empathy. The next step is to explore opportunities to help your customers earn their QOF points in 2005/06, and so increase their earning potential – thus securing your regular product promotion.

IN THE FIRST of two articles, we look at attitudes towards field visits and why these events are important to both the manager and the representative. Just a perfect day Pf contacted a number of GP and hospital representatives, a regional business manager and a national sales manager. We asked them four basic questions about field visits: 1. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = no use at all, 5 = extremely useful), how useful do you find field visits for your professional development (or that of your staff)? 2. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = no problem, 5 = climbing the walls), how stressful do you personally find field visits? 3. Would your normal working day (or that of your staff) be good enough for the purposes of a field visit? Please answer on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = definitely, 5 = definitely not). 4. On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = dreading it, 5 = super-keen), how much do you personally look forward to field visits? To question 1, both managers give the answer 5. The representatives were a little less keen (average answer 4), with one commenting that field visits were invaluable for training purposes in the first six months but had less point thereafter. Managers and representatives alike reported a wide range of stress levels in relation to field visits. One representative stated that while they got on well with their line manager, other head office personnel were very difficult to share a day with. Another said that field visits were most stressful during the probationary period, and easier thereafter. A third representative said: “I had one manager where I would sooner stick needles in my eyes than have a field visit. Stressful ones always mean I get lost even when I know the area.” Representatives had more confidence in the adequacy of a ‘normal’ working day for the purposes of a field visit (average answer 2) than managers (average answer 3). One representative stated that a good manager in this context was one who would expect a normal day and respond creatively to it, rather than expecting a perfect day to be “set up”. Our representatives generally looked forward to field visits (average answer 4), but some added the caveat: only with certain managers. “I have had the 5s but also the –1s” was a typical comment. The managers we consulted had fewer problems. Road to nowhere The general comments in response to our survey were revealing. The managers spoke of “quality time” and “personal value”. The representatives emphasised that field visits were only helpful when the manager was realistic and did not expect a “showtime”. One representative commented: “Too often these are opportunities to terrorise poor reps into setting up days, which is a waste of time… ‘The Stepford Manager’. How real an experience can that be?” Another representative observed that “most reps make sure that the day is carefully planned to reflect the average call rate/activity, otherwise a sense of paranoia develops amongst the rep and manager!’ This reflects a key issue: if both representative and manager are using the ETMS data (and said data are reliable), the setting up of atypical days for field visits will be recognised as pointless. A field visit needs to reflect both the coverage and the frequency of the representative’s calls. If the representative falls back on favourite doctors for field visits, the result will be inadequate coverage of most practices and excessive call frequency for a few. If the manager plays along with this distortion, then the representative gets to see his or her best customers and the manager gets to tick off the right boxes . . . but nothing genuine has been achieved. If either of them expects this and the other resists it, the result is conflict and frustration. A day in the life The role of a medical representative is based on sales development within a specified territory. To achieve this, you work with your manager to determine where your current business is coming from, and plan how you and your territory colleagues will work together to increase it. Your business plan gives you sales targets and objectives over a medium to long period of time. Sales results are issued monthly; objectives are usually based on quarterly, halfyearly or even yearly results. Yet a field visit is looking at one day. So how does it relate to the bigger picture? On a field visit, the most easily measurable objectives are the call rate and the commitment to product prescribing gained. As one representative said, “I feel I have had a successful day when we have been busy all day, and I have seen enough target GPs to fulfil my call rate and make my manager see I am making sales on my patch.” In what way does this indicate overall business development on the territory? Managers are often targeted on how many field visits they carry out per month. Data for 2002 from Activity Benchmarking Ltd showed that field visits accounted for the largest part of first-line management time at 39%: 7.4 days per month. To the majority of managers, this is the most important part of their role. They get to see what is happening on the territory, discuss any issues that have arisen with their team member, and motivate them to continue doing the good work and increasing sales after the manager has gone back to HQ. All very admirable – but is this realistic within the time frame of a day? On top of this, it may be necessary to balance the representative’s call rate, sales and days on territory with a need to sit down and discuss business decisions together. This business development, along with effective post-call analysis (both developmental and motivational), is crucial for developing the selling ability of the representative. However, this process can impact on call rates. Both managers and representatives need to agree well in advance that they will put time aside during the visit for business analysis. Come see about me From both sides, field visits have tremendous potential advantages. For the representative, it is a chance to impress and to let your manager see what is really happening on your territory. For the manager, it is an opportunity to review progress, look at career development, see the skills of the representative and develop these further. It is an opportunity to praise, or to create an arena in which issues can be discussed. The outcome of this should be an increase in motivation, performance and skills, leading to an increase in sales. Thus both the manager and the representative need to look at their field visits and work together to improve the productivity of these visits. Then field visits will no longer create a feeling of dread, but will be a positive experience for both colleagues – with each side benefiting from the process and achieving the shared objective of increased business. In next month’s article, we will look at how both manager and representative can alter their perceptions, expectations and objectives in order to make field visits more productive.

THE COMPANY was born out of an increasing client demand for high quality Clinical Systems Training and Clinical Audit and is now an IITT Accredited Training Provider with the Institute of IT Training. This accreditation identifies Oberoi Consulting as a forward thinking organisation, one that is seeking to deliver quality solutions to its clients. Oberoi Consulting’s key strength is its people and complete ownership of Client Programmes, for both its pharmaceutical and NHS customers. Our ever-growing list of personnel has expanded recently across all departments, from field-based consultants, Business Development, Marketing as well as Software Development. All of our IT Healthcare Professionals are domain experts, drawing on many years of experience in the rapidly changing world of Healthcare IT. Oberoi Consulting has been active in the healthcare sector since 2001 and has developed its core services to anticipate: • Practice and PCO needs due to the changing legislative environment in Primary Care (e.g. NSFs and the new GMS contract) • the changing IT environment (e.g. the transition from practice serverbased clinical systems to remotely hosted, data-centre-based systems, a fundamental part of the Connecting for Health/NPfIT project) • the need for dynamic, customer-focused, pharmaceutical company sponsored solutions Programmes sponsored by the Pharmaceutical industry have been created to: • support the provision of good clinical care, • implement NSF guidelines thereby maximising GMS Contract payments for GPs • meet the ultimate goal of improved patient care. As a forward thinking organisation, Oberoi Consulting constantly monitors developments in the IT healthcare market and creates synergistic opportunities for all our partners. One of our key corporate goals is the development and strengthening of our strategic partnerships with PCOs. The following section details some of the areas of development that will affect us all in the future.

Oberoi Consulting – future portfolio of services

Connecting for Health The National Programme for IT in the NHS (NPfIT), recently re-titled Connecting for Health, continues to be the single most important development in healthcare IT. In Primary Care, the gradual change away from practice-based server clinical systems (EMIS LV, InPS Vision, iSOFT Synergy) to remotely hosted, data-centre based clinical systems is bound to have profound effects on both practices and the way they use their IT, as well their partner organisations, such as pharmaceutical companies. Two obstacles to the success of the project have been overcome recently. The Department of Health (DoH) announced on the 23rd March 2005 that practices could have a choice of any of the approved clinical systems, not just the ones being offered by their Local Service Provider (LSP) and that EMIS, by far the most numerous clinical system in the UK, could also become an approved provider. In one fell swoop, the DoH removed the objections most often cited by doctors arguing against this centralised project. Connecting for Health – what does it mean for me? As practices begin to change to remotely hosted clinical systems, doctors’ time will inevitably become more pressured, possibly meaning less time available for you. Practice staff and doctors will have to become familiar with the new clinical systems, providing an invaluable opportunity for you to assist them with new software. Oberoi Consulting is ideally positioned to meet this skills gap. Practice-Based Commissioning Practice-Based Commissioning (PBC) is the latest in a long line of initiatives attempting to devolve budgetary power to general practices. Many practices are already some way towards effective PBC, others are lagging behind. The ability of PCOs to cope with this onerous process is a key factor affecting speed of take-up. Practice-Based Commissioning – what does it mean for me? Devolvement of responsibility may cause what were previously PCO-based preferences for certain drugs to be replaced by practice-level preferences. So-called “Level Three” patients, i.e. those with complex conditions, will potentially require care from Specialist Nurses and Community Matrons, who may have prescribing responsibility. Understanding the impact of PBC for our clients is a key area of development in the Oberoi portfolio. Web-based services In the modern NHS, Practices are rightly encouraged to build the central importance of the patient into everything they do. One aspect of this paradigm is to ensure that patients are provided with up-to-date and easily available information. Enter the Practice Website. Previously the domain of the more IT literate practice, informative, welldesigned Practice Websites will soon become almost mandatory. Oberoi Consulting has recently launched an exciting new Practice Website service where doctors can simply select from a range of professionally designed templates, e-mail the relevant information about their practice to our expert web design staff and have a professional, patient-focused, cost-effective website in no time at all. Our web development staff are also designing and producing a simple to deploy and easy to use Practice Intranet product, so that general practice can begin to take advantage of this modern organisational tool. Cutting-edge software For the last 20 years or more, Primary Care IT in the UK has led the world in terms of quality and innovation. As we move towards a more standardised and centralised approach to systems, we must be careful that the benefits of an innovative approach are not stifled. Large companies, such as the current clinical system providers, cannot hope to cover all the requirements of general practice. There is still room for responsive software developers to produce packages, quickly, which fulfil the needs of GPs and their staff. Cutting-edge software – what does it mean for me? Your role as a medical representative continues to broaden, meaning that you are there as a trusted source of advice and assistance for practices. Keeping abreast of emerging software packages that can make a real impact at your practices is a useful expenditure of your time. Oberoi Consulting can advise on software utilities and tools that will be of benefit of your customers. We have recently established a permanent software development team and will begin to release a suite of groundbreaking software packages during 2005/2006. Secondary Care We have a dedicated team looking into the development of support programmes for this key area.

Oberoi’s Typical Range of Current Services

For some years the pharmaceutical industry has been feeling the pressure of escalating costs and reducing margins, which have heightened its focus on targeting and ROI. In this environment there is a growing recognition that downtime on territory, through maternity leave or long-term sickness, can have a significant bearing on overall performance. Consequently Royce – the leading name in direct to headcount recruitment and vacancy management services – has been actively working with customers and candidates to ensure overall performance is maximised, and has recently detected an upturn in demand for its vacancy management services both from customers and, perhaps surprisingly, from its candidates as well… To backfill or not to backfill? Is the age-old question. In the era when sales call volumes were the priority, many were tempted not to worry unduly about the overall effect on performance of vacancies on territory. But in the current, tightly targeted and relationship-oriented pharma sales environment, this trend is beginning to turn. These days, pharma companies are more inclined to consider the opportunity lost through a temporary vacancy, than the additional cost of an interim solution. Increasingly, pharma is seeking not only to fill short to mediumterm vacancies to cover maternity and sick-leave, but also to make tactical use of vacancy management services – to ensure consistent support on territories with high levels of attrition, or when there is a freeze on headcount, for example. Vacancy management is attracting a steady supply of excellent and experienced candidates

Scott Page

It’s a trend which market-leader Royce has been swift to identify. With its 25 years of experience in providing recruitment services to customers spanning the pharma spectrum, Royce is uniquely positioned to monitor changing conditions within the market. “We aren’t surprised to see this trend emerging,” comments Scott Page, Royce’s Managing Director. “In this complex market the demand from our customers for top quality short to medium-term placements is on the up – and the variety of interim opportunities this creates, at all levels throughout pharma, is attracting a steady supply of excellent and experienced candidates in both primary and secondary care. For these sophisticated candidates, the notion of outsourcing companies as pharma’s poor relation is outmoded, because they recognise the advantages of a ‘try before you buy’ in terms of roles, therapy areas and pharma employers.”

Some 60% of candidates are people either returning, or recommended, to Royce Royce, which has been selected by the readers of Pharmafield Magazine as the agency of choice for four consecutive years, is ideally placed to take advantage of the increased demand for vacancy management services, within its existing service framework. This is because the company’s innovative candidate attraction strategy, together with its reputation for the quality of its service to customers and candidates alike, ensures that Royce is the first port of call for pharma sales professionals seeking their next permanent or interim career move. “Some 60% of our candidates are people who are either returning to Royce seeking their next career move, or who have had Royce recommended to them by colleagues and friends within the industry”, Scott Page affirms. 80% of Royce candidates find a permanent position on headcount at the end of a contract The secret of this enviable success in quality candidate attraction and retention, is that Royce prides itself on applying the same diligence to its vacancy management services as it does to its direct to headcount recruitment. The company does its homework to ensure the right fit of candidate to project, and maintains regular contact with both parties throughout the contract to the benefit of the candidate, the customer, and their mutual working relationship. Unsurprisingly therefore, Royce enjoys an outstanding retention rate on all of its contracts, and over 80% of the candidates it places through its vacancy management service go on to headcount at the end of a contract. “Essentially,” Scott Page concludes, “we’re providing a virtuous circle of service to the industry. Pharma companies are assured of the quality of candidates and continuity that they need to meet their targets, whilst good vacancy management gives quality candidates the chance to acquire new skills and experience, and to try out every aspect of a role, before they are usually offered it on a permanent basis.”

THE POINTS SCORED by GP practices as part of the 2005 Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) have been determined and the payments made. The total available to a practice in a year is 1050 points, However, PMS practices have 168.39 points deducted, so the maximum they can score is 881.61. Within the Framework, there are five ‘domains’: • clinical – 550 points (52% of the total) • organisational standards – 184 points (18%) • patient experience – 100 points (10%) • additional services – 36 points (3%) • holistic care, quality practice and access – 180 points (17%). Points and patients In each domain, ‘indicators’ are used to measure the practice’s performance. In the clinical domain there are 76 indicators, which measure aspects of: • the structure of care – e.g. is there a disease register in place? • the care process – e.g. is the indicator being measured and an appropriate intervention being made? For what percentage of the relevant population? • the outcome – e.g. how well is the condition being controlled? For what percentage of the population? For Yes/No indicators such as “Is there a disease register in place?” the practice receives the allocated number of points or none at all. For indicators that depend on measuring a percentage (for example, of patients with diabetes whose cholesterol counts in the previous 15 months have been recorded), there will be minimum and maximum thresholds with a scale of points allocation between them. The rules for transforming points into pounds need not concern us here. Note, however, that the monetary value of a point depends on the prevalence of a condition in the practice relative to the national norm. All this is important information for medical sales professionals, because it gives them: • market intelligence at practice level • an opportunity to help practices increase their incomes • a chance to boost sales by increasing the number of diagnosed patients. Knowing the score The table on page 33 shows what could be typical results from a range of practices, including three PMS practices. The first line shows the domain totals and the scores in the green line give the maxima. You will notice that six practices have achieved 97% or more, and one has achieved the maximum score. The last three practices could clearly do with a deal of help; but since raising another 1% means more cash in the bank next year, and because the rules will become progressively more severe, even those practices in the high nineties should be open to discussion – provided you can make an impact. Eight of the practices have dropped clinical points, and a look at the second section of the table tells you where. It directs you to the therapy areas where it could be in your interest to get in quickly and see where you can help. The remaining sections of the table show the results for the other domains. For reps looking for things to discuss with GPs, there is plenty of ammunition here. So you need to: 1. Understand the detail of the Quality and Outcomes Framework. To do this, you can go to the guidance issued by the DoH and the various interpretations; but subscribers to the National Health Intelligence Service at www.nhis.info will clearly have a head start in acquiring sufficient knowledge. 2. Decide how you can benefit the practice. This may be by increasing the numbers on a disease register, helping the practice to carry out a diagnostic or therapeutic process, or giving them some help with their systems. Such action could increase the number of points scored or raise the points’ value, or both. 3. Obtain the QOF data for your practices, so you can see where help is needed. Data day The data started to appear in mid-April. PCTs are making these data available in a range of formats. Some PCTs are claiming (under Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act) that since the information will be published in some form later, whether on their website, in hard copy or via some centralised system, they do not have to make it public now. So getting the information involves a lot of effort. For DIY addicts, the process in England involves contacting all the PCTs and fighting the system until the data appear – but the data from one PCT could be an inch-thick wad of paper delivered though the post, or four e-mailed spreadsheets for each practice. The National Health Intelligence Service was geared up for the advent of this information; in April, it started actively collecting the data and translating it into the format shown on page 33. It intends to publish disease-specific reports covering the PCTs that have provided data, and details of the costs of the treatment advertisement on page 36. If you need more details, email qof@nhis.info or ring  0870 241 4402  0870 241 4402 . There is a wealth of data within the scoring system that may be useful for drilling down to disease-specific questions. But for pharmaceutical company use, the format shown in the table will be sufficient to pinpoint areas for action. Companies that have access to such data will be able to work with practices to help them raise their incomes, to build constructive partnerships and to sell more product. It is a win-win situation, but the timescale is short-term – and if your competitors get there first, you will have missed a unique opportunity. The NHIS could help you. Otherwise, start contacting the PCTs and wait while the competition forges ahead.

HERE’S A QUOTE from the Health Select Committee report on the topic of new product launches:

OMAR ALI is the Formulary Development Pharmacist for Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust and is a PCT Formulary Adviser to 2 PCTs. He is a lecturer on the MSc on Pharmacy Practice at Portsmouth University and is also an adviser to three Drugs and Therapeutics Committees in the South of England. Omar is a National Speaker in the UK (cardiovascular, diabetes, mental health) and is an Executive Board Member for the National Obesity Forum. He can be reached directly on ‘alipha@aol.com’

ATTRITION RATES in the pharmaceutical industry are surprisingly high, given the competitive benefits and the amount of effort invested in appraisals and development. A recent survey by Zynap, (February 05), revealed (with a quick calculation) that 57% of pharma staff are disenfranchised and the employer either doesn’t know/care. What a waste when the industry lives or dies by its corporate reputation, know how and capacity to create long term trust with the customer. Organisations with large turnover are forever “futile cycling” struggling to get back to where they were before, rather truly progressing in an innovative way. Recruitment is often an unnecessary diversion. But, just as in rail travel and “leafs”, there is also the wrong type of recruitment and the right type and we should all aim to specialise in the latter, rather than support “futile cycling” with the former. So, managers and their reportees need to be better suited to achieving sustainable partnerships within a company and Recruitment Managers have the fascinating challenge – a sort of corporate marriage guidance really - making sure people and organisations are well suited to each other, not only that they’ll look and do their best on the day (interview/ assessment) but that they are open and honest and the prospects for a happy and fulfilled long term relationship are there. But this isn’t a leisurely pursuit, and it would be unusual to have the liberty of time to really make sure you have found the best person since vacancies always need to be filled yesterday. In this triad of Client Company, Recruitment Manager and Candidate, how can we all do better? How does the Recruitment Manager conjure up the right sustainable solution in the time allowed? While an accomplished Recruitment Manager acts as the essential catalyst for the right approach, everyone involved has a responsibility in this. A few thoughts on some fundamental good practice may be a good starting block: The Client Company Always brief in the Recruitment Manager on the broader perspective for the role:- culture, objectives, team fit, history and not just the job description, and confirm this in writing. It’s something of a drag because you know exactly what you want but think of it as delegation-equipping someone to complete the task to your own exacting standards while releasing your time. If you don’t like sequential briefing you had better think of nominating a preferred provider who can work for you on recurrent vacancies. Gather together the full benefits package for the role (that’s everything). Candidates are not too polite to ask, and it looks at worst secretive and at best disorganised if an agency acting on your behalf is unable to give a complete view of the package on offer up front. Remember to sell-in your company and product along the way, not just at interview but also at the assessment centre. Show candidates that they will be involved and you are ready and willing to address their questions at any time. If they are good you’ll want to be the one to make the choice . . .not them. Take care to avoid arrogance, the biggest organisation is not necessarily a draw for everyone, particularly for experienced people, given the increased regulation and process within corporations. Consider the environment you are creating for your recruitees, not only what will make them join, but what will you do to encourage them to stay? • Team dynamics, incomings and outgoings . . . it could all be positive, it could all be upwards and onwards, but given the 57% dissatisfied, there are some fundamental changes needed in line management technique. Sadly, capable people may feel they are misdirected, focused at the wrong thing and crucially, not making a difference . . . You’ve got it . . . a clone and not even a very well equipped clone. • How diverse are your team? What different experiences can they bring to the mix. Each one should have a different expertise to up-skill all the others, with the chance of mentorship and leadership for all. How much can you learn from your team or are you always recruiting someone like yourself (naturally), but what will you learn from that? • On a scale of 10 how motivated are your team. Do you really understand what drives them to perform? It’s curious how people often operate knowing little about themselves or their colleagues. Do that 360 feedback as soon as possible, be prepared to learn something and really take the torch to those dark and shaded corners - what you see there will really help you build the right environment. • What chance do they have to be creative? Job satisfaction is often about having the opportunity to improvise, create that win:win opportunity for the customer and company. Are you providing space for that to happen? The Candidate Do think about what it is that you really want from the role and be honest with yourself as to why you want the role. Be realistic, the title sounds good but will the commitments in time, hours and travel really equate with your other expectations in life? Do research the company you are applying for and do communicate that you have made that effort - even if you’ve not been asked. Do take the trouble to emphasise the essential features of your experience and CV which fit you specifically for this job and don’t leave unexplained time gaps in your role succession. Do convey the impression that you have directed the course of your CV, not that you have been a victim of fate. Do present yourself appropriately for the culture you will be expected to work in. How can you match “their” expectation yet differentiate yourself in some (acceptable) way? Do demonstrate resolve – there are a lot of challenges in business and people who are most successful can usually demonstrate true grit. How have you suffered for your cause? How have you overcome a difficult situation? What effort are you prepared to put into your own development? Company processes evolve and they need dynamic people who are prepared to drive their own evolution, not regard it as something which is done to them or for them. The Recruitment Manager – How good at match-making are they? It’s tempting given the time pressures to push forward CVs and secure interview dates as early as possible, but is this right? Should they be braver with their clients? Are they sufficiently picky given the risk of appearing unresponsive? To address the client’s need there is more to it than being a “post box”, there are many additional dimensions which should always be front of mind. It’s critical to:- • Understand, in a holistic way, the environment in which the candidate will work. which includes management style, objectives for the role and the team, the profile of other team members and the customer interface in the field. • Understand the client company’s work culture and environment – ideally involving visits and interviews broader than the immediate recruiters. • Insist on the full benefits profile for the role even if the client thinks the kudos of a company name will do. It won’t as it’s those same companies that 57% of people are thinking of leaving! • Have a bespoke recruitment process, including an assessment process to fit the role. Don’t just roll out the standard questions and scenarios. • Involve real-life customers in your recruitment process to really test the candidate’s skills and aptitude - the results are highly revealing. • Have a recommendation for further training in the future, particularly vital in respect of the “chameleon-like” nature of the NHS customer.

Dr. Simon Hawley is a Medical Representative at Sankyo Pharma and this year’s winner of the Pharmaceutical Sales Awards New Representative of the Year Award. He has been a GP/hospital representative for a total of two and a half years, having completed a PhD prior to starting his sales career.

Pf asked Simon: What led you to pharma sales? I went straight into the lab after completing my PhD. I worked in the lab for a year and half, then decided I wanted to see what is what like . . . to sell these life-saving drugs first-hand to doctors. What do you find challenging when calling on GPs? I finished the ITC on a high, armed with the best knowledge of the clinical papers etc, very enthusiastic however, quickly realised that there is a lot of work to be done before you get to use all this knowledge and enthusiasm. I find the most challenging part of selling is to identify WHY the doctor is prescribing in the first place. Once I figure that out, then I can use all my knowledge and enthusiasm to sell my product to their real needs. How did you find the job when you first started? A refreshing change. I came from working day after day in the lab and spending the previous eight years at university. There I was, in my car, and doing what I wanted, organising my own diary . . . running my own business, really. I work hard, work all my target accounts and nurture whole surgeries into using my product. All of this, I know, leads to meeting my ultimate goal . . . my sales target. Why did you choose Sankyo Pharma? The people I met were willing to take a risk on me and were confident in my abilities. I had one and a bit years’ experience, and had not sat my ABPI yet. They believed in me and that remains the overall culture today . . . open and confident in a sales rep’s abilities. That is why I like it and it makes me feel as if I am running my own business. What is your biggest success? My biggest success is definitely . . . winning the PSA New Representative of the Year Award 2005. (It has even beaten the feeling I had when I received my PhD.) It was such a great honour to be nominated, and furthermore to accept the award. I would like to thank those who nominated me based on my performance, and those in my personal life who supported me when I was doing all those meetings. What advice would you give to someone thinking about medical sales? It looks very glamorous on the outside…nice car etc, but be sure you understand what you are expected to deliver. Be enthusiastic and confident when talking to people, and enjoy the idea of meeting new people and that NO two days are ever the same. Lucy Randle of STAR Medical offers some top tips for a flying start in pharmaceutical sales: I recently interviewed a rookie rep who had just started their pharmaceutical sales career. When asked what they would do in their first six months they replied; ‘get my head down, deliver lots of calls and keep my boss sweet’. This response brought a wry smile to my face. I really don’t think that it was this approach that got Simon to where he is now. If you are new to the industry, here are some pointers that may help to launch your pharma sales career successfully: What’s my job? Start at the very beginning. Do you really know what you are being asked to achieve? What expectations does your manager/trainer/company have? Are these expectations specific, measurable, achievable and realistic? Do you know what success will look like? Seek first to understand Having come off a training course with a head full of facts and figures, you will be at serious risk of dumping data on your customers. You will need to be highly disciplined to ensure you ‘use your two ears and one mouth in those proportions’, and really listen to and understand your customer’s needs. Showing off your newly-found knowledge of the patient numbers and p-values in the latest study will only serve to alienate your customer, who probably won’t know or care that you are new to the job. It’s not what you know . . . In my experience, the people who make the best start upon joining the industry are those who have exceptional networking skills. They see the value in taking time early on to build a network of useful contacts to advise, support, mentor and counsel them. This should happen both internally (e.g. head office staff, initial training course colleagues, top reps in the region) and externally (e.g. other reps on territory, rep-friendly GPs, postgraduate centre managers). Learn, learn, learn The learning curve for any new sales representative is steep, and this is heightened in our industry by the complexities of the NHS environment and the uniqueness of our customer base. This means there is a huge amount of knowledge - and skill-building to be done. During this period of your career, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask, challenge and question in order to make sure you really understand. Finally, you have a finite amount of time to use the line I’m new, can you help me? . . . so don’t waste it!