How to Shorten the Sales Cycle in Pharmaceutical Selling?

What is the Sales Cycle in Pharmaceutical Selling?

The Sales Cycle refers to the process that a Medical Representative goes through to get the prescription of a product for the 1st time from a Physician.

What is the length of the Sales Cycle?

Length of Sales Cycle may be less than 5 minutes to even more than 1 year. I can mention 2 different cases to understand the length of Sales Cycle.

Case-1: When Lebac (Cephradine of Square) was re-launched (so far I recall the previous name was Cephadin), many FFs of Square got the prescription of Lebac immediately after the 1st visit. In this case, the Sales Cycle was even less than 5 minutes. Many MRs of different companies got similar experiences during the promotion of unique 1st Time-In-Bangladesh product. ??

Case-2: When I was the Product Executive of Ceftron (Ceftriaxone of Square), I had experience of a surgeon who took more than 1 year to prescribe Ceftron. This scenario underscores the need for persistent relationship building and overcoming physician hesitations.

Benefits of Shortening the Sales Cycle

- Increased Productivity: FFs can engage with more physicians and generate more prescriptions in a shorter time.

- Higher Revenue: Faster sales cycles translate to quicker revenue generation.

- Enhanced Confidence: Shorter sales cycles boost FF morale, motivating them to pursue new leads and customers.

How to shorten the Sales Cycle?

Shortening the sales cycle in pharmaceutical selling involves strategically addressing the factors that influence a physician's decision to prescribe a product. In that case, Indoor Marketing Team and Outdoor Marketing Team should work closely and they have specific roles. Here are the key strategies:

Indoor Marketing Team Initiatives:

1. Launch Unique Formulations:

?- Develop and promote products with clear benefits over existing therapies.

?- Highlight unique features that meet specific patient or treatment needs.

2. Innovative Branding:

?- Create distinctive brand names and logos that are easy to remember and convey the product’s benefits.

3. Innovative Product Accessories:

?- Provide useful accessories for patients, nurses, or physicians that enhance the product’s appeal.

4. Promotional Campaigns:

?- Use updated clinical information to design campaigns that influence physicians' clinical decision-making.

5. Creative Promotional Materials:

?- Develop engaging and informative promotional materials that stand out.

6. Market Research and Guidelines:

?- Offer up-to-date market data and comprehensive Product Marketing Guidelines (PMG) to help field forces (FFs) qualify leads effectively. Many FFs waste majority of their time and resources through putting their efforts on wrong Leads. Therefore, qualifying Leads to Prospect is very much important in shortening the Sales Cycle. ?

?7. Training on Selling Skills:

?- Focus on teaching FFs how to qualify leads and understand the nuances of the sales process.

?8. Product Training:

?- Ensure FFs are thoroughly trained on the product’s positioning and its broader application in disease management.

?9. Medico-Marketing Campaigns:

?- Engage Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) to endorse the product, influencing general practitioners (GPs).

?10. Incentive Policies:

?- Design incentives that encourage FFs to put strong focus on lead qualification and relationship building.

?11. Customer Relationship Management (CRM):

??- Utilize CRM systems to manage and track interactions with physicians effectively.

?12. Leadership Training:

?- Train first-line managers and leaders to support FFs in their activities, emphasizing lead qualification and relationship building.

?Outdoor Marketing Team Initiatives:

?1. Building Relationships:

Develop strong, trust-based relationships with physicians to reduce hesitation in prescribing new products.

?2. Understanding Physician Fears:

Address the three major fears physicians have: fear of the product, fear of the company representative, and fear of public perception. You can read my previous LinkedIn post on this topic. Length of Sales Cycle depends on the company’s success in eliminating these fears. If all the 3 Fears are eliminated successfully, then the Sales Cycle will be even less than 5 minutes.

?3. Effective Communication:

Ensure clear, transparent, and consistent communication about the product’s benefits and safety.

By focusing on these strategies, pharmaceutical sales teams can effectively shorten the sales cycle, facilitating faster adoption of their products by physicians.