Checklist for a good pharma salesman

How can a company gauge the effectiveness of their medical representatives? V Srinivasan helps them find out Honest answers (a simple 'yes' or 'no') to following questions will surely reveal the quality and efficacy of a pharma salesperson.

• Does he have the willingness to do hard and intelligent work to take his company forward and in the process grow in his career?
• Does he have the passion to excel in his job consistently (i.e. surpassing his targets month after month)?
• Does he have the guts to follow ethics in his profession?
• Does he have the latest customers list ready at all times, which is very clear and correct as per your marketing strategy?
• Does he understand clearly and implement the marketing strategies of the company in the field in toto (example number of calls, frequency of calls, correct sampling, and promotional inputs to the intended customers, etc.)?
• Does he fill in all his reports correctly, and ensure that they are received by all concerned well before the deadlines?
• Does he claim all his expenses very correctly, as per company policy and his eligibilities?
• Is he very clear with regard to all his incentive schemes in force, and earn incentives through ethical sales performances month after month, quarter after quarter, and year after year?
• Does he practice all his detailing stories often, read literatures, communications/circulars received from marketing department, to improve his product/technical knowledge so that he can communicate/market better with his customers?
• Does he actively participate in all interactions with the superiors and in all meetings, training programmes?
• Does he maintain and up-to-date all important data correctly, relating to his territory, like number of visits to customers, primary, secondary sales data, closing stocks, samples/gifts received, distributed, etc.
• Is he aware of his company's distribution, trade policies?
• Does he collect payments promptly and keep the overdue/outstandings in his territory at the bare minimum level?
• Can he tell immediately the PTS, PTR, and MRP for all his products, and also of the important competitive products?
• Does he make it a point to maintain cordial relationship with all his customers, trade partners, CFAs, important stockists, retailers, etc. like wishing/greeting them on their birthdays, wedding anniversaries, etc?
• Does he study all the requests received from customers for sponsorships carefully, and recommend to his superiors, only a few which makes business sense to the organisation?
• Does he prepare his tour programmes as per company policy and ensure that it is there with everyone concerned well before the beginning of the month?
• Does he believe in real marketing (i.e. generation of prescriptions through better quality detailing, regular visits, etc.), or depend upon sponsorships, samples, promotional inputs, etc. to reel out the usual business month after month?
• Does he dress properly; look smart, and likable, in front of his customers?
• Does he try to understand his competitors' brands, their strategies/schemes in the field, (pass on the same to his marketing department) so that he can explain to his customers about the superiority of his products, or believe in just reeling out his detailing story, and get the usual response from his customers and therefore the usual business?
• Does he inform his superiors promptly as and when he avails any leave, as per company policy?
• Has he ever made any false reports?

If a Medical Representative (MR) can answer an honest 'yes' to most of the above questions, then probably, in normal circumstances, he should be a successful and consistent salesman. It reveals that they are strong in the basics/fundamentals. Such salesmen should be real assets to any organisation and the organisation should try to retain them. On the other hand, if the majority of answers is a 'no' to most of the above questions, then probably, he may be an average or below average salesman, as he lacks basic knowledge. The organisation should try to upgrade/convert such salesmen in all sincerity, so that within a time frame they reach a stage where they can answer 'yes' to most of the above questions. If they still fail, then the organisation has to take a tough call.

(The author has established and headed the Sales Administration Dept in many reputed Pharma Companies, and has been helping the field force to improve on their basics. He can be reached at shridhar1956@rediffmail.com)