Decline in Drug Rep Sales Force: What it Means for Pharmaceutical Reps

The headlines are full of pharma company layoffs.  Major lab companies like Merck, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and others are cutting back drastically in pharma revenue rep numbers. It’s partially in response to an economy and a market that demands streamlined efficiency, and partially a response to changing requirements of physicians.  Doctors are severely limiting the visits of pharmaceutical sales reps, and the ones who still do often require appointments.  Physicians are rebelling against an over-saturation in sales calls and ‘canned’ revenue pitches from a sales force traditionally less tutored in the science of the product and more focused on the ‘freebies.’

There are still pharmaceutical sales career opportunities to be found, but candidates for these jobs are competing with the thousands of other pharma reps who are looking to replace the jobs they lost.

So what should you do?

• Paul Hartigan’s article “A Healthy Future in Medical laboratory Sales?” offers some wonderful advice to those still considering a career as a pharmaceutical sales rep:  be especially careful about researching the company you’re considering working for.  Check out their product line, their market analysis, and how they treat their employees to see if it’s a company with a future for you.

• Be conscious of how companies will be reinventing the revenue rep’s role.  Physicians are demanding a more knowledgeable rep–an expert in the product rather than a sales-pitch-with-a-lunch delivery system.  That requires a solid background in the science and technology of what you’re selling, as well as adaptability to a changing sales approach that includes internet-based product detailing.  Know what the market is moving to, and discover out what different companies are doing to meet the changes.

• If you wanna be in the medical sales field, it’s more important than ever to package yourself as a top-notch candidate.  Get a career coach, research ways that successful candidates get into medical revenue, and use out-of-the-box techniques like 30/60/90-day revenue plans.

• If you’ve decided that the pharma sales category is no longer for you, the same advice applies–but more.  Conventional wisdom is that medical sales reps are on the low end of the pathology sales rep spectrum, for a couple of reasons:  (1) the lack of a science background of most pharmaceutical sales reps; and (2) the sales model in pharma revenue doesn’t include the “close” that other sales areas require.  That makes it harder for some pharma reps to transition into other clinical revenue areas, but not impossible.   If you’re a pharmaceutical rep who’s willing to move on, I help pharma reps move into pharma device, clinical supply, and other medical sales roles as a career consultant in clinical sales.  In fact, here’s a link to an audio piece from a pharma rep who transitioned to surgical revenue with some career coaching help.

Article courtesy of  Peggy McKee - Owner / Senior Recruiter at the nationally
recognized laboratory and pharma sales recruiting team of PHC Consulting.
© Copyright 2008 PHC Consulting | All rights reserved

Related posts:

1. Decline in Pharma Rep Revenue Force: What Pharmaceutical Companies Will Do Next The long decline of drug sales reps isn’t over.  According…
2. Decline in Pharma Rep Numbers: Changing Practices of Doctors The news for pharma reps is not fine. Big pharma…
3. Top Twenty Pharmaceutical Company Changes Over the Last 18 Months: How They Affect Pharma Sales Reps In 2008, these were the Big Twenty pharmaceutical companies: Top…

Decline in Drug Rep Sales Force: What it Means for Pharma Reps