How to preserve and create jobs for Reps in 4 quick steps

A defense to the bitter end for the class is not enough to preserve and create jobs. We must understand change and ride it on.

Reps crisis
The world of scientific information is going through a profound transformation, with a decline in scientific information employment which no one doubts about.
In Italy, 12,000 seats were lost. According to Farmindustria data from 75,000 employees in 2006 to 63,000 in 2013 have gone.
What could possibly be done to stem the loss or if possible creating new jobs? And most importantly, what shouldn’t be done?

# 1 Avoid: corporate defense to the bitter end

People often think that class defense may be sufficient to preserve jobs, it is an attitude which creates an artificial embankment, unable to resist. While many corporations have re-calibrated and reduced its sales force five years ago already, now being in terms of facing a crisis with far less expense; a large number of Italian companies have been slowed down. The reasons are easy to enumerate: family business at the head of the Italian companies have decided to undertake a process of contraction and have been slowed down. The fall in profits — and in some cases even the erosion of reserves — has also weakened the firm which had had to commit the same cuts, but in a year’s delay. No overall benefit for the network, which then had to undergo on a number, proximity and solidarity contracts or layoffs reduction. A delay in taking a decision, even a painful and controversial one brings with it the seed of the most painful following decisions.
Cuttings are more severe and significant, positions are growing worse while other companies have the momentum to start. Often, protection also leads to clear any investment, focusing all resources on the redundant network. Less effective, over-investment on a single channel — in fact the least productive of mature products — contract the firm-wide profitability, taking resources that could allow recovery or facility maintenance.
Avoiding the use of new and more efficient models to maintain a Reps structure, leads to unnecessary costs that other competitors do not have. At the cost of one FTE doing a whole campaign in support of a mature or generical product, while the network could be addressed with greater profit launches effort or products. In these cases, a few units contraction could lead to an improvement on the first margin, and then, in fact, retain more jobs.

# 2 Avoid product concentration

The communication carried until now by many Reps is often product-oriented. Efficacy, tolerability, new formulation, organ pipes were the key words. From our experience working on Reps training, so that they put the patient at the center of communication, produces incredible results overtime. The informant, after a moment of confusion, goes back to evaluate his own work as well as patient centrality, to get to with the involved doctor. The way in which Reps carry the message, but especially the key message that marketing offers, must be oriented to a relationship with the doctor who identifies the patient and therapy. This may, at times, provide for a paradigm shift, for which the Rep puts the drug into the background compared to services, support for the patient such as counseling cards, app, software platform for collaboration between physicians, agreements with excellent facilities. All that is in addition to or more than the drug may be an opportunity to create a stable and lasting relationship with the professional, creating with him a bridge of trust in the common solution of a total medicine system, not only a clinical support to the patient.
Among our experience, there’s one I care about in particular: scientific information on bipolar disorder for the primary care physician. Primary care physician cannot and should not treat the disease itself, but Reps, with adequate training and marketing support, were able to put the physician in condition to identify and handle the patient so that he could proceed with the specialized centers.
Satisfaction was very high, for both doctors and Reps themselves. The company has also seen a growth in market shares as centers were receiving correctly segmented patients. The so-called process beyond the pills, for which the importance of everything that is in the valley and passes alongside drug treatment increases, the patient should be made to belong to Reps, with obvious implications for employment.

# 3 Increasing effectiveness impact

Very often, dismissing the talk of sales force network reduction, is cited by the fact that they cost too much. It’s true. Otherwise, before dismissing the network, after succinct speeches, perhaps, you may want to work more actively on effectiveness.
Focusing on the network can come from various activities that can be added to the same: from focusing in the right target to implementation impact.
Have the validity of the filing of the ISF by outside companies, which make a match with the database and verify that physicians are visited with high potential and above all they are the ones who in previous surveys have declared their interest in specific therapy. Or replace a portion of the frontal views of interciclo with those of fellow remote that reduces the average annual cost of visits and increases the SOV (Share of Voice) at a reasonable cost.
Solutions to increase network efficiency must be tailored, but are also a great advantage with the proper use of digital strategies.

# 4 Take advantage of all available models

Developing best results with modest investments while maintaining a network is possible. It often happens that corporate network is focused only on specialists, leaving out, for obvious economic reasons basic medicine. In these cases it is experienced from time with a large number of successful case histories the joint use of frontal with remote network, each dedicated to a distinct specialization segment. Managing these projects is not particularly complex and allows the sales manager to develop a network concept on the territory to its products without incurring in prohibitive costs.
Other models have proved to be very effective ones and allow you to work by increasing the tools of digital communication with the information network. Using the network with e-mail, post call (made by companies that have permissions and privacy to do so) reinforces the message.
Creating an integrated project with Fad (possibly supported via phone for online access) has generated excellent results in terms of recall and adherence. Focusing scientific and promotional content in one channel on the online platform, supported by the network, always increases the amount of messages that the network is able to provide for professionals in target.
It seems that Reps activity, which once was full of opportunities and rich in careers, has turned into an endangered reserve. We can fight this drift by using the most innovative tools, the flexibility offered by modern marketing, renewing work patterns and management, to adapt the network with existing communication modalities.
It’s a challenge: trying to fight innovation and hope that Luddite aids to jobs preservation is a behind the lines battle.
It’s not innovation itself in being a threat to workers or unemployment cause. The resistance to technological change does not give credit to Reps professionalism and their managers, who may instead study how to use it to strengthen and develop business and generate more profits for the company.
Resisting the wave or riding it: on which side are you today?