Damien Johnes, as a pharma rep, has a history of topping the sales charts every quarter for the past 3 years. During his initial reconnaissance, he expanded his reach within his territory and developed a deep understanding of every General Practitioner in the primary care clinic. His lunch appointments with GPs have always scored a hit, making him the best sales rep within his team.

The last two quarters, however, haven't been too good for him. He has been meeting the right people, approaching the same clinics, and meeting up with the same GPs, but his sales seem to have stagnated. His manager was perplexed, wondering why a high performer suddenly was not able to deliver when his other teammates have consistently been showing improvement and reaching their targets well in time.

The reason was simple enough; when they sat down to discuss in detail where Damien was going wrong, he simply had exhausted opportunities to sell his product because he was reluctant to explore further afield. Feeling too comfortable with his own territory and the bunch of primary care clinics (even with the migrating GP population), Damien nearly looked at exploring opportunities that 'could have been.'

Here, we need to understand one thing: when GPs migrate to other clinics, they may prefer to quickly order drug samples locally instead of relying on a long-distance relationship with you. Even if you are happy to approach the replacement doctor who has come in their place, you may be missing out on a chance to explore further afield to increase your opportunities.

Missed opportunities: the underlying causes

The golden rule (and one that's as old) of pharma sales is to visit the primary care clinics in your territory, get a lunch appointment (or meet them after work, as it has become a norm now), and talk to them one-on-one. This established schedule, which has been in place for several decades, provides a valuable opportunity to meet with customers and discuss products, drugs, research, and other relevant topics, ensuring a successful outcome.

With digital appointment booking systems in place, arranging meetings to discuss products has become significantly easier, saving valuable time and effort. Thus, all it takes is not missing these one-on-one opportunities to start the sales pitch.

Then, where are we going wrong? Why the missed opportunities?

The trouble is in the fact that while the GPs are moving places to find better opportunities, many drug reps feel the need to restrict themselves to their territories.

Why are territories sacrosanct?

Territories are devised as a convenience for drug reps operating in different areas. While it’s a wonderful opportunity to concentrate on the GPs operating in a particular area, it also gives a sense of ownership for that area, therefore ensuring the sample requests and meetings go on as planned.

The trouble, however, is when we stop exploring a bit beyond the boundary and see if we can include a few more clinics into our fold or meet clinics that have come up new in the area. At that point, stagnation sets in, prompting us to expand our reach and engage with new individuals in the industry to promote our products.

Pushing boundaries in sales

There are no perfect, foolproof sales pitches, marketing tactics, or magical theories that can work in all situations. The ideal way is to think along the way and improvise or revise strategies to fit into individual cases. If there is the slightest possible indication that the old ideas have become redundant in a situation, it's time to move on to new and innovative ones.

However, navigating the volatile healthcare sector and its constant changes is not an easy feat to achieve. But it's essential to ensure our sales pitches match the market requirements in order to see some results.

To see the change in the equation, Damien only needs to attract a few more GPs and customers, even if it requires extensive initial reconnaissance. Given the constant exodus of GPs, and the dynamic nature of primary care settings, it is crucial for salespeople to closely monitor potential new prospects. The only way to accomplish this is to maintain constant communication with our existing customers, actively seek out new opportunities, such as a primary care clinic or a new GP nearby and seize them.

With the appointment scheduling made simple on digital platforms like RxTro, all that people like Damien need to do to get back on track is to pave new pathways to new opportunities and not fix up on one clinic or one GP at a time!

To conclude, it's crucial to always keep in mind that missed meeting opportunities in pharma sales represent more than just a blank space on the calendar, but also moments that have the potential to significantly impact sales.