Success Guidelines For Pharma Contract Inside Sales Forces

Inside sales teams supply services, such as research, digital marketing, direct mail campaigns, electronic medical record marketing & advertising, etc. The benefits of which provide pharma companies with flexibility and scalability.

Inside Sales vs Outside Sales, What is the Difference?

There are several differences between inside sales vs outside sales, but the key differences are geographical limitations, coverage limitations, the investment required for success and the time it takes to establish an ROI.

Outside sales cover the physical aspects of marketing. An example is when a pharmaceutical salesperson travels business to business, informing physicians about the myriad of health benefits their prescriptions come with, treatment plans and how to qualify patients, etc.

Inside sales, however, breaks through the physical limitations of outside sales teams. Inside sales refers to a group of independent professional salespeople who a pharmaceutical company retains to generate leads and convert them to sales. These inside sales teams remotely interact with physicians through emails, targeted emr advertising, video conferences, and phone calls.

Technological advances, process enhancements, and new messaging formats developed throughout the years, offering new ways of accessing a more comprehensive range of physicians.

Today, a sales team can perform data analysis on the physicians, ‘deciling’ them or ranking them. Inside sales teams can target those lower decile physicians, who often get ignored by others, to try and convert them into loyalists.

Establishing relationships with this target demographic allows pharmaceutical companies to cultivate long-term connections with overlooked physicians and helping expand into new territories.

Sales is No Longer an Individual Sport

Traditionally, sales positions have been known as individual roles, where the salesperson works alone and is solely responsible for their success or failure. However, working with and collaborating effectively with teammates is more beneficial to everyone’s success. Collaboration prevents team members in the contracted inside sales force from becoming complacent. It cultivates healthy competition and allows each team member to motivate and empower each other.

It’s a winning formula for pharmaceutical companies; reps know the products inside and out, and the target demographic receives accurate, high-quality communications. Cultivating a collaborative environment also creates the belief that winning with others is far more fun than winning alone. When your teammates do well, it only helps the brand, bringing a higher success rate.

Communication, Transparency, Adaptability

Three other vital components of a successful pharma inside sales force are communication, transparency, and adaptability. The relationships between physicians and pharma companies are essential for improving the care of patients. Providing the most accurate and detailed information to a physician builds trust and increases the quality of life for patients. Being transparent cannot happen without a strong line of open communication. Medical professionals who trust the product and the sales team will continue giving business and even referring business to their colleagues.

The final essential component for a successful sales force is adaptability. The technological and medicinal paradigms change every day. Scanning the environment for changes and learning how to implement strategies that allow for fast decision-making. Leveraging change by bringing in a contracted sales team can greatly expand your visibility in places that you never thought you could reach efficiently.