Article at a glance:

Making more of pharma's sales force

US pharmaceutical companies have long prospered by following a sales model in which a stream of sales representatives, confident that at least one of them will gain access, call on the very same doctors. But recently there has been an explosion in the number of reps as well as a raft of new pressures: busier physicians, the proliferation of new drugs, and greater competition among the companies that produce and market them. Physicians, reps, and pharmaceutical companies are quickly losing patience with a system that is increasingly inefficient and costly.

The take-away

This article proposes two ways in which pharmaceutical companies can target their sales efforts more precisely. The first is to reestablish a focus on physicians and their prescription-writing habits, the second to clarify the management structure of the sales force. In doing so, these companies will build stronger long-term relationships with physicians and improve results for the industry as a whole.