MedicinMan Februrary 2012

February 2012

~ F I E L D F O R C E E XC E L L E N C E ~

TM

P H A R M A | M E D I C A L D E V I C E S | D I A G N O S T I C S | S U R G I C A L S

A BroadSpektrum Healthcare Business Media’s Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative

Vol. 2 Issue 2

MedicinMan

Editorial

www.medicinman.net

Alvin Toffler wrote Future Shock in

1970 to accurately foretell the dra-

matic changes that would impact ca-

reers, businesses, societies and na-

tions in the 21st Century. Like George

Orwell‟s 1984, Future Shock went on

to become a bestselling classic. Future

Shock is a certain psychological state

of anxiety, fear and inaction caused

by too much change in too short a

period of time. Career Shock is the

rapid and drastic changes in market

dynamics and its massive negative

impact on job opportunity and securi-

ty. And those who cannot cope with

the challenges of Career Shock will

lose their career, just as farmers lost

out to industrialization in the early

nineteenth century.

According to Seth Godin, author of

Purple Cow and other marketing clas-

sics, “the current recession is a forev-

er recession" because it's the end of

the industrial age, which also means

the end of the average worker. Seth

Godin goes on to say – “If you're the

average person doing average work,

there's going to be someone else who

can do the exact same thing as you,

but cheaper. Now that the industrial

economy is over, you should forget

about doing things just because it's

assigned to you, or never mind the

race to the top, you'll be racing to the

bottom. However, if you're different

somehow and have made yourself

unique, people will find you and pay

you more.

Seth Godin gave away 1/3 of his book,

Permission Marketing free to anyone

who sent an email. Well, taking cue

from Seth Godin, I‟m giving away the

key concepts of my new book, Repeat

Rx free to all the readers in this issue

of MedicinMan.

For those of you who do not want to

race to the bottom, send me an email

and “I‟ll make you an offer you cannot

refuse” - Don Corleone in The Godfa-

ther.▌ [email protected]

CAREER SHOCK! The Uncertainty and Anxiety of Our Times

There are 3 types of

people in this world:

1. Those who make things

happen.

2. Those who watch

things happen and

3. Those who wonder

what happened.

Mary Kay Ash

“If you're different

somehow and have

made yourself

unique, people will

find you and pay

you more.”

More on Page 11

MedicinMan Vol.2 Iss.2

3

People with the right skill set form one of the major driv-

ers of sustainability for any business. Thus, hiring the right

kind of talent forms a vital part of the human resource do-

main. When we look at the pharmaceutical sector, it is

highly evolving and facing grave challenges. As the compe-

tition becomes intense, there is a need to differentiate

through innovative platforms wherein the fresh talent

could come handy.

Well, there are many reasons why pharmaceutical firms

should hire fresh talent. Firstly, the fresh graduates have

the ability and more importantly a willingness to adapt to

a new environment, a variety of situations, responsibilities

and relations since they realize that in the formative years

of their careers they need to have an exposure of all kinds.

Such willingness is not very commonly seen in the industry

otherwise. This characteristic along with the appetite to

learn and learn quickly can be harnessed by any firm to

groom the graduate to meet the requirements of the organ-

ization. Several organizations have successfully learnt the

art of grooming fresh graduates to create a pool of future

leaders not only for themselves but for the industry as a

whole.

Another reason for a firm to hire fresh graduates from

campus is to create a connect with the student community.

Campus recruitments will inspire current and future stu-

dents to aim for, or better still, dream of getting into firms

with campus connect. This has been used by leading or-

ganizations for company branding amongst the future

working professionals.

The role of fresh graduates is even more important in the

pharmaceutical sector. The pace of growth of this sector

has been so fast that the current pool of professionals can-

not fill the growing human resource requirements. Hiring

at lateral levels just shifts human resource from one organ-

ization to another within the sector without increasing the

overall size of the talent pool. Therefore for a sustained

growth, hiring fresh graduates is the only solution. Fresh

talent also challenges long-timers in the industry to move

away from their robotic ways and look at new ideas espe-

cially in emerging media like the Internet and other digital

solutions to connect with customers. Thus there exists a

clear need to bring in fresh talent, which brings along new

ideas, new approaches, a willingness to challenge the sta-

tus quo and helps in setting up a culture of “thinking dif-

ferently” and “accepting changes” in the organization. ▌

by Neha Ansal

WHY SHOULD PHARMA HIRE FRESH TALENT?

Youth

Speak

“Fresh graduates have the ability and

more importantly a willingness to adapt

to a new environment, a variety of situa-

tions, responsibilities and relations since

they realize that in the formative years of

their careers they need to have an expo-

sure of all kinds. Such willingness is not

very commonly seen in the industry

otherwise.”

Neha Ansal is a PGDM Student at IIM-Raipur (Batch of 2012) Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

4


Repeat Rx – A New Chapter in Pharma Sales line Manager creates a learning and development

ecosystem that will enable field sales professionals

to progress through the 4 stages of Calling, Connect-

ing, Consulting and Collaborating. Repeat Rx is not

a one-time-read book; it is a skill certification and

competency building program to progress from be-

ing a Beginner to Amateur, Apprentice and Achiev-

er. The Repeat Rx Competency Framework is an

assessment tool that can be fine-tuned to meet the

specific learning objectives of companies. ▌

I wrote HardKnocks for the GreenHorn to address

the learning needs of new Medical Reps (MRs) who

were taken as replacement for attrition. Companies

did not have time to train the new MRs (Green

Horns) before sending them on field sales work.

They had to learn the HARD way by being

KNOCKED around, hence the title - HardKnocks for

the GreenHorn.

HardKnocks for the GreenHorn was written in an

easy to read format and focused on Knowledge,

Skills and Attitude to be an effective pharma field

sales professional. HardKnocks for the GreenHorn

was also designed as an on-the-job training tool,

which Front-line Managers could use to train their

team of Medical Reps to have uniform and essential

skill sets.

My second book, SuperVision for SuperWiser Front

-line Manager was written to comprehensively ad-

dress the learning and development needs of the

Front-line Managers. Often MRs are promoted as

Front-line Managers without adequate understand-

ing about their changed role. They do not have a

manual they can refer to understand their role and

responsibilities. SuperVision for SuperWiser Front-

line Manager is written in 3 parts – The first part

discusses the „Must Have‟ managerial competencies;

the second part focuses on the „Good to Have‟ emo-

tionally intelligent leadership skills. The third part

focuses on „Great to Have‟ breakthrough skills that

help them to move to the next level of performance.

My third book, Repeat Rx is targeted at Sales Train-

ing Managers, as well as Front-line and Second-line

Managers and others who want a comprehensive

manual to build High Performance Sales Teams. It is

also very useful for MRs to want to move into Key

Account Management. Repeat Rx along with Hard-

Knocks for the GreenHorn and SuperVision for Su-

perWiser Front-line Manager are the first learning

and development resources that address the lacunae

in building high performance sales teams. Repeat

prescription or repeat purchase (Repeat Rx) is an

outcome of Knowledge, Skills, Attitude and the

Hardwork (KA$H) of the field sales force combined

with the opportunity in the market and the level of

trust and relationship with customers (doctors and

Chemist). Repeat Rx along with HardKnocks for the

GreenHorn and SuperVision for SuperWiser Front-


For many Medical Reps and Front-line

Managers, their job has become a Grinding

Stone instead of a Stepping Stone. Compa-

nies no longer plan your career. You have to

do it yourself. Continuous Learning is the

only Stepping Stone, which will empower

you to enjoy a satisfying work-life. We are

all born with nearly similar hardware

(brain); it‟s the software (Learning Inputs)

that transforms work into Work-oh-Frolic

and performance into Perfo-Romance. The

8 Maxims of Repeat Rx are like killer soft-

ware applications that will enable you to

focus on the needs and wants of customers.

These Maxims are like Windows that will

give you clearer and sharper Rx insights.

These 8 Maxims will be discussed through-

out Repeat Rx.

Repeat Rx is written to empower Medical

Reps and Front-line Managers to use their

current position as a Stepping Stone. With-

out Continuous Learning your job becomes

a Grinding Stone. Make the right choice –

become a Work-oh-Frolic; produce great

Perfo-Romance and move up the value

chain in field sales management or product

management, depending on your aptitude

and inclination. Field sales management is

all about people – employees, customers

and others in the value chain. Product man-

agement is all about ideas that influence the

behavior of people – employees, customers

and others in the value chain. Repeat Rx

offers insight into both People and Ideas,

making it your Stepping Stone to great ca-

reer options in the future.

Repeat Rx revolves around customer

knowledge. How well you know them; their

motivations – NEEDS and WANTS; LIKES

and DISLIKES and Preferences. To know

this, you must think like a customer; not

like a salesperson. You must ask QUES-

TIONS that customers are likely to ask.

When you have clearer insights into indi-

vidual customer motivations, you will find

it easier to progress from Calling to Con-

necting, Consulting and Collaborating with

customers.

Repeat Rx depends on excelling in 4 key

areas:

1. Choosing the right customers through

systematic and regular RCPA

2. Achieving the right call frequency

through POEM - pre call planning and

preparation

3. Delivering the right message that an-

swers the WSI and WIIFM of doctors and

Chemists through effective use of MMFI

and KA$H

4. Understanding AIDA and executing the

marketing programs effectively by doing

WIN

WSI – Why Should I? This is probably the

question in your mind as you flip through

this book. The title “Repeat Rx” might have

caught your Attention and created an Inter-

est to know more. But after scanning the

book and evaluating the effort needed to

learn new skills, you might be wondering,

“Why Should I?” This is a perfectly natural

and spontaneous response. Unless you are

convinced, of the benefits of reading Repeat

Rx, the WSI Maxim will act as a road-block

and prevent you from reading, learning and

putting the learning into practice. WSI op-

erates in all SELLING situations – you

should be able to answer the WSI of cus-

tomers convincingly. Think like a customer

who asks Why Should I? Plan for the an-

swers based on the market intelligence

about the customer‟s likes and dislikes

needs and wants. Read Repeat Rx repeat-

edly till you are confident of facing the WSI

questions of doctors, Chemists and your

distributor.

AIDA – Why do you think advertisers place

an attractive model next to even the most

technically high-end car? Because before


6

“Repeat Rx

is written to

empower

Medical Reps

and Front-line

Managers to

use their

current

position as a

Stepping

Stone. With-

out Continu-

ous Learning

your job

becomes a

Grinding

Stone.”

A STEPPING STONE OR GRINDING STONE?

7

MedicinMan Vol.2 Iss.2 MedicinMan Vol.2 Iss.2

the potential buyer‟s Interest is evoked, the advertiser

must attract his Attention with a stimulating visual. Then

the story-line creates Desire leading to Action. The cus-

tomer‟s Attention is first drawn to the attractive model

who is standing next to the car. Once his visual senses

are stimulated it is easier to create Interest in what is

„inside‟ the car. Attention and Interest combine to pro-

duce Desire and Action – this is the basic premise of all

selling efforts. Many new selling Maxims have been in-

troduced but AIDA remains at the core of any selling ef-

fort.

WIIFM – What‟s In It For Me? This is the next question

that comes naturally to our minds. By nature we are pro-

grammed to do only those things that give us pleasure or

relieve us from pain. WIIFM must answer how your

product addresses this WANT (give pleasure) and NEED

(relieve pain). A Skilled Persuader learns how to SELL

the WIIFM to doctors to get Repeat Rx.

WIN – Whatever Is Necessary. Everybody wants to WIN,

but not everybody is willing to do Whatever Is Necessary.

Repeat Rx is the first-of-its-kind Toolbox that equips you

with Knowledge, Attitude, Skills and Habits – KA$H

needed to WIN in your career and life.

KA$H – Everybody wants CASH; but they don‟t focus on

gaining the Knowledge, Attitude, Skills and Habits –

KA$H, that are needed to produce CASH. Repeat Rx is a

customized Knowledge, Attitude, Skills and Habits –

KA$H Toolbox for Medical Reps and Front-line Manag-

ers to earn more CASH.

MMFI – Make Me Feel Important. This is one of the

greatest WANT of all human beings. Once a person‟s

basic NEEDS are met, the focus shifts to Social Recogni-

tion, Self Esteem and Self Actualization. Social Skills is

the ability to understand this fact and develop ways in

which you can make all your customers FEEL important

in some unique way according to their personality prefer-

ences.

POEM – Planning, Organizing, Executing, Monitoring.

You may have all the Knowledge and Skills, but if you

don‟t have the Habit of POEM, your performance will be

inconsistent and you will be considered as unreliable de-

spite your talent. POEM transforms work into Work-oh-

Frolic and performance into Perfo-Romance. POEM is

the SECRET of all consistent performers.

RCPA – Market Intelligence is critical to promoting the

right products to right doctors and this can be done only

through systematic and regular Prospecting and Qualify-

ing through Retail Chemist Prescription Audit - RCPA.▌

A STEPPING STONE OR GRINDING STONE?

8


Success in any profession is a result of excellence in charac-

ter and competence. Character is who you are and Compe-

tence is what you can do. Character combines with Compe-

tence to produce Confidence within you and makes others

to Trust in you.

The 4 progressive stages of Calling, Connecting, Consulting

and Collaborating focuses on developing character and

building competence to produce Confident Pharma Sales

professionals who can trigger Trust.

Trust creates a positive perception, which persuades the

doctor to Trial Rx. The value derived from Trial Rx reinforc-

es Trust; leading to Relationship and Repeat Rx.

Repeat Rx is not an outcome of a hit or miss unplanned and

unorganized approach, but a result of becoming a Skilled

Persuader who can influence doctors and Chemists.

The Repeat Rx Matrix is at the crux of becoming a Skilled

Persuader and illustrates how character and competence

create Trust and builds Relationship and Repeat Rx.

Let‟s look at the 4 quadrants to understand the process of

getting Repeat Rx.

Character is demonstrated by your Sincerity and Caring

attitude and establishes your Ethos and Pathos in the Call-

ing and Connecting stage.

Competence is demonstrated by your Credibility and Exper-

tise and establishes your Logos in the Consulting and Col-

laborating stage. When all the three elements, Ethos, Pa-

thos and Logos are present as in quadrant IV leading to

foundational, emotional and rational trust, the outcome is

Relationship and Repeat Rx.

In quadrant I, you are a Beginner and yet to demonstrate

your character and competence, which are both low and

hence No Rx. Any Rx would be due to the work of your pre-

decessor‟s work or due the uniqueness/monopoly of the

product.

In quadrant II, as an Amateur you have just begun to

demonstrate your competence. Based on your knowledge

and the doctor‟s need, you will get Erratic Rx whenever you

call on doctors.

In quadrant III, as an Apprentice in addition to some com-

petence, your character is demonstrated by your sincerity

and caring attitude and builds Rapport with some doctors

and you get Some Rx, whenever they remember you.

In quadrant IV, both your character and competence are

high, making you an Achiever. This leads to Trust based

Relationship and Repeat Rx.

Repeat Rx is divided into two parts for easy learning and

application. In the first part of Repeat Rx, the emphasis

will be on effective Communication Skills and Selling Skills

– the two most important skills for Pharma Sales Profes-

sionals. The key learning in Part 1 is the three levels of

trust – Foundational, Emotional and Rational Trust trig-

gered by your Ethos, Pathos and Logos.

Part 2 of Repeat Rx focuses on developing character and

competence to produce Confident Pharma Sales profes-

sionals who can trigger Trust. The key learning in Part 2

are the 4 progressive stages of Calling, Connecting, Con-

sulting and Collaborating to build lasting Relationship for

Repeat Rx. We will learn through models and matrix like

the Repeat Rx to stimulate your analytical thinking (Left

brain – Logic/IQ) as well as through stories, examples and

metaphors to stimulate your creative thinking (Right brain

– Emotion/EQ) as both IQ and EQ are needed for effective

learning. This combination of Knowledge (IQ) and Persua-

sion (EQ) is at the crux of becoming a Skilled Persuader

who can trigger Repeat Rx.▌

[email protected]

HOW TO GET REPEAT RX ?

“Repeat Rx is not an outcome of a hit or

miss unplanned and unorganized

approach, but a result of becoming a

Skilled Persuader who can influence

doctors and Chemists.”

MedicinMan Vol.2 Iss.2 MedicinMan Vol.2 Iss.2 M

edicin

Man

Creati

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Rahul Mishra : +91 96118 76767


10

Pharma field selling is tough. You must study and learn

from athletics and sports, which are far tougher and in-

tensely competitive. The only difference is that athletes and

sportspeople set very clear and exacting goals and they

thoroughly enjoy their work. That‟s why they are called

players. It is worthwhile to remember that once they meet

their goals, they earn far more for „playing‟ than most peo-

ple do by „working‟. We need to change from this „working

mindset‟ to „playing mindset‟ in order to enjoy our profes-

sional life. Working is for those who are physically engaged,

but emotionally disconnected from their profession. To en-

joy your career, you must engage your heart first; then your

head and hands will follow. If you fall in love with your

work, you‟ll never have to WORK. When you move from

working to playing, instead of workaholic, you will become

a Work-oh-Frolic and your performance will be trans-

formed into Perfo-Romance. Athletes and sportspeople are

highly motivated and goal centered and that‟s the only way

to thrive in any hyper competitive profession. Since you

have decided to make pharma sales your career, you must

learn from athletes. Without continuous learning, motiva-

tion, goals, planning and time consciousness, your sales

target will seem like an insurmountable mountain.

If you want to move from performance to Perfo-Romance

then start learning the new rules of the game. Become con-

scious of time as the only resource that can never be recy-

cled. Learn from athletes and sportspeople. They spend

every minute of their waking hours in reaching their goals

and their sleeping hours dreaming about their enjoying the

satisfaction of reaching their goals. You must become pas-

sionate about your profession; about your personal effec-

tiveness. Like the athletes and sportspeople, you must de-

velop every muscle that is needed for you to play your role

effectively. Athletes and sportspeople are highly focused;

they are clear about which event they will contest and go

about training and practicing till they are sure that they

measure up to compete successfully. You must also be clear

about your goals and objectives and go about learning and

developing skills that will enhance your Ethos, Pathos and

Logos.

Do you want to know what transforms mundane, routine

performance into breakthrough Perfo-Romance? PRAC-

TICE. Athletes and sportspeople PRACTICE for several

hours every day, measuring their progress carefully before

the contest. But most Medical Reps and Front-line Manag-

ers work for hours without ever practicing. The hallmark of

all great Perfo-Romancers is Continuous Professional De-

velopment (CPD) through practice. You can succeed in any

field; provided you believe in YOUR SELF and are commit-

ted to WIN; doing Whatever Is Necessary.

Time Management is Life Management – There are only 3

things you can do with Time and Money – 1. Invest it. 2.

Spend it. 3. Waste it. Planning helps you to invest your

time and money for best returns. Personal effectiveness

will give you the discipline to spend time only on essential

activities like sleep and personal affairs and money on ne-

cessities. Procrastination will lead to inaction and waste of

time. POEM is a process that helps you to develop the

Habit of investing time for maximum returns. When com-

bined with acquiring KA$H, it will make you an outstand-

ing professional with bright career prospects. This should

motivate you to remain focused on your goals. When I was

working with Eureka Forbes, most afternoons were rela-

tively free and I could go back home and take a nap. In-

stead I spent the afternoons in seeing some great movies,

which I used to improve my English language skills. I rare-

ly saw a movie, which did not teach me something about

improving my Knowledge, Attitude, Skills or Habits. When

working as a Medical Rep, I read all the product literature,

journals and books that my company used for CME. The

knowledge and skills gained led to joining a medical pub-

lishing firm where I worked for 12 years to become the

youngest marketing director. If you want a great life invest

time in activities that will make your dreams come true.

Set SMART goals; Manage time by POEM; acquire KA$H.

Study this and other professional development books –

Repeat Rx will lead to Repeat Success for you.

To Realize the Value of One Year,

Ask a Student who Failed the Final Exam

To Realize the Value of One Month

Ask a Mother who Lost a Premature Baby

To Realize the Value of One Week

Ask the Editor of a Weekly Magazine

To Realize the Value of One Day

Ask a Daily Wage Worker with Six Kids

To Realize the Value of One Hour,

Ask Lovers who are Waiting to Meet

To Realize the Value of One Minute,

Ask the Person who missed the Train

To Realize the Value of One Second,

Ask the Athlete who Missed the Gold and Won Silver in the

Olympics.

PERFO-ROMANCE AND WORK-OH-FROLIC Some people find life an empty dream because they put nothing into it

Time is the scarcest resource, and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed.

– P. Drucker


Medi

12

LEAD KINDLY LIGHT

Prof. Chitta Mitra, a doyen of the Indian phar-

maceutical industry passed away on the 3rd of

January 2012. His death is a great loss to the

industry and a personal loss to me.

The present growth of the Indian pharma in-

dustry can be attributed to Prof. Mitra in a

good measure. Since the 1980s, he took upon

himself the responsibility of bringing a para-

digm shift in the mindset of the Indian pharma

industry – from sales orientation to prescrip-

tion generation. His oft quoted and famous

pearls of wisdom to the pharma marketers still

reverberate: “The health of a pharma company

is related to the prescriptions that the company

is able to generate – not just volume sales.” His

emphasis was on prescription generation and

looked down on deals, bonus offers as an un-

healthy practice and effort to „steal prescrip-

tions of another company.

He and his dedicated team of analysts and re-

searchers analyzed millions of live prescrip-

tions of doctors. And from the analysis of these

prescriptions his gems of wisdom emerged.

Prof Mitra was a strong believer in developing

and training people in the pharma industry. He

initiated training and development of brand

managers to make them understand and inter-

pret the data provided by C MARC, collated

from live prescriptions from the twenty differ-

ent specialties of doctors.

Prof. Mitra helped brand managers to take

strategic decisions that strengthened marketing

edge over competitors. He taught them how to

evaluate and do SWOT analysis of an organiza-

tion to provide appropriate strategic guidelines

to the brand managers. He developed newer

analytical methods to create a marketing edge

over competition. He helped in distinguishing

between qualitative data and quantitative data

and to correlate with internal sales.

The widely prevalent CRM activities were

termed by him as “customer gratification” that

had nothing to do with the health of a

pharma company. He believed in honest

brand building activities which were

prevalent till the middle 90s.

In his memory, I have evolved the “Prof.

Chitta Mitra‟s Oath for Pharma Market-

ers which is inspired by the Hippocratic

Oath taken by medical professionals

when they graduate. Professionals in the

pharma industry should take “Prof.

Chitta Mitra‟s Oath” and cleanse the

pharma industry from unhealthy and

corrupt practices.▌

EXECUTIVE TEAM

EDITOR

Anup Soans

* COO

Arvind Nair

ADVISORY BOARD

Prof. Vivek

Hattangadi

*

Jolly Mathews

EDITORIAL BOARD

Shashin

Bodawala

*

Salil Kallianpur

*

Dr. Shalini Ratan

* Prabhakar Shetty

* Varadarajan S

* Dr. Mandar Kubal

CONSULTANTS

Joshua Soans

*

Amit Shekhar

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A Tribute to a Pioneering and Outstanding Pharma Marketer

Death is not the extinguishing of light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come. - Rabindranath Tagore

By Prof. Vivek Hattangadi

Editor’s Note: Pharma professionals inter-ested in taking the “Prof. Chitta Mitra’s Oath for Pharma Marketers” can visit www.theenablers.org. The Enablers is an excellent skill and value development re-source for pharma professionals.

http://www.theenablers.org/