Field Force Excellence 2012 Conference Special Issue. Read and Share with Medical Reps, FLMs, SLM and Others Responsible for FFE.
Pharma CEO Roundtable Highlights - MedicinMan 1st Anniversary Special
How Can Medical Reps Transition from Selling to KAM and Many Other FFE Articles in the July Issue
1. MEDICINMAN CELEBRATES 1ST ANNIVERSARY WITH FFE ‘12
MedicinMan
TM
~ FIELD FORCE E XCE L LE N CE ~
The 1st Anniversary of Chhaya Sankath presenting FFE „12 memento
MedicinMan was cele- to Narayan B. Gad, CEO of Panacea Biotec
brated by creating a new
annual platform of phar-
ma thought leaders to foster Field Force
Excellence - FFE 2012 on June 16 at
the JW Marriott in Juhu, Mumbai. Over
80 senior pharma executives from 24
top pharma companies attended FFE
2012 signifying the importance of Field
Force Excellence. The registrations had
to be closed, as it was practically a full
house.
Arvind Nair, Conference Director of
Brand Drift once again delivered a
spectacular event, this time ably assist-
ed by MedicinMan‘s new CEO, Chhaya
Sankath and MedicinMan‘s US Repre- think is wise; expect more than oth-
sentative, Sejal Kikani. ers think is possible; risk more than FFE 2012 FACULTY
others think is safe.‖ Amlesh traced
The outstanding faculty of FFE 2012 the progress of Medicine and AMLESH RANJAN
from 15 leading MNC and Indian Phar- Pharma industry from palliative to SUJAY SHETTY
ma ensured that the delegates had a corrective. (FFE 2012 presentations
feast of learning on various areas that N. B. GAD
will be hosted on MedicinMan
impact FFE. The list of FFE 2012 facul- website for the benefit of pharma GIRDHAR BALWANI
ty was representative of the uniqueness professionals, subject to copyright
SHRIHARI SHIDHAYE
of Indian Pharma. of presenters). Amlesh Ranjan
Social media maven, Salil Kallianpur, touched upon several areas that lead JOSHUA MENSCH
Centre of Excellence at GSK live tweet- to field force excellence and con-
APARNA SHARMA
ed the event highlights ensuring that cluded with the statement – ―The
pharma professionals all over the world value that you add, comes from the KEITH PINTO
kept abreast of FFE 2012 proceedings. values that you hold‖ signifying the JOLLY MATHEWS
importance of personal responsibil-
FFE 2012 kicked-off with a welcome ity and integrity in fostering excel- DEEP BHANDARI
address by Anup Soans, Editor of lence. Amlesh Ranjan‘s success sto-
MedicinMan followed by a Keynote B. RAMANATHAN
ry can be read in the November
address by Amlesh Ranjan, Associate 2011 issue of MedicinMan. HARI KRISHNA
Director at Sanofi. This was only appro-
The CEO Roundtable was the cen- VIKRAM MUNSHI
priate as both Anup and Amlesh began
their career as Medical Reps and prod- terpiece of FFE 2012. This was for DANDABANY D
ucts of Field Force Excellence in India. the first time directors of pharma
companies were brought on an open SALIL KALLIANPUR
Amlesh Ranjan began with a quote by platform to discuss FFE. Brilliantly
Gautama Buddha – ―Excellence can be S VARADARAJAN
moderated by Sujay Shetty, Partner
achieved, if you dream more than others and Lead of Pharma and Life Sci- ANUP SOANS
think is practical; care more than others ences at PricewaterhouseCoopers,
Cont. on page 3
MedicinMan FFE Special Issue | Volume 2 Issue 7 | July 2012
2. Every winning team has aligned the aspirations and abilities of its
members with the goals of the organization. Great performance
coaches combine Business Acumen with Emotional Intelligence
to create wins.
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3. MedicinMan 1st Anniversary Issue
Senior Pharma Industry professionals and CEOs listen to
Amlesh Ranjan‟s Keynote Address at FFE 2012
Cont. from page 1 stand that the role of FLMs was more significant and
the CEO Roundtable gave a splendid account of the issues armed with technology to increase their span of control,
and intricacies of fostering FFE in the current context. they could bring about FFE without SLMs. Deep Bhandari
The panelists were Narayan Gad, CEO of Panacea Biotec, brought in deeper insights into the way in which pharma
a veteran unafraid of speaking his mind, Girdhar Balwani, sales leadership evolved and stressed the need for SLMs.
Managing Director of Invida, another veteran with deep Deep Bhandari was of the opinion that lack of role clarity
understanding of issues relating to field force; Shrihari was due to management‘s lack of vision and not SLMs
Shidhaye, Director, Sales and Marketing, Abbott and redundancy. Vikram Munshi as veteran from GSK and
Joshua Mensch, Marketing Director of Data3s from Ranbaxy added much value to the discussion through his
Prague, Czech Republic lent an international flavor and lively presentation on leadership development of SLMs.
brought in the technology perspective to FFE 2012. The The session concluded with Dandabany Devarajan, a veter-
CEO Roundtable deliberated for over an hour and took an SLM at Galderma responsible for South India and Sri
questions from the audience. Joshua Mensch, a featured Lanka showcasing how he, as an SLM had effectively
speaker at eyeforpharma and other international confer- contributed to his team‘s success on clearly defined and
ences, rated FFE 2012 as one the best conferences attend- measurable parameters.
ed by him in with regard to the quality of the faculty and Salil Kallianpur led the post tea-break session on Aligning
delegates. SFE with Commercial Excellence with his incisive presen-
Aparna Sharma, Director HR at Deutche Bank Group tation that gave the audience a marketing perspective.
gave the lead talk on the new role of HR in enabling FFE, S. Vardarajan, Associate Director at Merck followed with
followed by a panel discussion moderated by Deep the Sales perspective and gave the audience a deep insight
Bhandari, General Manager, MSO at Novartis. The panel- into the intricacies and essentials of rolling out SFE.
ists were Keith Pinto, Sr. GM Training and Management Joshua Mensch concluded with the technology aspect of
Development at GSK; Jolly Mathews a veteran in phar- SFE and brought international perspectives and experienc-
maceutical sales training and B. Ramanathan, Business es of companies in implementing SFE. All the FFE faculty
Unit Training Manager at Ranbaxy. The session dwelt on were a treat to listen to for their clarity and depth of
the current practices that were mechanized and the need knowledge
to evolve a customized approach to attract talent that The final session – Half-time Coach by Anup Soans was a
could be groomed for future leadership roles. This session preview of an L and D program developed by MedicinMan
attracted the maximum heat from the audience and panel- for FLMs. Half-time Coach emphasized the importance of
ists and was very ably moderated by Deep Bhandari with facilitation skills and emotionally intelligent FLMs to
insights to this complex ‗human‘ issue. function as performance coach to bring about FFE on a
This was followed by a sumptuous lunch where faculty, daily basis. ▌
delegates and industry service providers networked,
caught up with the past and exchanged learning. If you wish to participate in FFE 2013 in Feb 2013 or
The afternoon session focused on the important role of the Brand Drift also in Feb 2013, get in touch with us now.
Second Line Manager. Hari Krishna, General Manager Contact: anupsoans@medicinman.net
Sales and Marketing at Glenmark brought his experience Ph. +91 93422 32949
with IMS and expertise in pharma to the fore in taking the
3
4. MedicinMan 1st Anniversary Issue
Keynote Address by Amlesh Ranjan
Associate Director, Marketing & Strategic Healthcare Partnerships.
Member, Inter-continental Taskforce on Market Access , Sanofi, India
Amlesh Ranjan‘s Keynote Address set the tone
for FFE 2012 deliberations. Amlesh began by
emphasizing the importance of Field Force in
Indian Pharma and its continued depend-
ence on Field Force in the future. More than
sharing Best Practices, Amlesh stressed that
FFE 2012 was about discovering Next Practic-
es and Re-fueling for the future.
Highlights
Pharma business has changed because Medicine itself had changed from palliative to preventive to corrective.
The end of the Blockbuster era is the beginning of the Disease Busting era marked by a greater understanding of
biology.
A new ecosystem is evolving facilitated by the digital revolution and the convergence of healthcare with the
digital world.
The digital convergence is creating an empowered patient who moves from shock to denial to acceptance to
compliance and finally an advocate of good health practices.
Diversity and disparity has increased in India, therefore healthcare is more than a business opportunity – it is a
social responsibility.
Fortune is both at the top of the pyramid – medical tourism and affluent Indian patients as well as at the bottom
of the pyramid – poor and rural Indians.
Programs like RSBY are working very well in India.
The self-care and OTC segment is seeing a tremendous growth due to easy access to health information.
The market is transitioning from individuals to networks and hence the importance of communicating with all
stakeholders in the healthcare network.
Emergence of KAM and Market Access to engage different and difficult segments healthcare providers and
payors.
Moving from transactional to relational and differentiating through people.
FLM – Captain; SLM – Colonel. Right people, right competencies and role clarity.
SFE is bridging the gap between Strategy and Tactical translation at the field. SFE is the strategic arm of Sales
Management and the tactical arm of Marketing Management.
Excellence = Adding, Creating and Co-creating value for all players from Field Force to Doctors and Patients.
The entire proceedings of this and other sessions will be available for Rs. 1,500/- in an
FFE 2012 Special Print and DVD package. Write to anupsoans@medicinman.net
4
5. MedicinMan 1st Anniversary Issue
Chhaya Sankath joins MedicinMan as CEO
Chhaya began her career as a Medical Rep after completing her B. Pharm from Bombay
University. She later moved to Medical Communications with IJCP Publications where
she worked for 6 years followed by another 5-year stint with Indegene, formulating and
executing comprehensive strategies for pharma brands in varied therapeutic areas.
Later, at McCann Healthcare, a premier WPP group, Chhaya was instrumental in
launching its Medical Communications Division during her three-year tenure. Chhaya
brings with her deep insight into the process of healthcare brand building. Till recently
Chhaya was Head - Medical Communications with at Wolters Kluwer, the largest medi-
cal communications conglomerate globally.
Read MedicinMan http://slidesha.re/odius6 for Chhaya‟s Success Story.
“ The best in art and life comes from something urgent and powerful.
An idea or emotion that insists on its Being. From that insistence, a
shape emerges and creates its structure out of passion. If you begin with
”
structure, you have to make up the PASSION, and that's very hard to do.
- Roger Rosenblatt
Chhaya Sankanth: chhaya@medicinman.net | +91 98674 21131 (Mumbai)
Arvind Nair: arvindnair@medicinman.net | +91 98702 01422 (Mumbai)
Anup Soans: anupsoans@medicinman.net | +91 93422 32949 (Bangalore)
5
6. Moderator: Sujay Shetty, Partner and Lead, Pharma and Life Sciences, PwC (center)
(left to right) Joshua Mensch, Director Marketing, Data3s, Czech Republic
Girdhar Balwani, Managing Director, Invida India
Shrihari Shidhaye, Director Sales and Marketing, Abbott Healthcare
Narayan B. Gad, CEO Panacea Biotec
Opening Remarks by Sujay Shetty – Moderator
Sujay Shetty: Whenever I travel abroad, people want to understand and decode the Indian mindset
and pharma market. The promise of the Indian pharma market – slated to be in the world‘s Top 10
pharma markets—is too alluring to ignore.
FFE 2012 is a wonderful opportunity for us to enrich ourselves from the vast experience and exper-
tise of veteran CEOs as well as the senior executives in the audience of Indian and MNC pharma
companies.
FFE 2012 is an opportunity to discus issues like the impact of Gen Y entering the workforce, whose
models and methods are Google and digital. To discuss how selling is moving from heavy promo-
tions to Key Account Management; and other issues that impact field force.
(Question to panelists): What are the Top Two Trends Impacting Pharma Field Force?
Joshua Mensch: 1. Harmonization and unifying of various functions within a company to
ensure seamless communication between various functions like Sales, Marketing, HR, Train-
ing, SFE, even functions like Finance and Supply Chain. Using technology to integrate
functions that ultimately impact sales directly or indirectly will facilitate this breaking of
silos. Building relationships within and outside the company.
2. Refined thinking about KPIs – moving from quantitative to qualitative measures.
6
7. Narayan B. Gad: A little bit of context is needed when discussing FFE in India because
India is a unique market with the largest number of brands and companies jostling in the
marketplace. The challenges are: 1. A high attrition rate of 35% 2. Reduced competence of
a Medical Rep compared to 10 years ago and 3. The job of a Medical Rep is no longer as-
pirational.
Having said that, I would want companies to focus on three areas to address the problems:
1. Once a person has been hired as a Medical Rep, what can we do to create a ‗will-
fullness‘ and pride in the job? How can he love the wife he has, even if she was not his
first choice? (Ed. – Not an easy task given that Gen Y prefers to choose their own partners
even in opposition to parental wishes.)
2. Technology enablement – how can we use technology to compensate for the lower competence of the below average
Medical Rep, so that he delivers value to the in-clinic interaction?
3. Creating a culture of competence among the managers. Today‘s SBU Heads in many cases are yesterday‘s Medical
Reps – many who joined the profession not out of choice and hence the lack of competence continues. A lot can be
achieved if the managers are more competent.
Girdhar Balwani: Pharma industry still has a lot of attraction and those who do choose the career
and work hard have the opportunity to rise in the organization as is evident from the success
achieved by many in the audience.
Apart from technology, the increasing number of brands has changed the way in which a Medical
Rep interacts with the doctor. The expectations of doctors have also changed dramatically. The
recent growth of many companies – how have they grown? They have grown through relationship
building, where the Medical Rep becomes just a Rep instead of scientific information provider.
Will the MCI guidelines change the way doctors behave? Will we as an industry evolve code of
conduct to follow ethical practices? I‘m a bit skeptical as there are too many companies, too many
brands and too many Medical Reps.
Shrihari Shidhaye: Technology will certainly be a big impact on Field Force. But how are we
using technology? If we use fancy gizmos with the same visual aid on the iPad, the novelty will
soon wear off. We have to ensure that we build back-end capability that creates and delivers val-
ue through technology. Even while using technology for Field Force merely for reporting and
compliance instead of gaining customer insight, we may be using technology but we may not be
optimizing its utility.
Pride in the Field Force is a big ‗Missing Link‘.
Productivity of Field Force is falling sharply. While implementing SFE, are we doing everything
to ensure that productivity increases?
Sujay Shetty: We can summarize the key issues as:
1. Technology will have the biggest impact on every aspect of Field Force working.
2. Appropriate use of technology to integrate various functions and deliver value to sales people.
3. Selling practices and code of conduct will need to be looked at.
4. How to attract and retain talent? And, how to increase the competence of managers?
5. Moving from efficiency to effectiveness and onward to excellence.
The entire proceedings of the CEO Roundtable and other sessions will be available for Rs. 1,500/-
in an FFE 2012 Special Print and DVD issue. Write to anupsoans@medicinman.net
7
8. A Tool for Coaching Medical Reps on Key Account Management | Available as E-book for Kindle and iPad
9. MedicinMan 1st Anniversary Issue | KAM Special
Making the Transition from Medical Rep to
Key Account Manager
Sagar S Pawar
The Indian Pharma Industry is going through a profound
Fig. 1
change in terms of its Marketing and Sales models. The
forth coming years will see the emergence of new innova-
tive commercial models as every Pharma company would
want to differentiate themselves through their ―Products
and Services". Going forward, sales and marketing will
become more concentrated. Pharmaceutical companies will
start focusing on policy makers, patients and payors who
would increasingly determine which medicines are pre-
scribed.
The success will depend more and more on the ability to
differentiate and demonstrate value for money. Many
companies will seek to enhance their offerings along with
products and will start investing in services like compli-
ance monitoring, home delivery and overall disease man-
agement. This resurgence would see new sales models The Transition from sales rep to KA Manager is inevitable
evolving. The companies which will adapt faster and make as existing sales models would change and evolve. Some
these changes will ensure success. companies may band together and adopt ―Bundling Strate-
gy" for medicines and will include branded treatments,
The service driven model will call for a sales force with
generics and OTC products for specific patient segments.
different skill sets. Typical selling process will slowly
So for example - a bundle of medicines targeted at patients
diminish or get restricted to only primary care and KAM
with Cardiovascular diseases would include - ARBs, Diu-
(Key Account Management) or Relationship Management
retics, Statins, Omega 3 fatty acids, Anti-platelet drugs and
(RM) will be the way forward in terms of differentiation.
Aspirin. The financial services industry already operates
Pharma companies will have to bring in fresh new ideas with this model where financial advisers bundle products
and processes to hire, train and build individuals in line from other providers. Pharma will explore this model as
with ―Entrepreneur Model‖ as every Key Account Manag- this will help industry reduce cost and re-deploy this mon-
er or a Relationship Manager will act as a business driver ey in R and D or in "new value added services". Tradition-
in his own territory or region. al way of selling may fail and companies will have to build
With Market shifting from Acute to Chronic with life style robust KAM structures to differentiate and service custom-
changes, more and more specialised medicines will take ers better than the competitors.
over the existing therapies and this would require a special- KAM will have to play different roles successfully. He will
ised sales force with completely new skill sets. The future become important "SPOC" managing different stakehold-
generation sales force will have to embrace technology and ers in the selling process. (See fig. 2, next page)
be tech savvy to handle the new marketing mediums and
Thus KAM will play a major role in the future selling pro-
take them successfully to the doctors.
cess and will have to shoulder dual competency and will be
The KA Manager will have to show good business acumen judged on multiple parameters. (See fig. 3, next page)
and will have to manage his territory in a more systematic
At the same time companies will also have to realise that
manner. (see fig 1)
KAM structure would have its limitations and is not the
9
10. KAM Special | MedicinMan 1st Anniversary Issue
only solution as the future evolved sales model. Fig. 2
KAM structure needs to be used selectively and not as a
mass weapon. For example - all nursing homes may not jus-
tify KAM structure but key nursing homes based on judge-
ment and requirement will justify the KAM model. On the
other hand almost all large corporate hospitals and chains
will require KAM structure. The other word of caution
would be to have a robust selection and training process and
not just pick people up randomly from the existing set up. A
robust process should be built to tap and select Rep's and
Area Manager's who are flexible, skilled and with Entrepre-
neurial skill sets.
The future Marketing and Sales models are bound to change
and are changing fast. An effective KAM structure would
help companies to effectively market and sell new speciality
therapies and treatment in the areas of Oncology, Virology ,
Vaccines as well as the Biologics and Biosimilars where the
need to differentiate would be the need of the hour. ▌
Sagar S Pawar, Associate Director, PwC - Pharma
and Life Sciences.
Fig. 3
Sagar has experience of working across the Pharma
Personality Sales process value chain and has worked in the Domestic & Inter-
national markets in areas such as Marketing, Sales,
Social Interaction Sales planning
Licensing, New Product Development, Clinical
Knowledge Business sense Research and Strategic Consulting.
Salil Kallianpur, Centre for Excellence at GSK delivered an
incisive talk on Aligning SFE with Commercial Excellence
10
11. MedicinMan 1st Anniversary Issue
A MedicinMan Poll to Foster Field Force Excellence
Comment and cast your vote here: http://linkd.in/MDfstI
knowlEDGE venturZ Learning & Development Programs
Breakfast for the Brain
HR – Sales/Marketing/Business Connect
SFE Workshop
KAM Workshop
Program for SLMs
Program for FLMs
Brand Drift 2013
FFE 2013
And Many More to Create an Ecosystem that Nurtures Excellence in
Indian Pharma/Devices etc;
Chhaya Sankanth: chhaya@medicinman.net | +91 98674 21131 (Mumbai)
Arvind Nair: arvindnair@medicinman.net | +91 98702 01422 (Mumbai)
Anup Soans: anupsoans@medicinman.net | +91 93422 32949 (Bangalore)
11
13. A Kingpins Management Consultancy Feature
Pharmaceutical Sales Profession – The HR Challenge
- Balraj Chandra
Indian Pharma is experiencing accelerated growth and human resource professionals will find it more and
more challenging to acquire, develop, manage and retain people to meet this growth. Adequate investment in
recruitment, training and retention is the key to quality, says Andrew Brana, TNS global consultant for sales
force optimization.
High attrition rates among new-joiners is due to “deficiencies in the recruiting and selection process”.
While concentrating on quantity, often quality is compromised. Role clarity, candidate‟s long-term career
aspirations, right mindset and overall fitment are overlooked in the desire to fill up the vacancies quickly.
The HR challenge of acquisition of relevant talent, developing, managing and retaining can be
addressed by:
1. Creating awareness among students and job aspirants of long -term career prospects by giving
them a realistic and positive picture of pharma sales foundation. Pharma sales job enables a
person to learn, practice and improvise many skills as they get exposed to a variety of custom-
ers - Doctors, Paramedics, Patients, Retailers, Stockists and others. Medical Reps perform a
variety of tasks - Customer Relations, Market Research, Distribution and Logistics, Channel
Management and Inventory Management.
2. Pharma has always maintained a low profile in the media and people start their career by chance and not
by choice. However, those who chose pharma sales as a career can narrate their success stories. So the
need is to “create a willingness” to choose Medical Rep as a career and exposing them to career paths
that follow.
3. What next? The good news is that many MNCs have taken initiative to internally promote their Medical
Reps to functions like sales training, marketing and others. A well trained and experienced pharma sales
professional is in demand in industries like FMCG, Insurance, Banking, KPO‟s, Market Research and
Medical Communications.
4. Training and Development – training must be imparted at all stages of employee lifecycle. Corporates
must adopt coaching as a way to continuously develop employees. Specialised workshops by external
faculty with industry expertise is the need of the hour.
Medical Reps and Front-line Managers are the face of an organisation. They are the “balance-sheet influ-
encers” and need assurance that their career aspirations are taken care. Setting up standards which are rec-
ognised and acceptable industry-wide will bring in pride and importance to the pharmaceutical sales career.
Kingpins Management Consultancy is a Specialist Recruitment Firm for Pharma, Medical Devices, CROs,
Clinical Data Management and allied industries. We are committed to assisting our clients to find professional
talent required to achieve their objectives and build workforce of the future.
Our efforts have made us a partner of choice in recruitment for leading healthcare companies. We work on a
national level and recruit for all positions across functional areas, offering a one-stop recruitment solution as
well as exposing candidates to wider opportunities and cross functional assignments.
We strive to work closely with our clients to ascertain the precise qualifications and skill set required for the
job and we screen and re-screen candidates accordingly.
Insalenious is an initiative to create awareness among students and education providers of emerging career
opportunities in pharmaceutical sales and allied industries.
Insalenious assists ambitious students with structured as well as customized training to transform them as
skilled professionals and provide them with their 1st job.
Email: balraj@kingpinsindia.com
13
14. Photo Feature: FFE ‘12
Role of SLMs and Aligning SFE
with Commercial Excellence
15. MedicinMan 1st Anniversary Issue
The Challenging Role of SLM in Shaping the FLM
K. Hariram, Former MD - Galderma
Product and service differentiation is going to become in- No doubt, FLMs may soon fall into the trap of ‗Identity Cri-
creasingly difficult to achieve in the era of globalization. sis‘. They are mentally burdened with the need to achieve
Field sales leaders will face growing pressures to reduce results (at any cost).
field sales investments and to ‗produce more with less‘. What is the responsibility of a SLM in this context?
Faced with increasing resource constraints, sales leaders
The SLMs have a major role in bridging these gaps and
need to complement their internal sales force effectiveness
hence their direct area of contribution has to be in
measures.
‗developing the FLMs‘ through continuous ‗Coaching And
In this context, FLM becomes the fulcrum of FFE and the Training‘ both on the job and off the job.
No. 1 priority as the FLM impacts ―multiplying effects‖
Is the SLM equipped with the knowledge and skills plus the
through his direct contribution to his team members.
‗know-how‘ of building the FLM? What should the SLM
The FLM plays a very critical role in the hierarchy. Howev- focus on?
er, is there role clarity? Role always relates to:
When we take a typical market situation, it is like a jun-
1.Responsibility gle. The reps are busy cutting their way through this jungle
2.Relationship with their sharp knives. They are the producers (making
3.Area of contribution calls, generating prescriptions etc), the problem solvers.
The Responsibility may be to achieve Planned Revenue They are cutting through the undergrowth, clearing it out.
Generation at all levels of hierarchy in a commercial organi- The FLMs are behind them, sharpening their knives too and
zation, whether direct or indirect. But what differentiates one setting up work schedules for the Reps.
role from the other is the relationship area and the Area of
Who has to make the difference here?
Contribution.
The SLM has to be the leader here. He has to be the one
At the FLM level, the relationship primarily revolves around
who has to climb the tallest tree, survey the entire area and
their team members (Medical Reps) and secondarily with
shout ‗wrong jungle‘ (wrong calls, priorities, etc)
customers (KOLs) and distribution outlets. The major differ-
entiating factor is: Area of Contribution, where in comes, ‗on As individuals, teams etc, we are often so busy cutting
the job coaching and training‖, maintaining interpersonal through the undergrowth that we don‘t even realize we are in
relationships, influencing and inspiring the reps, plus the the wrong jungle.
managerial functions of planning, organizing, directing and So the role of SLM calls for an intelligent mix of
monitoring /controlling, etc. ‗management and leadership‘, ‗efficiency and effectiveness‘,
Unfortunately, this role clarity is mostly lacking in the indus- sorting out the priorities, avoiding majoring on ‗minors‘ and
try. The FLMs are treated ‗On Par‘ with Reps in the sales more importantly, the perspective (sight + insight) and the
meetings. Both are exposed to company information and ability to know whether the ladder is leaning against the right
strategies at the same time. Most importantly, they are not wall.▌
empowered in line with their responsibilities.
3 Ways To Improve Your Team's Performance
1. Measure what you value - Do your team members know what matters to your organization? Do they understand how
and why their actions affect overall success?
You can add clarity by clearly defining half a dozen values. Then measure your team members' performance against
each one.
2. Focus on consequences - Motivation and results are driven by consequences, both good and bad. After you ensure that
your team members understand your expectations, explain the consequences too, both for fulfilling expectations and for
failing to do so. Make sure, you are following up on those consequences as well.
3. Deal face to face - Talking one-on-one is the best way to influence others. Deliver praise and thanks personally to as-
sure that the person understands your appreciation. Confront poor performance personally too, so that the issue is not
ducked and your commitment to improving the situation is not doubted.
15
16. Professional Growth Story | MedicinMan 1st Anniversary Issue
My Professional Journey: A Very
Satisfying Experience Milan Sinha
Milan Sinha Traces His Career Growth from an MR in a my job as Medical Rep was a planned one and not simply
German MNC to BU Head in an Indian MNC. one of chance. I decided to get into Pharma Marketing and
believe me, it has been a fantastic journey.
In early 70s, it was difficult to decide and pick a profes-
sion and plan a career. There were very few options - After one and half months of rigorous training in Bombay
Medical, Engineering, Lecturer, Law, Army and Civil and 3 weeks of field training at Calcutta with stalwarts of
Services. For a student who had missed medical college Calcutta branch, I was posted to Monghyr in Bihar. Time
and went on to do an honors graduate program and then passed by very quickly and I did not realize, how soon I
M.Sc. it was a real dilemma. What to do next? Confident was transformed into a pharma sales professional. I had the
of good results in M.Sc. the only option was to get a habit of reading, which helped me read whatever was given
teaching job. Botany was my favor- to me by the company or by doctors and
ite subject and I thought I would “My job as Medical Rep was a also medical books that my doctor-father
make a good teacher. In fact, my planned one and not simply one of gave me. Recognizing this quality, my
HOD assured me that I could go to chance. I decided to get into Phar- seniors and managers helped me develop
a particular college, headed by a ma Marketing and believe me, it my knowledge and challenged me to im-
student of our University. That is has been a fantastic journey.” prove. It was my golden period; within 2
what was in store and I was certain years of working I became the top per-
of a career in teaching. former of the branch. People started looking to me as a
knowledgeable individual with high potential. I was shifted
Being the son of a Doctor, I was quite aware of the job
to Ranchi to take care of Business Development by working
role of a Medical Rep and I was open to this option. This
in the Medical College, where I got an opportunity to sharp-
would have been a dynamic, challenging and very growth
en my knowledge and skills.
oriented career as opposed to teaching, which was a safe,
dull and relaxed profession. I became an active member of internal as well as external
union for Medical Reps; I must admit that my character de-
I also tried for SSC in the Indian Army and went up to
velopment, leadership and professional skills were acquired
SSB Bangalore for final selection. I did not make it to the
through union work. I developed better communication
merit list. Many of my friends who were medical stu-
skills. Being part of All India negotiation committee for
dents were of the opinion that I would make a very good
charter of demands, I could learn the nuances of negotiation
pharma professional as I had an interest in medicine. I
and deal making. I developed the quality of debate and
knew the nature of this profession and I was an extrovert.
learned the advantage of ―agreeing to disagree‖. I under-
I applied in John Wyeth, Glaxo and Hoechst in my
stood the meaning and advantage of both autocratic and
hometown, Ranchi. I was interviewed for John Wyeth. I
democratic leadership styles and put it into practice during
also got short-listed for Glaxo and selected by Hoechst.
my professional career as manager and head of the organi-
And as luck would have it, the people at Hoechst asked
zation. I could understand the tactic of ―losing the argument
me to join before I had finished all my M.Sc. practical
but winning the customer‖. This platform also allowed me
papers; so I dropped out after appearing in six papers and
to learn the intricacies of labor law and its limitations. I ad-
left out two papers of practical exams. Hoechst was a
mit that I gained quite a lot from my association with the
strict German MNC and one of the top companies in the
trade union activities. I can very confidently say that a posi-
world. Even the pay was better compared to that of a
tive trade union activity is needed and gives better outcome.
Lecturer - Rs. 350 versus. Rs. 300. With lot of pain, I
joined the Calcutta office in March 1970. During training I had a slow and very gradual progress in my career. Thanks
in Bombay, I was informed that had I appeared in the to the insistence of the director of pharma division and few
practical exams, I would have topped the batch. In 1972, of my well-wisher senior managers, I decided to become a
I re-appeared for the exams and obtained my M.Sc. de- manager. I am grateful to my wife who left her job as a
gree. lecturer and encouraged me to rise in my profession. Yes, it
was a difficult terrain to cross - challenging situations to
The idea behind this narration is to establish that for me,
16
17. MedicinMan 1st Anniversary Issue | Professional Growth Story
My Professional Journey: A Very Satisfying
Experience Milan Sinha
overcome. Leadership with imagination was the need of years after my retirement and finally I left the organization
the hour. Dealing with a senior people in the team, mak- in 2011, with great satisfaction.
ing them feel they are wanted and invaluable, making It was an honor for me to be involved in identifying my suc-
juniors feel that when work increased I would put more cessor, very seldom done in the Industry. What a journey it
hard work than them and establishing myself as a science was. It was full of thrill, optimism, learning, responsibility
oriented no-nonsense manager, were few things, which I and lots of ownership. My entrepreneurship qualities were
developed automatically. I am fortunate to hold a record - honed and polished at Sun Pharma. I was always driven to
promoted as regional head within three years. My team work as an entrepreneur rather than an employee. This gave
ranked all India Number One for three consecutive years. me tremendous sense of accountability, recognition and au-
Working with taskmaster and result oriented top manag- thority. I was fully empowered. My involvement in Train-
ers of Indian and German origin was a great experience. I ing and Development was well recognized. In retrospect,
wish to thank them all. when I look back and make an inventory of my success, I
As RSM and branch manager in Hoechst and later in come to the conclusion that I was fortunate to have:
HMR was another phase of learning leadership. Manag- 1. Joined a wonderful profession where I learned every
ing a huge team of office people who were very different day, traveled a lot and met thousands of knowledgeable
from field workers and dealing with sub-ordinate manag- people, which otherwise I would have been deprived of.
ers who were sometimes senior or contemporary was a 2. It was a rewarding profession and growth potential was
key learning. I am thankful to all those who worked with immense.
me and helped me to learn quickly.
3. I received not only organizational recognition by way of
One key area of learning for senior mangers is the art of promotions, extension and remuneration but also exter-
making tough and unpleasant decisions. In fact, I excelled nal applause - Association of Radiation Oncologists of
in that. I used this when C & F agents were appointed in India conferred an Honorary Life Membership for my
Patna and Lucknow branch. It was another matter that the contribution to the cause of Oncology in India. It was
saddest work I had to do, was to close down Lucknow first time a non-medical person got this award.
office of HMR. I was then shifted to Delhi to head north 4. I was sent for many courses in Institutes like ASCI,
region of HMR - my dream office. I occupied the same XLRI and programs of IIM.
cabin where our past and future directors worked. 5. Gave me enormous opportunity to get name, fame and
When I decided to move on from HMR, my transfor- credibility due to which I was offered many a consulta-
mation from a MNC manager to a successful Indian com- tion jobs. My experience in marketing and managing
pany was not only challenging but also difficult at times. finance effectively landed me to work for an Investment
I was fortunate to have joined Sun Pharma, which was MNC of repute to undertake due diligence before mak-
progressive, system driven and value based company. ing a decision for investment.
Work culture was different but it was a pleasure. Hard 6. The fact that I know the industry, therapy area, market
work and managerial skills were recognized and loyalty and also the fact that industry knows me as a thorough
at any cost, helped me progress very fast. Once recog- professional with great integrity and tremendous
nized as hard working, honest and thinking individual, knowledge, is all due to this profession.
there was no dearth of opportunity. Within 15 years in 7. Lastly I have greatest satisfaction to have recruited
Sun Pharma, I moved from Zonal Head, to NSM, Dy. more than 300 people for the industry, mentored and
GM, GM and finally, Business Unit Head. became instrumental in the career growth of more than
65 professionals working in the Industry and the fact
At Sun Pharma the reward for gaining the trust is being
that I am still connected to more than 100 top notch pro-
entrusted with huge responsibility. I was fortunate
fessionals is lot to feel proud about. I not only travelled
enough to be given the opportunity to establish an im-
up the career ladder myself but also carried many poten-
portant division of Oncology with great success. Looking
tial and successful individuals with me. ▌
at my contribution, my services were extended by two
17
18. Beyond Field Force Excellence - N. B. Gad, veteran CEO
shares insight with Ameya Chandavarkar, Director FDC
MedicinMan FFE Special Issue | Volume 2 Issue 7 | July 2012
19. What do you expect
your FLMs and SLMs
to be good at?
What are you doing to ensure that
they gain proficiency in the desired
skills?
The Half-Time Coach
A Psychometric Assessment-based Feedback and
Feed-forward Program for FLMs and SLMs
1. Management Games
Relearning by Reflection,
Feedback by Observation
2. Case Studies
3. Movie Clippings
4. Mapping Exercises
The Half-Time Coach is delivered by Anup Soans, Editor MedicinMan &
Author of SuperVision for the SuperWiser Front-line Manager, HardKnocks for the
GreenHorn and RepeatRx
Contact: anupsoans@medicinman.net
Ph. +91 93422 32949