How business acumen can fuel pharma sales growth

Business acumen is a critical sales skill for the new era of leaner and meaner sales forces

By Steven Rosen on Jul 25, 2011

With fewer sales reps and resources, companies have become more reliant on the existing sales reps to deliver sales.

Pharma companies have shifted away from the traditional marketing-driven model to a customer-centric business model.

As a result, greater decision-making has shifted from product managers to sales reps and front line sales managers.

Business acumen is defined as the critical business thinking, decision-making and resource allocation to meet objectives.

Although sales leaders have recognized that the pathway to achieving sales growth is business acumen, many sales leaders are finding it challenging to put it into practice.

The problem is multidimensional because to be effective at business acumen companies need to adapt both the people and the process.

Initiatives that only address one or the other are doomed to fail.

The solution requires changes in business processes, skills and mindsets at all levels of the organization.

The key people challenges include:

  • The training department is well prepared to support development of business acumen skills
  • Sales managers are unsure how to coach business acumen
  • Most sales reps do not have strong business acumen skills
  • Marketing, sales and training need to change their mindset.

The key processes include:

  • Sales and marketing planning processes need to be aligned
  • Sales and script data needs to be aligned with sales objectives
  • Territory business planning
  • Business review processes.

The 2011 Canadian Pharmaceutical Sales Management Report found that 84% of respondents felt that business planning/acumen was an important responsibility of the sales manager, and 67% agreed that their organization put a high level of importance on business planning.

Only 20% of respondents agreed that their organization was providing ongoing support in developing their sales managers business planning skills.

Business acumen is going to be one of the key drivers of sales growth in the new era of pharmaceutical sales.

To succeed, sales leaders will need to take a comprehensive approach by adopting a combination of talent development and process realignment to gain the greatest traction in the industry.

Steven Rosen is executive sales coach with Star Results.

For more on sales excellence, join the sector's other key players at Key Account Management (KAM) USA on September 13-14 in Philadelphia.

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