Planning is an essential part of a sales and marketing strategy and much attention should be given, but while this may look good on paper it will result in no revenues unless it is put into action. No one ever wins a lottery prize without buying a ticket and in business terms, revenues may not be realised unless action occurs in the marketplace. Within the pharmaceutical industry, there is much more to be gained than the simple consummation of a contract and the exchange of products, as reputations must be protected, end-users and professionals educated and company position satisfied. To set up a client account takes a lot of interaction, before the objective can be satisfied and real value established. This is where team training comes in and a pharmaceutical consulting firm can be engaged to offer comprehensive knowledge and experience to the sales and marketing program.

Senior management must ensure that all members are team players. From an overall perspective, effective marketing requires good management of this team and this is where pharmaceutical consultants are worth their weight in gold. The team members must be able to quantify and visualise and objectives must be controlled and measured at all times. The daily initiatives must be seen as part of an overall and tangible goal and the team should be able to work as a cohesive unit for best results to be achieved.

After planning is complete, the sales force must put it into action. Although you cannot underestimate the importance of planning and preparation, sales executives must now venture into the real world. While a sales team may be composed of experienced players, there is nevertheless a lot to learn about the health care industry in particular and training is an essential part of staff handling. Without adequate coaching and being unaware of potential loopholes ahead, time can be wasted and worse still, clients can be overlooked or lost in such a competitive marketplace. As they have a considerable amount of experience in the industry, pharma consulting firms appreciate time management and know that full application and dedication is required before key results may be achieved.

It is never good to assume anything, as this could lead to confusion and delay. To be effective, the sales team member must be fully aware of the cohesive importance of a true team. Each member has a significant contribution to make and these contributions should be visible and not opaque. Once again, the overall goal is to engage and not to procrastinate. Three critical components make up an effective salesperson – creativity, assertiveness and flair.

Out in the market, a salesperson must be completely educated in all the benefits, solutions, finer details and product availability, while also being able to think quickly, reschedule and meet goals. Certain key skills must be in evidence before success may be achieved, but this can certainly be enhanced by full training, great management and team cohesiveness. Generally, pharmaceutical consulting organisations are by far best positioned to take on these critical challenges.

Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of L2L Consulting, specialising in enabling pharmaceutical companies to achieve new heights of productivity and performance, throughout all levels of management and revenue generating activities.

It is fair to say that, economically, a pharmaceutical company's bottom line requires it to sell products competitively, but a larger viewer should also be taken. The company occupies a key position, from a marketing perspective, between the government and other regulators and ultimately the patient. There is a complex understanding and relationship between all the main players and pharmaceutical consultants help to emphasise these individual roles, as they disseminate information to help oil all the moving parts of this complex machine.

Pharmaceutical companies must conform to strict FDA regulations, best use practices and study scientific benchmarks to provide products and services for ongoing use. The importance of marketing in this environment should never be underestimated. The physician or pharmacist has to juggle a lot of information, much of it based on older science, together with the wants and needs of the patient and budgetary restrictions applied by insurance companies or individual positions.

The direct communication between health care professionals and the pharmaceutical companies through various marketing channels ultimately dictates the efficient delivery of products and services to the end-user, the patient. There is a lot at stake as the patient's ability to lead a healthy and productive life can be affected by the quality and standard of the marketing trail. It’s crucial to remember that these forms of marketing represent a two way street. In addition to the company's communication with the professional about the benefits and risks associated, the science behind the introduction of the products and ways for dissemination and consumption, the professional also communicates back to the company with feedback, real-time findings and data.

The fact that pharma consulting can provide cutting-edge information about conditions and treatments, spotlighting certain illnesses which may not have received much attention, should not be underestimated. We still have many conditions without a cure and pharmaceutical company research can often go a long way to bridging that gap, if not even enabling cutting-edge treatment for patients. There is no guarantee that such amazing products may even find their way into the hands of the sufferer. As such, marketing is pivotal in helping to relay this information from the manufacture, through the professional to the end-user.

As more and more information is revealed through scientific study, product creation and government rubber-stamping, more of a spotlight is turned on the need for treatment of chronic diseases. For example, certain side effects or by-products of a critical element may not have been apparent, or the link between illness and cure revealed, unless and until adequate marketing channels are open between the researchers, producers, professionals and patients.

Generally, pharmaceutical consulting firms are highly skilled at developing communication between vital parties and educating all players. Their experience, knowledge and enthusiasm can really help to turn the wheels of the marketing machine, continuously engaging all key players and producing incredible results in such a competitive environment.

Alan Gillies is the Director of L2L Consulting, an elite pharmaceutical consultancy firm which specialises in Strategy Development and Implementation Excellence for prestigious multi-national organisations.