Tag Archives: pharmaceutical sales

ai, career advice, Med Rep tips

How to use an AI “Alert” Agent to Stay Up to Date on your Market Intelligence

Leave a comment

We can leverage the Google ecosystem – specifically Google Alerts and Gemini AI – to build your own “Market Intelligence Gathering Agent” for staying informed about the market we are interested in – in this example pharma sales.

The Goal: To establish a system using Google tools to monitor and summarize publicly available information relevant to your market, delivering key insights, with automation where possible.

Step-by-Step Guide Using Google Alerts and Gemini:

  1. Define Your Intelligence Needs: Identify the key areas you need to monitor:
    • Competitor Activities
    • Policy Updates
    • Market Trends
  2. Set Up Google Alerts for Automated Monitoring: Google Alerts allows you to receive email notifications whenever new results match your search queries. This introduces a level of automation.
    • Go to https://www.google.com/alerts.
    • Create alerts for your key intelligence areas. Use specific keywords. Examples:
      • Competitor Activities: "PharmaCorp" AND "Xylo" AND (clinical trial OR approval OR marketing)
      • Policy Updates: reimbursement "rheumatoid arthritis", "FDA" AND "guidance" AND [Therapeutic Area]
      • Market Trends: "emerging trends" AND "[Therapeutic Area]", "KOL insights" AND "[Therapeutic Area]"
    • Configure the alerts to your desired frequency (e.g., “as-it-happens,” “daily,” “weekly”), sources, and delivery method (your Gmail).
  3. Leveraging Gemini for Summarization (When Alerts Arrive): When you receive a Google Alert email with relevant articles, you can use Gemini to quickly summarize the key information.
    • Open Gemini (https://gemini.google.com/).
    • You have a couple of options:
    • Use prompts like:
      • “Summarize the key takeaways from this article regarding [topic].”
      • “What are the implications of this policy update for the market of [Therapeutic Area]?”
      • “Extract the main points about [Competitor Product]’s latest clinical trial results from this text.”
  4. Share Insights via Google Workspace (Gmail, Google Chat): Once Gemini provides a summary, you can easily share it with your team using Gmail or Google Chat.
    • Gmail: Forward the Google Alert email with your Gemini summary or key takeaways.
    • Google Chat: Paste the summary into a relevant team chat room with your analysis.

Example Workflow:

  1. You set up a Google Alert for "New Phase III results" AND "NovoCure" AND "glioblastoma".
  2. You receive an email alert with a link to a press release about NovoCure’s latest trial data.
  3. You copy the text of the press release and paste it into Gemini with the prompt: “Summarize the key findings of this press release regarding NovoCure’s Phase III trial in glioblastoma.”
  4. Gemini provides a concise summary of the trial results.
  5. You share this summary with your neurology sales team via Google Chat, adding your perspective on its potential impact.

Comparing Google vs Microsoft for automation

With Google Alerts, the system proactively sends you information based on your defined keywords, rather than you having to manually initiate a search each time with Microsoft Copilot.

However, the summarization and sharing steps still involve some manual interaction with Gemini and Google Workspace tools.

Limitations and Advantages (Google):

  • Advantage: Automated Information Gathering: Google Alerts provides a continuous stream of potentially relevant information without manual prompting.
  • Limitation: You still need to manually review alerts and use Gemini for summarization.
  • Advantage: Gemini is specifically designed for conversational AI and text summarization, potentially offering more nuanced summaries than a general-purpose AI in a search context.
  • Advantage: Seamless integration with the Google Workspace ecosystem for sharing.

Getting Started:

  1. Identify your key market intelligence areas.
  2. Set up relevant Google Alerts. Experiment with different keywords and alert settings.
  3. Familiarize yourself with using Gemini for summarizing text.
  4. Establish a communication channel in Google Chat or a distribution list in Gmail for sharing market intelligence.

By combining the proactive monitoring of Google Alerts with the summarization power of Gemini, you can build a robust market intelligence gathering system within the Google ecosystem.

What market intelligence area will you set up a Google Alert for today?

career advice, Med Rep tips, Money, Career, and Finances

10 Tips for Contract Negotiations

4 Comments

Contract Negotiations Best Practices Video

In this video I’ll share 10 Tips that can help you close more deals in your contract negotiations. Our focus is on creating a ‘win-win-win’ mindset of collaboration so that we can negotiate a deal that works for all sides.

Why listen to me?

Because I can help you.

  • 20 years in contract negotiations – gamut of hospital sales, insurance & financial services, and real estate contracts.
  • 10 years specifically in medical device and pharma sales
  • Closed over $90+ million on hospital contracts for individual Hospitals, Systems, and GPOs
  • Business Acumen: Contracting Analysis, Drafting Agreements, Negotiations, Formulary/Protocol projects, Supply Chain, GPO, and System Agreements, Reimbursement, T&C’s

If you like my tips, connect with me so we can help each other…

Contract Negotiation Best Practices – Summary of Tips

  1. Right Attitude
  2. Know Your Customer
  3. How to use Evidence
  4. LISTEN
  5. Don’t be Hasty and Miss the Way
  6. The Influence of Others
  7. What am I Buying?
  8. Be Creative with T’s & C’s
  9. Connect the Dots
  10. Cross the Goal Line…and Beyond

Contract Negotiation Best Practices

Contract Negotiation Best Practices Explained…

Tip 1 – Right Attitude

  1. me vs them vs US.
  2. Focus on the WHY.
  3. Focus on Collaboration
  4. Don’t take it Personal – even if it gets nasty – everyone has a job to do, some people are trained to try to use manipulation/aggression to get what they want. Combat Aggression with Calmness

Tip 2 – Know Your Customer

  1. Sun Tzu (every battle is won or lost before it is fought).
  2. Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis
  3. Pre-meetings to gain intelligence.
  4. Talking to KOLS who won’t be at meeting.

Tip 3 – How to use Evidence

  1. Provide Data to backup your claims.
    • Examples: value sheets, usage history, comparison to similar customers.
  2. Testimonials.
  3. Review real situations of benefits at this institution

Tip 4 – LISTEN

  1. Let the customer talk. Listen. Take notes.
  2. Really HEAR what they are saying.
  3. The pearls they provide are the keys to really understand what they want/desire/NEED in order to get the deal done.
  4. Example: price vs reimbursement (solution opportunity = real value)

Tip 5 – Don’t Be Hasty and Miss the Way

  1. Use the Wisdom of Solomon
  2. If things are going south, take a breather, don’t agree to do things under pressure.
  3. If don’t know all answers, Get back to them, continue moving forward.
  4. Remind everyone of the goal.

Tip 6 – The Influence of Others

  1. Using your Pseudo Sales Force
  2. Priming the Pump
  3. During Negotiations, Before the Close

Tip 7 – What Am I Buying?

  1. Ensure contract signers know what they are buying.
  2. Often sigs are not users. Do they really understand the product?
  3. Example: Value Sheets.
  4. Focus on VALUE vs just bottom line pricing.
  5. Focus on what’s really important
  6. Example of Neonatal Product/Most Fragile Patients

Tip 8 – Be Creative with T’s and C’s

  1. Offer desired ‘premiums’ (free training, reimbursement advice, extra equipment/supplies, etc).
  2. Adjust contract time period.
  3. Customize T&C’s where possible.
  4. Offer system agreements.
  5. Use volume based pricing.
  6. Etc.

Tip 9 – Connect the Dots

  1. Trace the path from your product to their ‘sales’ to their customers’ happiness.
  2. Create a Win-Win-Win Mindset.

Tip 10 – Cross the Goal Line…and Beyond

  1. Keep the ball moving towards the end zone with all parties.
  2. That means follow-up on what you promised to deliver.
  3. Follow-up on customer questions/ideas.
  4. Keep pushing to the close.
  5. BUT is also means follow-up AFTER the deal is signed.
  6. Ensure the customer is happy and that they are using the product effectively.
  7. Offer them ongoing training and touch points.
  8. Stay involved.
  9. Keep them happy and develop them as a partner who will not only be happy with you but will tell others too.

Looking beyond…

These 10 tips have helped me achieve contract negotiation and sales success for 20+ years. I’m certain they can help you too.  And if YOU have a tip to share with me, please do so.

What to Read Next…

https://thathelpfuldad.com/ppaf-pre-call-planning/

https://thathelpfuldad.com/pharmaceutical-sales-call-best-practice/

career advice, Med Rep tips, Money, Career, and Finances

Pharmaceutical Sales Call – Best Practice Ideas

Leave a comment

Pharmaceutical Sales Call Video

In this video I’ll share an example of best practice ideas that you can use to create better interactions in your medical device and pharmaceutical sales calls that will result in more consistent sales.

Purpose of this video

  1. To Give you an example of a typical sales call in pharma/medical sales.
  2. To introduce people new to the industry of what a Rep-Dr Interaction is like.
  3. Help newer reps learn an example of a ‘real world sales method focused on ‘practical solutions.

Note: The Call Method used in this video is “PPAF” (Purpose, Proof, Action, Follow-up). Click here for an in-depth video about the PPAF Method.

Why Listen to Me?

I can help you. Here’s why…

  1. I have over 25+ years of sales (Financial services, pharmaceutical sales, retail, real-estate, medical device sales) with 14 years in Pharma and Med Device Sales.
  2. Consistently beat my sales quotas year after year after year. I am currently on an 8-year run of 100%+ quota achievement with revenue and sales volume growth each year.
  3. Live and breathe sales in the real-world every day as a front-line (AKA customer-interacting) salesperson.
  4. The example I’m showing today is typical of what I do every day and you can do it too.

If you like my tips, be sure to connect with me…

Step 1 of Pharmaceutical Sales Call – The Purpose

Example from video: ““Hey Doc, the reason I’m here today is to discuss how you can use Product X to help Patient Y with Condition Z, is this something you’re interested in discussing?”

Key Points as discussed in the video…

  1. Clear Goal. Roadmap for Call
  2. Pro Tip: Gain agreement for this purpose of visit PRIOR to call
  3. The “Are You Interested?” Question is a form of Trial Close

Pharmaceutical Sales Presentation

Step 2 of Pharmaceutical Sales Call – The Proof

Example from video: “Did you see the article by Bob Evans in the March issue of the New England Journal of Medicine? Dr. Evans conducted a trial about patients with Condition Z and he found that patients who used Product X were able to reduce Condition Z by 35%. What’s your opinion on this research?”

Key Points as discussed in the video:

  1. Source examples: Clinical, Vis Aid, Mobile Device, etc.
  2. When presenting the proof remember to “Be Brief, Be Brilliant, and Be Gone.”
  3. The Proof must be clearly related to the Purpose, you must verbalize that and confirm the customer agrees, and if you do this then you can set up your Action close to follow
  4. Dr. Evans as a “Key Opinion Leader” – “Don’t take my word for it…”
  5. Proof Stumbling Blocks – do you have to be an ‘expert?’ 
  6.  The importance of a dialogue…
    • “What do you think about how this research was set up?”
    • “Are the patients in this trial similar to yours? Why/Why not?”
    • “What are you doing similar/different to Dr. Evans?”
    • “What kind of results are you getting when you use Product X with Patients who have Condition Z?”
    • This Q&A is critical. Discovering Hidden Objections.

Step 3 of Pharmaceutical Sales Call – The Action Close

Example from video: “So Doc, you’ve seen how Dr. Evans is using Product X to treat his patients with Condition Z and you said you’d love to get similar results for your patients too. If that’s true, then is it reasonable to ask you to use Product X with your patients who have Condition Z?”

Key Points discussed in video:

  1. Specific + Easy to Understand + Reasonable = Increase % of “YES”
  2. Specificity works. It’s not rocket science.
  3. Action tracks back to the Proof which tracks back to the Purpose.
  4. Variations on a Theme:
    • “Do you have any patients who have condition Z now? Can we try Product X on them and monitor the results?”
    • “When’s the next time you expect to see a patient with Condition Z? Would you be willing to try Product X to help them?”
    • “Let’s do this – how about the next time you get a patient with Condition Z, you try Product X? Then on my next visit, we can discuss your results and see if you’re getting the same great outcomes as Dr. Evans.”
    • “Keep in mind, I’m here to set you up for success so if you have any questions about the use of Product X, both myself and my medical team are available to help you so you’re never alone in the process.”
  5. Next Level
    • “What do you think about this? How about you trial Product X on your next few patients with Condition Z and we’ll monitor the results. Meanwhile, I also reach out to Dr. Evans and see if he has any availability to meet live with us – I can then work with your group admin to set up an interactive forum discussion on the topic using one of my company’s on-label case study presentations. Would that be of value to you and your team?”
      WHY this works so well…
      A. Continue the ‘key opinion leader’ sales tactic.
      B. Provides further encouragement and support for your customer to proceed down the path you are recommending.
      C. It’s a great value-add proposal.

Pharmaceutical Sales Best Practice

Step 4 of Pharmaceutical Sales Call – The Follow-Up

Example from video: “Ok, Doc, so you said you’d give Product X a trial with your next few patients who have Condition Z and you said you think you’ll have 3-5 patients you can try this approach within the next couple weeks, right? So how about I stop by in two weeks and we see how it’s going? What’s a good time for our next meeting? Would the 14th at 7 am before you see your first patient of the day work? If not, how about the 16th at 4 pm after you finish your hospital rounds?”

Key Points discussed in video…

  1. Importance of Follow-up for Long-Term Success
  2. Why Follow-up?
    • Don’t Drop the Ball.
    • Ensure your new customer has success.
    • Ensure they are a repeat buyer.
    • Then get them to tell their friends too – that’s a much easier path to more sales than always trying to develop new customers from scratch.
    • Your Next KOL? Researcher? Friend?

Pharmaceutical Sales Call Best Practice Summary

Sales Call Model: PPAF

Use this method consistently and…

  1. Watch the quality of your sales interactions increase.
  2. Build better relationships.
  3. Get more consistent sales results

What to read next?

https://thathelpfuldad.com/ppaf-pre-call-planning/