A pharmaceutical company that tries to operate at maximum efficiency while placing many constraints on the heads of its senior management may suffer in an ultra-competitive environment. The pharmaceutical and health-care fields are challenged like few others, as complex and often controversial forces are at play. The introduction of a new product is a long and very complex journey and once brought to creation is still a long way from being able to convert potential into sales, prompting many companies to bring in experienced pharmaceutical consulting experts.

These days, pharmaceutical consulting companies have to educate the company in the pressures ahead, as crucial products are designed for the consumer. Government regulations are stringent and development and manufacturing processes are such that senior executives of the organisation should devote their resources to these areas. Creation and production of cutting-edge pharmaceutical products are an important part of the health of the nation, yet further obstacles exist between production and ultimate distribution, obstacles that can seem overwhelming, especially if the company sometimes feels that it is “going it alone.”

Generally, pharmaceutical consultants will be entirely fluent in the language necessary to exist in this harsh marketing environment, and will play a critical role in helping the company’s sales force to succeed. Through comprehensive coaching, the sales and marketing team will come to learn what they can expect and take a lot of great information from the experienced consultant with relevant hands on knowledge. Consultants know that real world experience trumps paper qualifications. This type of experience will be passed through to the company sales force, placing them at a competitive advantage.

No matter how creative the pharmaceutical company may be, the acid test comes in sales and bottom line financial figures. Once regulators have approved a product and it is available for sale, the sales force must talk the correct language in front of insurers, physicians, pharmacists and decision-makers. Each one of these positions may have its own agenda and there are often complex cross party negotiations to consider. Without proper training, a sales and marketing force could stumble at the most inappropriate time and that is where a highly experienced pharma consulting firm will be worth its weight in gold.

Pharmaceutical and healthcare consulting firms must often be in the position of a middleman, fully aware of opposing arguments and able to position the marketing team correctly. It makes sense for the pharmaceutical company executives to enlist consultants to ensure that the company has the best chance of bringing all the hard work to market.

As healthcare is almost always a highly emotive and controversial subject, trust the experience and resources that consulting firms represent, to inform and enlighten the pharmaceutical company and motivate its sales and marketing staff to succeed. Scientific achievement and creation at one end is laudable, but without a first-class marketing team, success will be difficult to achieve.

Alan Gillies is the CEO of L2L Consulting, a cutting-edge pharma consultancy firm which specialises in optimising productivity and performance within international companies by applying tailored organisational strategies.

In an increasingly sophisticated and competitive environment, pharmaceutical companies now realise that it is not sufficient to treat clients with a uniform approach and that certain client accounts represent an increased level of importance. This can be due to their position of dominance within the market, the volume of transactions or any other strategic elements making them of particular interest to the company. As such, key account management strategies must be implemented and communicated to the sales and marketing team as the company aims to cement relationships with these principles.

For the pharmaceutical company executives, client management can be as much about public relations, lobbying and positioning as it can be about the provision of products or services for the end need. While fundamentally the overall approach to client management must be decided at the executive level, implementation on a daily basis requires the effort of the sales and marketing team as the pharmaceutical consulting firm advises strategies and positions.

Success in the ultra-competitive business world requires attention to fine detail and a declaration of strategic importance for each account. The key accounts in turn will value the relationship with the pharmaceutical company more highly, especially if they are predisposed to a more interactive approach. The goal must be to facilitate the work of the key client and to ensure that the pharmaceutical company’s products are more widely available, at competitive rates and the subject of enhanced information and education.

Key account management can be broken down into five distinct areas:

Principally, the nature of the relationship must be agreed and understood by all parties. The exact nature of the relationship must be communicated throughout the company structure, so that an integrated response is always applicable. While formal communication is always important, including planning, reviews, development and information exchange, the goal must always be to strengthen the bond between the two companies.

Key account management must also help to build trust and commitment in both directions. The client must feel that it is in a comfort zone when dealing with the pharmaceutical company and will therefore not have to invest effort or money in trying to control certain activities associated with the program. As such, a level of efficiency is achieved that in turn helps to build even more commitment. This interaction may appear complex and daunting, but pharmaceutical consultants are well versed in such strategies.

When it comes to the sales and marketing team, the customer accounts must be fully reviewed, its content absorbed and potential understood. In truly key accounts, the pharmaceutical company will help the client through the dissemination of important trends and industry data. These accounts are always dynamic and a sales and marketing team must be on the ball and trained well.

Few relationships of this kind run smoothly and without issues from time to time. Conflicts are to be always avoided as they can create weaknesses in an association, but constructive conclusions should always be drawn as these could indeed lead to different paths and an even stronger relationship, down the road.

Key account management requires a continuous review of satisfaction. Any stumbling blocks ahead may be revealed and challenges will invariably be simpler to resolve, once they appear.

These five concepts are fundamental to the pharma consulting approach.

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.