Amazing Guidelines On Key Account Management And Good Communication
One of the ongoing challenges facing the pharmaceutical company is the attraction, motivation, management and handling of key salespeople. After all, the company has built a great position for itself in the market and has put a lot of effort into developing its product line and polishing its reputation. Each company is of course very complicated, has a lot of moving parts and it is quite the challenge to balance this operation. The organisation will have to pay much attention to how its all important clients are handled and this will involve the development of key account management techniques and policies, to ensure successful relationships with implied integrity.
Much will hinge on the success of key account management training and an organisation may be stringent in the development of policies and procedures and very clear at the senior level about its objectives. However, one of the major challenges facing the company hierarchy is one of communicating to its sales staff through pharmaceutical sales training and in turn ensuring that the level of communication, both outgoing and incoming to and from a client organisation, is perfectly formed.
In truth, a relationship between a supplier and buyer may rise or fall on the strength of communication, which can sometimes be as relatively tenuous as an interpersonal relationship between two people — the key account client contact and the key account manager at the pharmaceutical company end.
As soon as a pharmaceutical company knows that a certain account is “key,” pharmaceutical sales training kicks in to ensure that the details of this relationship are perfectly disseminated and communicated throughout the company to all of those who are impacted. In doing so, these actions and responses are coordinated and consistent. Of course it is difficult to automate every element of the policy; after all, human elements are always present. It must be recognised that there is potential for a breakdown of relationship if too much emphasis is placed on a particular individual at the interface level. Rather, it should be necessary to build a network of channels between the company and its clients, both formal and informal if needed, so that the risk of catastrophic failure is minimised.
As over delivery is so important, the pharmaceutical company should set up and maintain a regular process of planning, review and maintenance, so that the relationship is fully serviced.
When an important relationship is in the process of development, we should remember that financial considerations are not the only motivators in question and both parties should see the dissemination of confidential information as an important ingredient, going forward. In this respect, it is critical that the pharmaceutical company identifies the all-important receiving role within the client organisation and the individual who fills this role, so that a sharing of information can be facilitated. The challenge is to establish a sophisticated level of interpersonal relations and communication, without placing too much emphasis on the importance of any one individual within either organisation. From time to time a “key” individual may leave his or her role and should this happen, ongoing functionality will not be compromised.
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.
