The hybrid future of sales interactions

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The hybrid future of sales interactions

By Mike Stout, senior VP and president, US Commercial, Ashfield Engage.

It is undeniable that data analytics and insights are going to drive successful engagements with HCPs in 2022 and beyond. Commercial sales are no longer just about feet on the street. Today and moving forward, we are dealing with a hybrid world combining virtual and face-to-face. Throughout the industry, we are witnessing commercial teams devoting 70 percent of their time to face-to-face interaction and the other 30 percent using the various technology tools at their disposal where they have the training and expertise to use them properly.

In addition to providing the training necessary to be effective in this hybrid sales environment, we should use data and analytics to conduct a channel mix analysis to be sure resources are deployed appropriately and efficiently. We are finding that by focusing on this channel analysis up front – demonstrating what is the most effective mix of face-to-face, virtual interactions, follow up emails, social media connections, etc. – we are able to deploy resources in the right mix to the right targeted audience. Programs where we might have deployed 50 reps in the field, might now have a composition of something like 30 field reps, eight virtual, five customer service reps and the rest covered in digital outreach.

In executing this omnichannel/hybrid approach to sales, it is critical to have coordination between these channels to maximize effectiveness. Some companies are moving to a “partners” sales program to better control this, where a leader is put in charge of a geography to represent all products in the company’s portfolio. The leader will need to determine the mix of resources between field reps, service resources, clinical specialists, virtual sales, digital resources, and concierge reps to achieve their objectives. The only way to do this, and really manage any sales model effectively today, is through a channel analysis that looks at demographics and behaviors of HCPs and their practice, payers, patient preferences and channel influences. One needs to have the insights from this analysis to determine the most effective channels to reach the desired target, then deploy resources accordingly, measure the overall effectiveness and then adjust the approach as needed to improve outcomes. Data, analytics and the insights they fuel start and end the engagement circle. Not only does this process need to be followed to drive successful engagement, but the insights and responses obtained need to be shared throughout the organization in order to coordinate overall interaction efforts. Data and insight siloes are antithetical to where we need to be as an industry.

The rising acceptance of virtual interactions by HCPs is another interesting phenomenon occurring in pharma sales. Although this shift was being piloted in many places over the past few years, it was forced into everyday action by the pandemic and appears to be a tool that will remain with us far into the future. It is effective and cost efficient. When one considers the expense involved with a field sales call versus a phone or screen-to-screen interaction, it makes sense from a strictly cost perspective. But even greater than the cost efficiencies is that many screen-to-screen interactions get the rep four times the amount of time with the HCP than their typical face-to-face detail according to research by STEM, An Ashfield Advisory Company. That’s four times the time to present products and benefits. As a result, we are finding that such interactions can be as effective as face-to-face if the rep is trained properly and has the right resources for the medium. It can be difficult to get that screen-to-screen appointment on the HCPs calendar, and it is certainly easy for the HCP to overlook or forego the appointment, but screen-to-screen details offer an effective, viable alternative to being turned away at the door and can be an effective tool when a rep has already established rapport with the HCP through face-to-face interactions. We must be sure to train and hire reps that have the ability to keep HCPs engaged in virtual channels, pick up when disengagement occurs, and then ask the right questions to reignite their interest. Even though this is a screen-to-screen interaction it is critical to have a two-way conversation and maintain the empathy and rapport one would exhibit in a face-to-face detail.