Career Shock - How to Overcome

1. A BroadSpektrum Healthcare Business Media’s Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative
MedicinMan
~ FIELD FORCE E XCE L LE N CE ~
TM
PHARMA | MEDICAL DE VICES | DIAGNOSTICS | SURGICALS
Vol. 2 Issue 2 www.medicinman.net February 2012
Editorial
CAREER SHOCK! The Uncertainty and Anxiety of Our Times
Alvin Toffler wrote Future Shock in there's going to be someone else who from Seth Godin, I‟m giving away the
1970 to accurately foretell the dra- can do the exact same thing as you, key concepts of my new book, Repeat
matic changes that would impact ca- but cheaper. Now that the industrial Rx free to all the readers in this issue
reers, businesses, societies and na- of MedicinMan.
tions in the 21st Century. Like George
Orwell‟s 1984, Future Shock went on
“If you're different For those of you who do not want to
race to the bottom, send me an email
to become a bestselling classic. Future somehow and have and “I‟ll make you an offer you cannot
refuse” - Don Corleone in The Godfa-
Shock is a certain psychological state
of anxiety, fear and inaction caused made yourself ther.▌ anupsoans@medicinman.net
by too much change in too short a
period of time. Career Shock is the unique, people will
rapid and drastic changes in market There are 3 types of
dynamics and its massive negative
find you and pay people in this world:
impact on job opportunity and securi-
ty. And those who cannot cope with
you more.”
1. Those who make things
the challenges of Career Shock will
lose their career, just as farmers lost economy is over, you should forget
happen.
out to industrialization in the early about doing things just because it's
nineteenth century. assigned to you, or never mind the 2. Those who watch
According to Seth Godin, author of race to the top, you'll be racing to the things happen and
Purple Cow and other marketing clas- bottom. However, if you're different
sics, “the current recession is a forev- somehow and have made yourself 3. Those who wonder
er recession" because it's the end of unique, people will find you and pay
you more.
what happened.
the industrial age, which also means
the end of the average worker. Seth Seth Godin gave away 1/3 of his book, Mary Kay Ash
Godin goes on to say – “If you're the Permission Marketing free to anyone
average person doing average work, who sent an email. Well, taking cue

2. More on Page 11

3. MedicinMan Vol.2 Iss.2
by Neha Ansal
WHY SHOULD PHARMA HIRE FRESH TALENT?
and relations since they realize that in the formative years
of their careers they need to have an exposure of all kinds.
Youth
Such willingness is not very commonly seen in the industry
otherwise. This characteristic along with the appetite to
learn and learn quickly can be harnessed by any firm to
groom the graduate to meet the requirements of the organ-
Speak
ization. Several organizations have successfully learnt the
art of grooming fresh graduates to create a pool of future
leaders not only for themselves but for the industry as a
whole.
Another reason for a firm to hire fresh graduates from
People with the right skill set form one of the major driv- campus is to create a connect with the student community.
ers of sustainability for any business. Thus, hiring the right Campus recruitments will inspire current and future stu-
kind of talent forms a vital part of the human resource do- dents to aim for, or better still, dream of getting into firms
main. When we look at the pharmaceutical sector, it is with campus connect. This has been used by leading or-
highly evolving and facing grave challenges. As the compe- ganizations for company branding amongst the future
tition becomes intense, there is a need to differentiate working professionals.
through innovative platforms wherein the fresh talent
The role of fresh graduates is even more important in the
could come handy.
pharmaceutical sector. The pace of growth of this sector
has been so fast that the current pool of professionals can-
“Fresh graduates have the ability and not fill the growing human resource requirements. Hiring
more importantly a willingness to adapt at lateral levels just shifts human resource from one organ-
ization to another within the sector without increasing the
to a new environment, a variety of situa- overall size of the talent pool. Therefore for a sustained
tions, responsibilities and relations since growth, hiring fresh graduates is the only solution. Fresh
talent also challenges long-timers in the industry to move
they realize that in the formative years of away from their robotic ways and look at new ideas espe-
their careers they need to have an expo- cially in emerging media like the Internet and other digital
solutions to connect with customers. Thus there exists a
sure of all kinds. Such willingness is not clear need to bring in fresh talent, which brings along new
very commonly seen in the industry ideas, new approaches, a willingness to challenge the sta-
otherwise.” tus quo and helps in setting up a culture of “thinking dif-
ferently” and “accepting changes” in the organization. ▌
Well, there are many reasons why pharmaceutical firms
should hire fresh talent. Firstly, the fresh graduates have Neha Ansal is a PGDM Student at IIM-Raipur
(Batch of 2012)
the ability and more importantly a willingness to adapt to
Email: pgp10035.neha@iimraipur.ac.in
a new environment, a variety of situations, responsibilities
3

4. MedicinMan Vol.2 Iss.2
Repeat Rx – A New Chapter in Pharma Sales
I wrote HardKnocks for the GreenHorn to address line Manager creates a learning and development
the learning needs of new Medical Reps (MRs) who ecosystem that will enable field sales professionals
were taken as replacement for attrition. Companies to progress through the 4 stages of Calling, Connect-
did not have time to train the new MRs (Green ing, Consulting and Collaborating. Repeat Rx is not
Horns) before sending them on field sales work. a one-time-read book; it is a skill certification and
They had to learn the HARD way by being competency building program to progress from be-
KNOCKED around, hence the title - HardKnocks for ing a Beginner to Amateur, Apprentice and Achiev-
the GreenHorn. er. The Repeat Rx Competency Framework is an
assessment tool that can be fine-tuned to meet the
HardKnocks for the GreenHorn was written in an
easy to read format and focused on Knowledge, specific learning objectives of companies. ▌
Skills and Attitude to be an effective pharma field
sales professional. HardKnocks for the GreenHorn
was also designed as an on-the-job training tool,
which Front-line Managers could use to train their
team of Medical Reps to have uniform and essential
skill sets.
My second book, SuperVision for SuperWiser Front
-line Manager was written to comprehensively ad-
dress the learning and development needs of the
Front-line Managers. Often MRs are promoted as
Front-line Managers without adequate understand-
ing about their changed role. They do not have a
manual they can refer to understand their role and
responsibilities. SuperVision for SuperWiser Front-
line Manager is written in 3 parts – The first part
discusses the „Must Have‟ managerial competencies;
the second part focuses on the „Good to Have‟ emo-
tionally intelligent leadership skills. The third part
focuses on „Great to Have‟ breakthrough skills that
help them to move to the next level of performance.
My third book, Repeat Rx is targeted at Sales Train-
ing Managers, as well as Front-line and Second-line
Managers and others who want a comprehensive
manual to build High Performance Sales Teams. It is
also very useful for MRs to want to move into Key
Account Management. Repeat Rx along with Hard-
Knocks for the GreenHorn and SuperVision for Su-
perWiser Front-line Manager are the first learning
and development resources that address the lacunae
in building high performance sales teams. Repeat
prescription or repeat purchase (Repeat Rx) is an
outcome of Knowledge, Skills, Attitude and the
Hardwork (KA$H) of the field sales force combined
with the opportunity in the market and the level of
trust and relationship with customers (doctors and
Chemist). Repeat Rx along with HardKnocks for the
4 GreenHorn and SuperVision for SuperWiser Front-

6. MedicinMan Vol.2 Iss.2
A STEPPING STONE OR GRINDING STONE?
For many Medical Reps and Front-line it easier to progress from Calling to Con-
Managers, their job has become a Grinding necting, Consulting and Collaborating with
Stone instead of a Stepping Stone. Compa- customers.
nies no longer plan your career. You have to
Repeat Rx depends on excelling in 4 key
“Repeat Rx do it yourself. Continuous Learning is the
areas:
only Stepping Stone, which will empower
is written to you to enjoy a satisfying work-life. We are 1. Choosing the right customers through
all born with nearly similar hardware systematic and regular RCPA
empower (brain); it‟s the software (Learning Inputs) 2. Achieving the right call frequency
that transforms work into Work-oh-Frolic
Medical Reps and performance into Perfo-Romance. The
through POEM - pre call planning and
preparation
and Front-line 8 Maxims of Repeat Rx are like killer soft-
ware applications that will enable you to 3. Delivering the right message that an-
Managers to focus on the needs and wants of customers. swers the WSI and WIIFM of doctors and
Chemists through effective use of MMFI
These Maxims are like Windows that will
use their give you clearer and sharper Rx insights. and KA$H
These 8 Maxims will be discussed through- 4. Understanding AIDA and executing the
current out Repeat Rx. marketing programs effectively by doing
position as a Repeat Rx is written to empower Medical WIN
Reps and Front-line Managers to use their WSI – Why Should I? This is probably the
Stepping current position as a Stepping Stone. With- question in your mind as you flip through
out Continuous Learning your job becomes
Stone. With- a Grinding Stone. Make the right choice –
this book. The title “Repeat Rx” might have
caught your Attention and created an Inter-
out Continu- become a Work-oh-Frolic; produce great
Perfo-Romance and move up the value
est to know more. But after scanning the
book and evaluating the effort needed to
ous Learning chain in field sales management or product learn new skills, you might be wondering,
management, depending on your aptitude “Why Should I?” This is a perfectly natural
your job and inclination. Field sales management is and spontaneous response. Unless you are
all about people – employees, customers convinced, of the benefits of reading Repeat
becomes a and others in the value chain. Product man- Rx, the WSI Maxim will act as a road-block
agement is all about ideas that influence the
Grinding behavior of people – employees, customers
and prevent you from reading, learning and
putting the learning into practice. WSI op-
Stone.” and others in the value chain. Repeat Rx
offers insight into both People and Ideas,
erates in all SELLING situations – you
should be able to answer the WSI of cus-
making it your Stepping Stone to great ca- tomers convincingly. Think like a customer
reer options in the future. who asks Why Should I? Plan for the an-
Repeat Rx revolves around customer swers based on the market intelligence
knowledge. How well you know them; their about the customer‟s likes and dislikes
motivations – NEEDS and WANTS; LIKES needs and wants. Read Repeat Rx repeat-
and DISLIKES and Preferences. To know edly till you are confident of facing the WSI
this, you must think like a customer; not questions of doctors, Chemists and your
like a salesperson. You must ask QUES- distributor.
TIONS that customers are likely to ask. AIDA – Why do you think advertisers place
6 When you have clearer insights into indi- an attractive model next to even the most
vidual customer motivations, you will find technically high-end car? Because before

7. MedicinMan Vol.2 Iss.2
A STEPPING STONE OR GRINDING STONE?
the potential buyer‟s Interest is evoked, the advertiser RCPA – Market Intelligence is critical to promoting the
must attract his Attention with a stimulating visual. Then right products to right doctors and this can be done only
the story-line creates Desire leading to Action. The cus- through systematic and regular Prospecting and Qualify-
tomer‟s Attention is first drawn to the attractive model ing through Retail Chemist Prescription Audit - RCPA.▌
who is standing next to the car. Once his visual senses
are stimulated it is easier to create Interest in what is
„inside‟ the car. Attention and Interest combine to pro-
duce Desire and Action – this is the basic premise of all
selling efforts. Many new selling Maxims have been in-
troduced but AIDA remains at the core of any selling ef-
fort.
WIIFM – What‟s In It For Me? This is the next question
that comes naturally to our minds. By nature we are pro-
grammed to do only those things that give us pleasure or
relieve us from pain. WIIFM must answer how your
product addresses this WANT (give pleasure) and NEED
(relieve pain). A Skilled Persuader learns how to SELL
the WIIFM to doctors to get Repeat Rx.
WIN – Whatever Is Necessary. Everybody wants to WIN,
but not everybody is willing to do Whatever Is Necessary.
Repeat Rx is the first-of-its-kind Toolbox that equips you
with Knowledge, Attitude, Skills and Habits – KA$H
needed to WIN in your career and life.
KA$H – Everybody wants CASH; but they don‟t focus on
gaining the Knowledge, Attitude, Skills and Habits –
KA$H, that are needed to produce CASH. Repeat Rx is a
customized Knowledge, Attitude, Skills and Habits –
KA$H Toolbox for Medical Reps and Front-line Manag-
ers to earn more CASH.
MMFI – Make Me Feel Important. This is one of the
greatest WANT of all human beings. Once a person‟s
basic NEEDS are met, the focus shifts to Social Recogni-
tion, Self Esteem and Self Actualization. Social Skills is
the ability to understand this fact and develop ways in
which you can make all your customers FEEL important
in some unique way according to their personality prefer-
ences.
POEM – Planning, Organizing, Executing, Monitoring.
You may have all the Knowledge and Skills, but if you
don‟t have the Habit of POEM, your performance will be
inconsistent and you will be considered as unreliable de-
spite your talent. POEM transforms work into Work-oh-
Frolic and performance into Perfo-Romance. POEM is
the SECRET of all consistent performers. 7

8. MedicinMan Vol.2 Iss.2
HOW TO GET REPEAT RX ?
Success in any profession is a result of excellence in charac- Relationship and Repeat Rx.
ter and competence. Character is who you are and Compe- In quadrant I, you are a Beginner and yet to demonstrate
tence is what you can do. Character combines with Compe- your character and competence, which are both low and
tence to produce Confidence within you and makes others hence No Rx. Any Rx would be due to the work of your pre-
to Trust in you. decessor‟s work or due the uniqueness/monopoly of the
The 4 progressive stages of Calling, Connecting, Consulting product.
and Collaborating focuses on developing character and In quadrant II, as an Amateur you have just begun to
building competence to produce Confident Pharma Sales demonstrate your competence. Based on your knowledge
professionals who can trigger Trust. and the doctor‟s need, you will get Erratic Rx whenever you
Trust creates a positive perception, which persuades the call on doctors.
doctor to Trial Rx. The value derived from Trial Rx reinforc- In quadrant III, as an Apprentice in addition to some com-
es Trust; leading to Relationship and Repeat Rx. petence, your character is demonstrated by your sincerity
Repeat Rx is not an outcome of a hit or miss unplanned and and caring attitude and builds Rapport with some doctors
unorganized approach, but a result of becoming a Skilled
Persuader who can influence doctors and Chemists. “Repeat Rx is not an outcome of a hit or
The Repeat Rx Matrix is at the crux of becoming a Skilled
miss unplanned and unorganized
Persuader and illustrates how character and competence
create Trust and builds Relationship and Repeat Rx. approach, but a result of becoming a
Skilled Persuader who can influence
doctors and Chemists.”
and you get Some Rx, whenever they remember you.
In quadrant IV, both your character and competence are
high, making you an Achiever. This leads to Trust based
Relationship and Repeat Rx.
Repeat Rx is divided into two parts for easy learning and
application. In the first part of Repeat Rx, the emphasis
will be on effective Communication Skills and Selling Skills
– the two most important skills for Pharma Sales Profes-
sionals. The key learning in Part 1 is the three levels of
trust – Foundational, Emotional and Rational Trust trig-
gered by your Ethos, Pathos and Logos.
Part 2 of Repeat Rx focuses on developing character and
competence to produce Confident Pharma Sales profes-
sionals who can trigger Trust. The key learning in Part 2
are the 4 progressive stages of Calling, Connecting, Con-
Let‟s look at the 4 quadrants to understand the process of sulting and Collaborating to build lasting Relationship for
getting Repeat Rx. Repeat Rx. We will learn through models and matrix like
Character is demonstrated by your Sincerity and Caring the Repeat Rx to stimulate your analytical thinking (Left
attitude and establishes your Ethos and Pathos in the Call- brain – Logic/IQ) as well as through stories, examples and
ing and Connecting stage. metaphors to stimulate your creative thinking (Right brain
– Emotion/EQ) as both IQ and EQ are needed for effective
Competence is demonstrated by your Credibility and Exper-
learning. This combination of Knowledge (IQ) and Persua-
tise and establishes your Logos in the Consulting and Col-
sion (EQ) is at the crux of becoming a Skilled Persuader
8 laborating stage. When all the three elements, Ethos, Pa-
thos and Logos are present as in quadrant IV leading to
who can trigger Repeat Rx.▌
foundational, emotional and rational trust, the outcome is anupsoans@medicinman.net

9. MedicinMan Vol.2 Iss.2
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10. MedicinMan Vol.2 Iss.2
PERFO-ROMANCE AND WORK-OH-FROLIC
Some people find life an empty dream because they put nothing into it
Pharma field selling is tough. You must study and learn field; provided you believe in YOUR SELF and are commit-
from athletics and sports, which are far tougher and in- ted to WIN; doing Whatever Is Necessary.
tensely competitive. The only difference is that athletes and Time Management is Life Management – There are only 3
sportspeople set very clear and exacting goals and they things you can do with Time and Money – 1. Invest it. 2.
thoroughly enjoy their work. That‟s why they are called Spend it. 3. Waste it. Planning helps you to invest your
players. It is worthwhile to remember that once they meet time and money for best returns. Personal effectiveness
their goals, they earn far more for „playing‟ than most peo- will give you the discipline to spend time only on essential
ple do by „working‟. We need to change from this „working activities like sleep and personal affairs and money on ne-
mindset‟ to „playing mindset‟ in order to enjoy our profes- cessities. Procrastination will lead to inaction and waste of
sional life. Working is for those who are physically engaged, time. POEM is a process that helps you to develop the
but emotionally disconnected from their profession. To en- Habit of investing time for maximum returns. When com-
joy your career, you must engage your heart first; then your bined with acquiring KA$H, it will make you an outstand-
head and hands will follow. If you fall in love with your ing professional with bright career prospects. This should
work, you‟ll never have to WORK. When you move from motivate you to remain focused on your goals. When I was
working to playing, instead of workaholic, you will become working with Eureka Forbes, most afternoons were rela-
a Work-oh-Frolic and your performance will be trans- tively free and I could go back home and take a nap. In-
formed into Perfo-Romance. Athletes and sportspeople are stead I spent the afternoons in seeing some great movies,
highly motivated and goal centered and that‟s the only way which I used to improve my English language skills. I rare-
to thrive in any hyper competitive profession. Since you ly saw a movie, which did not teach me something about
have decided to make pharma sales your career, you must improving my Knowledge, Attitude, Skills or Habits. When
learn from athletes. Without continuous learning, motiva- working as a Medical Rep, I read all the product literature,
tion, goals, planning and time consciousness, your sales journals and books that my company used for CME. The
target will seem like an insurmountable mountain. knowledge and skills gained led to joining a medical pub-
If you want to move from performance to Perfo-Romance lishing firm where I worked for 12 years to become the
then start learning the new rules of the game. Become con- youngest marketing director. If you want a great life invest
scious of time as the only resource that can never be recy- time in activities that will make your dreams come true.
cled. Learn from athletes and sportspeople. They spend Set SMART goals; Manage time by POEM; acquire KA$H.
every minute of their waking hours in reaching their goals Study this and other professional development books –
and their sleeping hours dreaming about their enjoying the Repeat Rx will lead to Repeat Success for you.
satisfaction of reaching their goals. You must become pas- To Realize the Value of One Year,
sionate about your profession; about your personal effec- Ask a Student who Failed the Final Exam
tiveness. Like the athletes and sportspeople, you must de-
To Realize the Value of One Month
velop every muscle that is needed for you to play your role
Ask a Mother who Lost a Premature Baby
effectively. Athletes and sportspeople are highly focused;
they are clear about which event they will contest and go To Realize the Value of One Week
about training and practicing till they are sure that they Ask the Editor of a Weekly Magazine
measure up to compete successfully. You must also be clear To Realize the Value of One Day
about your goals and objectives and go about learning and Ask a Daily Wage Worker with Six Kids
developing skills that will enhance your Ethos, Pathos and To Realize the Value of One Hour,
Logos. Ask Lovers who are Waiting to Meet
Do you want to know what transforms mundane, routine To Realize the Value of One Minute,
performance into breakthrough Perfo-Romance? PRAC- Ask the Person who missed the Train
TICE. Athletes and sportspeople PRACTICE for several To Realize the Value of One Second,
hours every day, measuring their progress carefully before Ask the Athlete who Missed the Gold and Won Silver in the
the contest. But most Medical Reps and Front-line Manag- Olympics.
10 ers work for hours without ever practicing. The hallmark of
Time is the scarcest resource, and unless it is
all great Perfo-Romancers is Continuous Professional De-
managed, nothing else can be managed.
velopment (CPD) through practice. You can succeed in any
– P. Drucker

12. Medi
LEAD KINDLY LIGHT
A Tribute to a Pioneering and Outstanding Pharma Marketer
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Death is not the extinguishing of light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn
EDITOR has come. - Rabindranath Tagore
Anup Soans
Prof. Chitta Mitra, a doyen of the Indian phar- had nothing to do with the health of a
*
COO maceutical industry passed away on the 3rd of pharma company. He believed in honest
Arvind Nair January 2012. His death is a great loss to the brand building activities which were
industry and a personal loss to me. prevalent till the middle 90s.
ADVISORY BOARD
The present growth of the Indian pharma in- In his memory, I have evolved the “Prof.
Prof. Vivek dustry can be attributed to Prof. Mitra in a Chitta Mitra‟s Oath for Pharma Market-
Hattangadi good measure. Since the 1980s, he took upon ers which is inspired by the Hippocratic
* himself the responsibility of bringing a para- Oath taken by medical professionals
Jolly Mathews digm shift in the mindset of the Indian pharma when they graduate. Professionals in the
industry – from sales orientation to prescrip- pharma industry should take “Prof.
EDITORIAL BOARD tion generation. His oft quoted and famous Chitta Mitra‟s Oath” and cleanse the
pearls of wisdom to the pharma marketers still pharma industry from unhealthy and
Shashin reverberate: “The health of a pharma company corrupt practices.▌
Bodawala is related to the prescriptions that the company By Prof. Vivek Hattangadi
* is able to generate – not just volume sales.” His
Salil Kallianpur emphasis was on prescription generation and Editor’s Note: Pharma professionals inter-
* looked down on deals, bonus offers as an un- ested in taking the “Prof. Chitta Mitra’s
Dr. Shalini Ratan healthy practice and effort to „steal prescrip- Oath for Pharma Marketers” can visit
* www.theenablers.org. The Enablers is an
tions of another company.
Prabhakar Shetty excellent skill and value development re-
* He and his dedicated team of analysts and re- source for pharma professionals.
Varadarajan S searchers analyzed millions of live prescrip-
* tions of doctors. And from the analysis of these
Dr. Mandar Kubal
prescriptions his gems of wisdom emerged.
Prof Mitra was a strong believer in developing
CONSULTANTS
and training people in the pharma industry. He
Joshua Soans initiated training and development of brand
managers to make them understand and inter-
*
pret the data provided by C MARC, collated
Amit Shekhar
from live prescriptions from the twenty differ-
ent specialties of doctors.
To receive the latest Prof. Mitra helped brand managers to take
issue of MedicinMan strategic decisions that strengthened marketing
edge over competitors. He taught them how to
every month in your evaluate and do SWOT analysis of an organiza-
mailbox, visit tion to provide appropriate strategic guidelines
www.medicinman.net to the brand managers. He developed newer
and enter your email analytical methods to create a marketing edge
ID in the “Subscribe to over competition. He helped in distinguishing
between qualitative data and quantitative data
MedicinMan” widget and to correlate with internal sales.
12 below the latest
The widely prevalent CRM activities were
issue.
termed by him as “customer gratification” that