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career insights
February 2007
Sue Doyle, winner of the Hospital Representative award at the Pf Awards 2006, tells Pf about her career to date and shares her simple winning formula: thorough preparation and confidence in your ability.
Summarise your pharmaceutical industry career
I joined Merck Pharma in 1999 as a primary/secondary care representative for Wirral and North Wales. After 18 months, I moved to Yamanouchi (now Astellas) in a similar role but covering Liverpool, where I live. At Yamanouchi, I did a marketing secondment, which gave me an increased breadth of skills that enabled me to get my current job, Senior Hospital Sales Specialist, North West, for Shire Pharmaceuticals Ltd. I have worked for Shire for almost 3 years.
What do you think has been the best move you ever made - role or company-wise?
My best move has been joining Shire. Shire is a small, dynamic company that is rapidly expanding. Its company culture is focused on its people and their development. Everybody knows who you are and you are well recognised and rewarded for your achievements.
What do you enjoy about your current role and what do you find challenging?
The hospital speciality team has some interesting products in niche markets. They are technically challenging and lead to some fascinating conversations with customers that force us to challenge the status quo, not only within ourselves but with our customers too. I have an exciting portfolio of products to sell and there is an excellent pipeline in development. I am a valued member of the team and my skills are constantly being updated and utilised, not only to support others, but by having an excellent training and support network from management and my colleagues. This is great position to be in.
What do you think it was that made you stand out to the judges at the Pf Awards assessment day?
I was enthusiastic and built rapport with my customers on the day. I was confident that I had prepared well. I had a pre-call objective and learnt the product material, anticipating any potential objections and how I would handle them if they came up. I controlled the structure of the call, uncovering the customers' needs, explaining features and benefits of the product, with a confidence that the customers really bought into. ‘IDEALS’ was the tool that I used to make sure I met all my pre-call objectives.
Has winning the award affected your career?
Yes. My standing within the company has increased and I have been given certain opportunities for development that have improved my skills even further. I now have more responsibilities as a coach and mentor for the team and a full personal development plan in place to work towards my ultimate goal of becoming an R.B.M.
What advice would you give to the 2006 entrants going for the same award?
Be yourself and be confident in your own abilities. You do this job everyday. Treat it like any other selling day and your natural ability with shine through. Good luck!
Lucy Randle highlights the nuances of selling a niche product and being part of a specialist team.
Ambitious representatives are often attracted to specialist roles because of the chance to work closely with a narrower customer group, typically in the Secondary Care arena, that arguably spend more time with representatives. Some also have a particular interest in a certain therapeutic area, such as Oncology, that they wish to specialize and build expertise in.
Specialist Focus
Instead of selling a range of different products for different therapeutic areas or several products for the same general area of therapy (e.g. Cardiovascular disease) you will, as the name suggests, have a much narrower field of focus as a Specialist Representative (e.g. Lung Cancer). If you are selling a niche product your customer group may be very limited, so here, more than ever, it is essential to get maximum commitment from a minimum of customers. This requires skills to be honed to perfection as each customer can have a huge impact on your business.
Research
Specialist representatives or those selling niche products, aim to be perceived by their customers as an equal, as someone who can be consulted with problems and questions, as a valuable source of information/support and an authority in their area. You will therefore need to take responsibility for conducting extensive research, not only into your product, but also its competitors and the wider disease area. Your knowledge needs to be broad and deep.
Technical Expertise
Not only will you need to carry out your own research, you will also need to be able to interpret and convey scientific evidence and technical data. A specialist representative role or a role selling a novel product often requires a greater degree of technical aptitude and expertise. Your customers will themselves be specialists and in order to be taken seriously you will need to be able to tell them something they don’t already know and challenge the boundaries of what is currently known.
TIP
The star team is constantly exposed to useful and innovative ideas relating to all aspects of employment and recruitment. Each month, a member of the team will share a favourite tip with you.
Jon Haile - Recruitment Consultant for the South West and South Wales
“Before attending an interview, try to anticipate the sorts of competency questions you might be asked. Rehearse concise responses to questions like ‘Can you give me an example of an account you have turned around?’ Use the star technique to answer explain the Situation and Task and talk through the Action you took, ensuring you describe the Result.”
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