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November 2007

With experience of a variety of roles within Wyeth, Alex Sinclair is currently working as a Healthcare Development Manager covering West Scotland. He explains what he loves about his role and recommends ‘awesome’ customer service.

What do you enjoy about your current role?

The Healthcare Development role provides an opportunity to work across a broad range of external customers at clinical and non-clinical level. Internally, we interface with the local Sales Teams, Project Specialists and Regional Business Managers together with relevant Head Office departments. As such, variety is a constant feature.

The role is challenging but rewarding and facilitates the development of an ‘equal terms’ relationship between Company and Customer. It also allows me to fully utilise and upgrade my skill base on an ongoing basis. Within Wyeth we are extremely focused on ‘outcomes’ and the Healthcare Development Team applies a project-orientated strategy to ensure optimum delivery of business objectives. I very much enjoy this approach as it creates defined parameters allowing effective tracking and objective measurement of progress.

How does the HDM role fit in with Wyeth’s overall company strategy?

The HDM role sits within ‘NHS Operations’, outside of Wyeth’s internal therapy area departments such as ‘Primary Care’ or ‘Specialist Care’. My objectives are aligned with the portfolio priorities, in whichever department that product sits. My focus is to build strong relationships at ‘payer’ level in order to understand and align our business with our customers’ priorities locally. Within the NHS Operations framework, each HDM Team has access to dedicated marketing support, ensuring a flexible, tailored approach to feedback at territory level.

How do you feel about career development opportunities at Wyeth?

Wyeth definitely promotes a culture of encouraging career development. Every Wyeth employee has a Career Review Plan, which is discussed, agreed and regularly reviewed with their Line Manager. From a personal perspective, I have been afforded the opportunity to progress my career through a number of varying roles, each of which has provided me with additional skills and competencies and a high level of job satisfaction.

What advice would you give to someone newly entering the industry?

• Customer Relationships are key Focus on developing them.
• Your Regional Manager is a valuable resource make sure you exploit this.
• Focus on delivering ‘awesome’ customer service.

The ever-modernising NHS and recent industry restructures and redundancies have led to some distinct changes to the traditional pharmaceutical sales representative role. star’s Lucy Randle comments.

As more care is being delivered in the community, decision-making powers are increasingly being handed over to primary care trusts. In addition to this, many GP practices are refusing to accept on-spec sales appointments. The roles of GP and hospital representatives have therefore had to alter in response to these changes.

All pharmaceutical representatives now need to have the ability and knowledge to work at a strategic level.You must also take an open-minded, pragmatic approach to your client base. Representatives who have worked exclusively within hospitals in the past may find that they now need to meet with key clients in the community too in order to maximise the impact on their results.

Generally territory sizes are becoming larger, affecting the way representatives manage their business.The role now calls for a high level of expertise, often in niche therapeutic areas. Ideally, you will take a key account management approach to your work, identifying decision makers and influencers and communicating with them on equal terms.

Pharmaceutical companies are looking for accountable representatives who are capable of working autonomously.They like to see evidence that you treat your patch as if it is a franchise of the larger business, making your own decisions about how and where you work.

In order to be attractive to potential employers, you must be thoroughly aware of what is going on in both the industry and the NHS more generally.They will be looking for evidence that you have worked with a range of customers, including directly with primary care trusts. Personal sales data, examples of significant results or awards, demonstrations of increased revenue and formulary inclusions will all help to convince an interviewer that you have responded to industry changes and demands.

TIP

The star team is constantly being exposed to useful and innovative ideas relating to aspects of employment and recruitment. Each month, a member of the team will share a favourite tip with you.

Gemma Head - Recruitment Consultant for the South West.

“As pharmaceutical companies increasingly demand more expertise and experience, competition for sales roles is fiercer than ever. Before you start job-hunting, think carefully about whether a change is what you really want and whether you are ready and willing to battle against other exceptional representatives!”.

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