Reps story: The Impact of Sales Representatives

Reps story: The Impact of Sales Representatives

I began my career in pharma consulting by handling Incentive Compensation (IC) for sales reps. Over time, I transitioned to working on Non-personal promotion and other digital channels, believing they represented the future of pharma marketing. 

However, I realized that as long as human doctors are involved, sales reps will remain crucial in unlocking a drug's true potential.

A compelling example of this is the sales revenue comparison between Keytruda and Opdivo. Both are novel immunotherapies launched in 2014, targeting multiple oncology indications. Yet, Keytruda has achieved global revenue of $30 billion, while Opdivo stands at $12 billion. This stark difference underscores how sales reps, when supported by robust data and analytics strategies, can significantly boost revenues. 

(Of course, the contributions of Merck's strategy, market access, and marketing teams are equally significant.)

Keytruda sales reps leveraged the following more effectively than those of Opdivo: 

1. Education HCPs on expanding indications (40+) 

2. Sharing clinical trial results along with organizing educational programs

3. Personalized engagements and targeted outreach

4. Promoting combination therapies

5. Patient support program

6. Leveraging digital tools

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Read past stories like above at https://lnkd.in/d9ijze8r