The Double Dip - Deliver Impact and Flexibility with Tele-Sales Solutions

The sales function in life science companies continues to evolve and become more complex. The pressure to increase sales in a cost-effective manner grows by the day and sales executives are eagerly searching for innovative and impactful ways to grow sales.

Tele-sales programs are flexible programs that efficiently and effectively augment sales and promotional activities in many ways including…

1) Scheduling visits with a field-based representatives to provide 1-on-1 interaction when it’s needed

2) Expanding territories and coverage to ensure all healthcare providers in a given territory have regular interactions with company representatives

3) Supporting promotional programs for new indications and offers such as support groups or prescription rebates

4) Building relationships with office staff to provide a venue for answers to their questions and for requesting samples and educational materials

5) Providing responsive handling of scientific and/or clinical questions by healthcare-trained representatives when the caller wants and needs it

I recently recorded a Podcast through PharmaVOICE sharing insights we’ve gathered from tele-sales programs we’ve worked on for our clients. Also, we recently published a White Paper on this topic. The White Paper offers three case studies that demonstrate how tele-sales solutions can be customized to meet a number of promotional needs and audiences including physicians, their office staff, and patients and caregivers.

If you’d like to listen to the podcast titled “Insights from the Field: Tele-Sales Solutions”, please click here to download. Additionally, if you are interested in a copy of the white paper titled "Seize the Moment: Tele-Sales Solutions Delivering Impact and Flexibility", please click here to request it. Please let us know what you think of these two resources—are they helpful or not? Also, would you like to have additional resources in other areas? If so, please let us know what areas interest you.

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Three Must-See Sessions at DTC Perspectives in April

The DTC Perspectives Conference starts next Tuesday, April 10 in Washington DC. The agenda looks great. I’m looking forward to hearing from executives at several life science companies on how they are changing their DTC programs to move away from brand promotion and awareness to focus on what patients need and want. When programs focus on what patients need and want we build engagement that can lead to commitment and loyalty.

There are three sessions that I’m particularly looking forward to...  

1) The New DTC: Using Technology to Build Relevance and Engagement with Paul Ewing and Todd Kolm at Pfizer. They are taking a case study approach to share insights into efforts to innovate consumer marketing at Pfizer.  

2) Effectively Reaching and Supporting Patients: A Novo Nordisk Case Study with Jeremy Shepler at Novo Nordisk and Rob Rebak at QualityHealth. They will be sharing key learnings from an integrated multichannel DTC program to drive educated doctor-patient interactions.  

3) Wake Up! Really, We Need to Wake Up! With Brian Lange at GSK. This presentation promises to help us recognize the cold hard reality that is in front of us each day, and will share tools to help us prepare for the next generation of DTC marketing initiatives.

I always look forward to learning from others, and the DTC Perspectives Conference is a great opportunity to engage with leaders that are boldly trying new things.

No doubt we live in exciting times. The opportunities to engage with patients and caregivers are rapidly changing, and the challenge is to develop patient programs that are meaningful and valuable. At PhoneScreen and AMAC we have been working with our life science company clients on a number of projects including tele-sales programs and patient support programs. These programs have the ability to quickly gather insights on the needs and challenges of patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers in managing a disease-state or condition. These insights enable our clients (and us) to develop meaningful programs.

If you are going to DTC Perspectives, please stop by our exhibit booth (look for the AMAC booth, which is number 29) and we’ll be happy to share with you how our programs can be customized to gather meaningful insights into what patients and caregivers need. If you would like to set up a time to meet at the DTC Perspectives meeting, please send me an e-mail and we’ll schedule a time to get together.

Hope to see you in Washington DC!

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Engaging HCPs, Patients, and Caregivers to Shape Your Initiatives

Gaining Valuable Insights from Daily Interactions

Designing and implementing effective marketing programs starts with understanding what your customers need most. This knowledge will help you develop impactful and desired programs that customers seek out. The idea of including the “voice of the customer” (or VOC) has been around for many years, and is becoming standard practice when developing new initiatives and programs.

We live in exciting times and there are limitless new opportunities to interact with patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. The challenge is to engage your customers quickly and to obtain meaningful insights. Some life science companies have experimented with using social media to reach patients and caregivers as a channel to understand their needs. This is a viable solution; however, with social media communications you lack “real-time” interactions and the ability to ask questions and probe for further understanding.

At PhoneScreen and AMAC we have been working with our life science company clients on a number of projects including tele-sales programs and patient support programs. One of the unforeseen benefits of these programs has been the ability to quickly gather insights on the needs and challenges of patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers in managing a disease-state or condition. These insights enable our clients (and us) to develop meaningful programs.

Our representatives speak directly with patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers each day. Through the course of these interactions they develop relationships that provide meaningful insights into what these audiences need. We take these insights, share them with our clients, and either integrate them into our existing programs or develop new initiatives.

Examples of how these insights have been leveraged into our programs include..

* Including new questions in our FAQ information
* Updating our call scripts to include information that is often asked
* Developing a resource sheet that is shared with patients and caregivers

Three tips I can share with you for success are…

1) Careful documentation of questions. We use our database technology to capture this information
2) On-going analysis on questions that are coming up. On a regular basis we look at the questions we are being asked
3) Act on the findings. We report our findings and provide recommendations to our clients for how we can act on these insights

How are you gathering insights and input from patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers? Are you using these insights to design more meaningful programs? Please share your experiences, successes, and challenges.

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New Options for Building Relationships with Healthcare Providers

Read a new article in PharmaVOICE magazine about new options for gaining access to physicians

In the last few weeks I’ve had numerous discussions with sales and marketing executives in life science companies about new ways to reach healthcare providers (particularly physicians) to build relationships and provide educational information on their products. This is always a topic of interest with our clients, but the frequency and intensity of these conversations has increased dramatically.

There is an article in the March 2012 issue of PharmaVOICE magazine (it’s available on-line now) that shares best practices on gaining access to physicians . The article shares findings on a study conducted by Temple University, and presented at the International Health Economic Association Congress in June 2011, on the ramifications of decreased access on new product uptake and prescribing. The findings provide evidence that patients are at greater risk when physicians are slow to prescribe beneficial new medications. Additionally, the majority of physicians feel that sales representatives are an important source of product information.

We all know very well the changes in how healthcare is delivered, including the emphasis on seeing more patients and limiting access to sales representatives. Now, with the Temple University study, we have data that supports what we also know is true, that sales representatives play a critical role in educating healthcare providers about new products. So, the important question is this…How do we deliver valuable education to healthcare providers within the reality of the physician’s office?

The PharmaVOICE article provides several recommendations, and the three listed below jumped out to me. They include…

1) Physician targeting—I prefer to think of this as segmentation, which is identifying healthcare providers that have a relationship with the company and/or brand and those that don’t. The healthcare providers that do have a relationship with the company and/or brand need on-going interactions with sales representatives. Healthcare providers that do not have an existing relationship with the company and/or brand need to be introduced to the company and/or brand and perhaps a relationship can be cultivated. With healthcare providers that don’t have an existing relationship there are several options including tele-detailing and e-detailing that can be effective in cultivating relationships with them.

2) Provide relevant information—this is commonly referred to as “providing value”, and “value” is uniquely personal to each individual. What is most needed is to understand the individual healthcare provider, their practice setting, the types of patients they treat, and the challenges they face in practice. To be successful a relationship must be established, and the sales representative must provide small “nuggets” of valuable information with each interaction.

3) Healthcare providers are becoming more comfortable seeking out information on their own. Commonly used secondary channels are product and company websites, tele-detailing, e-detailing, and mobile applications. The key take-away is to have multiple opportunities for healthcare providers to seek and gain information at their convenience and according to their own preferences.

There are a number of options that can be implemented to increase access to healthcare providers. At PhoneScreen and AMAC we provide pharmaceutical call center solutions that help you build relationships with patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. Tele-detailing programs are an effective tool for providing information. Tele-detailing programs are complementary to field-based sales representatives and can be designed to provided 24/7 access to information and clinical expertise at the convenience of the healthcare provider.

Take a few minutes to review the PharmaVOICE article . After you read it, I’d like to hear your thoughts on it. Additionally, what new initiatives are you considering or implementing to expand healthcare provider access to product information and company representatives?

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24/7 The New Norm: HCPs Require Instant Access to Reps and Information

Read a new article in PharmaVOICE magazine about how call centers provide a vital link for HCPs and life science companies

The February 2012 issue of PharmaVOICE magazine is available on-line. In the Showcase Feature section they discuss outsourcing R&D, manufacturing, and sales functions to 3rd-parties to reduce in-house costs and accelerate timelines. I contributed a brief article on how pharmaceutical call centers build relationships with healthcare providers and patients. The primary benefit of a call center is to provide on-demand and as-needed access to information and company representatives on a 24/7 basis.

Pharmaceutical call centers can support the life science industry to…
• Provide on-demand support to answer questions from healthcare providers and patients
• Increase patient adherence to treatments and clinical trials
• Supplement field-based promotional activities
• Boost patient recruitment and referral for clinical trials
• Process sample requests
• Set appointments between sales representatives and healthcare providers

Download the PharmaVOICE article. After you read it, I’d like to hear your thoughts on it. Also, are you currently using partners to outsource your information and sales activities? If so, in what areas are you doing this? What challenges and hurdles have you run into? Are you happy with the results you’ve seen?

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Adding Value to Your Pharma Sales Model

Several of my early blog posts focused on the value of tele-detailing in providing information to healthcare providers. With all of the pressures on the industry we must find new, more cost-effective channels for communicating with healthcare providers. Tele-detailing is an effective promotional channel, and it complements the daily activities of field-based representatives.

Physicians and healthcare providers are demanding valuable interactions with company representatives. One channel for providing valuable interactions to physicians is through tele-detailing programs. These programs provide physicians and healthcare providers with an efficient and knowledgeable means to learn about pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device products and to obtain answers to their questions at their convenience. In November 2010, Cegedim published a report on the promotional spending trends in new media (including tele-detailing, internet detailing, and web advertising) from US pharmaceutical companies. They found that 49% of the spending in new media is on tele-detailing programs.

I recently recorded a podcast through PharmaVOICE on how tele-detailing can help pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies provide value to healthcare providers. Also, we recently published a white paper on this topic. The White Paper offers suggestions for how tele-detailing programs augment and complement the activities of sales representatives, how to determine if tele-detailing is right for your product, and how to shift the role of sales representatives from salesperson to an “Advisor.”

Please let us know what you think of the podcast and white paper — are they helpful or not? Also, would you like to have additional resources in other areas? If so, please let us know what areas interest you.

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Essential Elements of Successful Tele-detailing Programs

Lou Shapiro

In this post, I share four of the most important components in a tele-detailing program.

In a previous blog post I shared that tele-detailing programs can be effective for pharmaceutical products in a number of situations. When implemented effectively, tele-detailing programs can build relationships with healthcare providers and their office staff and support promotional activities. Below are my top four essential elements for a successful tele-detailing program…

• Clearly define the goals for the tele-detailing program. Setting and communicating clear goals ensures the tele-detailing program is designed to achieve these results

• Integrate tele-detailing with all other sales and promotional initiatives. This includes using consistent messages and sharing data on contact activities and follow up items such as sample requests

• Design promotional and product materials to support the tele-detailing efforts. Consider posting them on the product website as well as having PDF versions that can be easily e-mailed as a follow up to the tele-detail

• Choose the right partner to deliver the tele-detailing services. The success of your tele-detailing program is dependent on the company you hire. Look for a company with an established track-record providing call-center support and tele-detailing programs to the healthcare industry. Next, understand their staffing model and ensure they have the educational background your product needs. And last, evaluate the processes and quality assurance program of the service provider. Successful service providers will have clearly defined processes and contingency plans, as well as training programs and processes to monitor the quality of the service their operators provide.

What other elements would you include for a successful tele-detailing program? In your experience did you find particular disease states or healthcare provider specialties that were receptive (or not) to tele-detailing?

Tele-detailing is an effective, flexible and efficient promotional tool. Tips and suggestions for selecting the right partner to provide tele-detailing services was the subject of a previous blog posting.

Please download a complimentary copy of our latest whitepaper, “Selecting the Right Call Center Partner: Tips for Success.” (http://bit.ly/pscallcenter)

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Is Tele-detailing Right for Your Product?

Lou Shapiro

I often get asked if tele-detailing can help a specific product in pharma. The answer is not always a resounding "yes" or a simple "no."




Have you considered tele-detailing to support your pharmaceutical product(s)? The most obvious application of tele-detailing is to cover vacant sales territories. However, in my experience tele-detailing can be an effective tool in a number of situations including:

• Products that are under-resourced with sales reps. Tele-detailing representatives can provide product information, answer questions, and process and fulfill sample requests

• An established product facing increased competition from new entrants. Healthcare-trained representatives (ie, RNs and pharmacists) can answer clinical and scientific questions from physicians

• A new product entering a marketplace with entrenched market leaders. Tele-detailing representatives can provide additional promotional support to “early adopters”, as well as answer questions and fulfill sample requests

• An established product that is profitable, but gets little detailing time from sales reps. Tele-detailing representatives can call on top-prescribing physicians to share new data on the product, or mid-tier prescribing physicians to remind them of the product’s efficacy, safety, and ease of use

Tele-detailing is an effective, flexible and efficient promotional tool. I’ll share the essential elements of a successful tele-detailing program in a future blog posting.

In the mean time, download a copy of our latest whitepaper, “Selecting the Right Call Center Partner: Tips for Success.” (http://bit.ly/pscallcenter)

We also did a recent podcast with PharmaVOICE entitled "Keys to Partnering with a Pharmaceutical Call Center" (http://bit.ly/ps092011podcast) which you should check out if you are interested in more on this topic.

Have you used tele-detailing to support your pharmaceutical product(s)? If so, what results did you see? Have you decreased, maintained or increased your tele-detailing efforts? I’d like to hear about your experiences with tele-detailing. Please share your thoughts in the comments of this blog post.
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Valuable Insights into Selecting the “Right” Pharmaceutical Call Center Partner

Lou Shapiro

In my last blog post titled” The Secret to Successful Brand Planning”, I shared two recurring questions that are on many pharmaceutical marketer’s minds as they plan for 2012. The first question on every marketer’s mind is how to “get more impact with fewer budget dollars?” My advice is to engage service providers that have expertise and systems to support your marketing and clinical programs effectively and efficiently.


As a service provider focused on providing call center services to support physicians’ practices, hospitals, and pharmaceutical/biotechnology/medical device companies, we are experts in building relationships with healthcare providers and patients. We can efficiently provide information and materials healthcare providers and patients need, and answer their questions. Engaging service providers adds value and streamlines your initiatives.

A major concern pharmaceutical marketers and communications professionals have is how to select the “right” pharmaceutical call center partner. This is a great question, and there is no easy answer to it. I recently recorded a Podcast through PharmaVoice on how pharmaceutical call centers can support pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies. Also, we recently published a White Paper on selecting the “right” pharmaceutical call center partner. The White Paper offers 9 areas to be evaluated when you are looking to identifying the “right” potential partners. When used together, these two resources will help you identify the “right” partner for your program and company.

To listen to the podcast, please click here. Additionally, if you are interested in a copy of the White Paper, please click here to request it. Please let us know what you think of these two resources—are they helpful or not? Also, would you like to have additional resources in other areas? If so, please let us know what areas interest you.

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Pharma’s Shifting Sales Model: How Tele-detailing Can Add Value

Lou Shapiro

We all know first-hand the changes the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries are undergoing. The factors impacting these changes span the gamut from fewer blockbuster products, shifts to specialized therapies, increased drug development costs, and increased reimbursement pressures and uncertainties. Certainly we are all feeling the push to do more with less.


Add to these challenges that physicians are busier than ever, and are adopting “no see” policies for sales representatives. And, the inevitable conclusion is that sales models that pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have used for years must change.

Sales models are adapting to include new “channels”, such as tele-detailing, e-detailing, and web advertising to physicians. The primary channel to date has been live in-office interaction with a sales representative. What are needed are complementary secondary channels that are available 24/7 and on-demand. One such option is 24/7 on-demand tele-detailing to healthcare providers. The benefit of tele-detailing is that it is available at the healthcare providers’ convenience to answer product questions, provide information, and process and ship requests for samples. Additionally, tele-detailing representatives can immediately transfer callers with scientific and clinical questions to healthcare-trained representatives.

The industry is investing more in tele-detailing. In a report published in November 2010, Cegedim looked at promotional spending trends in new media. Their research found that pharmaceutical companies spent $327M in new media between October 2009 and September 2010. Of the $327M, 49%, or $160M, was spent on tele-detailing. This was more than on the other new media options including internet detailing, e-meetings, and web advertising to physicians.

In my experience, physicians’ value interactions that are consultative, and they don’t want to be “sold to”. Sales representatives need to shift their mindset from the role as a “salesman” to an “advisor”. Attributes of an advisor include…

• Continually acquiring scientific and pharmacoeconomic knowledge. In particular be able to communicate the value of your product

• Understand regulatory and compliance issues physician’s offices are facing

• Most importantly, be focused on the physician’s needs rather than the features and benefits of your product

• Nurture relationships with physicians. Take the time to understand individual physicians’ unique needs and provide appropriate solutions. Also, pay attention to timely follow up and deliver materials that have been requested

Over the years I have worked with many pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to develop and implement customized tele-detailing programs that support the important work sales representatives do each day. At Phone Screen we provide live operator support to answer questions at a physician’s convenience, and we can also place “outbound” calls to physicians’ offices to provide a tele-detail on a product or to process sample requests.

Are your sales efforts less effective today? Are there particular challenges you face in developing consultative relationships with healthcare providers? Perhaps you have best practices to share in these areas. Please join the conversation and share your questions, challenges and best practices.

Visit the PhoneScreen Website at www.phonescreen.com. 


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Pharmaceutical Call Centers: Their Value and 9 Ways to Select a Partner

Lou Shapiro

My experiences with healthcare communication companies have focused on utilizing call centers to support physicians’ practices, hospitals, and pharmaceutical/biotechnology/medical device companies.

There are many services call centers can provide. In particular, call centers provide pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with additional resources to reach healthcare providers and patients, as well as answer questions from these important audiences.

Some of the newer applications for pharmaceutical call centers are…
• Boosting patient recruitment and referral for clinical trials
• Providing tele-detailing support to healthcare providers
• Increasing patient adherence to treatments and clinical trials

My Top 9 recommendations for a selecting a call center partner for your clinical trial recruitment, physician tele-detailing, and patient adherence program needs…

1. Identify companies with an established track record in providing call-center support to the pharmaceutical/biotech/medical device and healthcare industries. Research the services they provide, and ensure they match with your needs

2. Understand staff backgrounds and experiences. What is the educational background and training of a typical operator? Do they have nurses, pharmacists, and physicians on staff to handle calls? If so, typically when do these individuals interact with callers? Based on your program specifications and goals what are their staffing recommendations?

3. Evaluate processes and work flow. Each service provider will have a workflow for how their calls are managed, as well as how their interactive voice response (IVR) system operates. Ask to see these documents and for an explanation on how these documents would be established and used in your program

4. Ask about metrics for measuring service levels and abandonment. Service levels measure the percentage of calls answered in a certain amount of time. Abandonment refers to the number of callers exiting the call queue before speaking with a live operator. Which metrics are most relevant to you depend on your program design and goals

5. Understand the quality assurance programs the service provider has in place. Successful service providers will have clearly defined programs that include formal documented call monitoring, peer-to-peer call monitoring, self-audits, and mock audits. Additionally, understand how this information is provided back to the operators and what on-going training is provided

6. Understand the technology the service provider uses, whether it is validated or not, and whether the system can be integrated with your customer relationship management or adverse reporting systems

7. Ask about compliance with FDA regulations and codes. The applicable FDA regulations are highly dependent upon your program goals and needs. Take the time to understand which regulations apply to your program. Ask the service provider which ones they comply with

8. Know the locations of the call centers. If operators are used from outside of the US, understand the types of services they provide, what languages they are fluent in, and their training on US regulatory and compliance issues

9. Understand hours of operation. Do these complement your program’s needs?


Call centers are an extension of your company and brand. Call centers provide an effective and efficient way to build relationships, answer questions, deliver content and create “good will” for the company and product. I encourage you to take the time to thoroughly research and evaluate potential service providers.

Have you used a pharmaceutical call center? What areas do you feel are most important in selecting a partner for your call center needs? Please share your questions and comments.

Visit the PhoneScreen Website at www.phonescreen.com. 


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