Is drop in USA sales industry wide, or unique to GSK

The quarterly earnings showed a healthy sales gain in Japan and other markets, but a significant dip in the USA.

Is this an industry-wide phenomena?

Third quarter of 2014, Johnson & Johnson domestic sales rose by 11.6%, while international sales fell by 0.3% due to a negative 1.3% effect from foreign exchange.

So apparently not everyone is seeing a drop in USA sales, and some are not seeing good growth outside the USA.

I'm trying to determine whether the out lier is GSK or J&J.

Can someone recommend a site that consolidates sales trends?

 

Try the Wall Street journal and if you work for GSK you need to quit and go work on Wall Street or Wal mart

 

Whats unique to GSK is the sales model called Patient First. That's all you need to know why sales are dropping in US,

 

What is not unique is for crybaby to spend most of his life (including Friday and Saturday nights) posting the same things over and over again on this site.

 

It's my weekend I can spend it however I want so go pound sand.

 

This might help you:

http://psychcentral.com/lib/seeking-mental-health-care-taking-the-first-scary-step/00013701

 

That will be some great reading for you on your Sierra Leone vacation. Putz-shill that you are.

 

You can also check out the Bloomberg article which references the incentive plan

 

There are a lot of valid reasons for the U.S. drop in sales. The main reason, in my opinion, is poor leadership. Mistake after mistake! The core values that are considered the companies foundation are just words...Remove barriers? Really? All they do is place obstacles in our way. Transparency? Anyone ever seen the results of their test or simulations? Respect? If you work here, you know that the sales force is treated like middle school children..do what we tell you and never question managements decisions. Even when they make absolutely no sense. Integrity?? Take a look at all of the governments from around the world who have found integrity issues with GSK. Patient First??? We all consider the patient to be at the forefront of safety and appropriate treatment. GSK needs an upper management leadership overhaul. It's not the people, it's management that is the problem!!

 

Agreed with all points. But these complaints are common throughout the industry these days. I just read a report that Sanofi's CEO may be cut loose. Merckies are ready to riot in the street, because their CEO, an attorney, has changed the culture so that it's very much like you describe ours to be. Pfizer is undergoing major cuts yet again, and many people there place blame on their European CEO's feet.

Because of the excesses and wrongs of the previous two decades, our industry has changed. I am not kidding----I beg all of my colleagues to get their affairs in order. 2015 and beyond is going to be brutal here. The chickens will come home to roost, and we will have major cuts. Cost cutting will be the new "Reach & frequency", and CSOs will get a lot of business.

 

On point and you said what I too have been thinking for a couple of years. I fear we are doubling down with DC…she should be gone but is still here with all her wonderful ideas.

 

DC is not really the problem, per se. Go to other company sites, you'll see the same complaint about their senior leadership. People that are at high levels of sales and marketing came up in a world that has been described as the Wild West of Pharma. Docs would spend plenty of time with reps, even without an appointment! Reps could wine and dine docs and their spouses (lord knows GSK and others took advantage of that!) all we wanted. We could say whatever we wanted to about the competition, and we paid little or no attention to POA details. If we found a nice clinical that made our drug look great, it was off to Kinkos or Staples for copies!

Thats almost 180 degrees from what exists today. We need a more modern leader that has demonstrated expertise is today's market. Not the one she came up in 25 years ago.

Sadly, most of Big Pharma's leaders have spent little or no time in the field as a district or regional-type leader in the past 10 years.

 

I agree. However, I do think our current contract will be the first thing cut this time. Everybody is going to the CSOs, but they are viewed as easily disposable help. I fear nowhere is a place to make a career in this industry anymore.

 

Its not a fear. It's more of a premonition. It just makes too much business sense. However, going heavy contract means that we won't need so many upper-level managers. We all know that they protect their own, and will keep up the charade as long as possible.

I would hate to lose my job, but come on! Are you telling me that someone that schlepped Lantus or Lovenox or Lipitor for 10 years is all of a sudden a bad rep, all because Sanofi or Pfizer cut their staff by whatever percent? The contract reps that I see and talk to are hungry as hell to get back in a full-time gig. If GSK offered them 80% of what they made as a full-timer, they would be willing to sell off their family pet (that's what one guy said to me).

 

I'm sorry I wasn't more clear. I completely agree with you. I believe that the majority are great reps with a great resume. My point is exactly what you stated, upper management protects their own and the contract reps aren't theirs. I think major Pharma will continue to utilize CSOs, but never truly value what they bring. It is unfortunate because they are no different from you and me, and some of them better I am sure.

 

With the gains in the $US, one might expect lowered sales outside the USA, but the results seem to be just the opposite.

 

Companies do value CSOs, but the attractive feature is the flexibility to increase or decreases as needed. With a decrease in CSO headcount, you are not dealing with severance expense that you would have with your own sales force.

 

Contract reps are not invested in the company that they represent because they know they are indispensable. from quarter to quarter. Every contract rep I know is just collecting a paycheck doing the bare minimum of work. They are also not very good reps.

I think there is a contract troll on this board trying to drum up support for contract sales reps.

 

I have to agree with this post based on my own personal observations as well. No real sense of urgency with the contract reps.

 

As most things, it varies from rep to rep, some good and some bad.