- More DTC because patients have more influence on HCPs - More CSO since the only HCPs that allow access are not key business drivers - The market figured out that you don't have to pay reps what engineers and some FPs make. - The last of the 100K+ reps will specialize in rare diseases until that market gets bombarded by 40 reps per day. - Multi Channel marketing for a fraction of the cost. The new generation of HCPs graduating from med school grew up on computers and smart devices. Many are introverts and prefer not to engage with sales people. - MD compensation will approach the "good old days rep compensation" since NPs and PAs are now competing for the same patients. - Less reps = Less managers = Less Directors and VPs. - Most Pharma employees still working are trying to stay on the horse for another 2 or 3 years. Those recently bucked off are trying to get back on with another company for the 2 or 3 year ride. Some are going into other industies if the skills transfer.
If you have not seen it. Check out "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Marketing to Doctors" It was on HBO and you can find it on YouTube.
I agree with just about everything here except for one thing: Less managers…Remember, Big Pharma loves their middle managers…these are the folks that serve as the SS, who harass the big money reps out of their jobs before 50…this is a critical function for the big drug companies… there will NEVER be less managers in pharma…these folks basically have guaranteed employment pretty much for life…sure, there are a few here and there that get tossed over board. but considering that most Big Pharma DMs make about 175 with salary, bonus, benefits, etc., it is the best job (and biggest scam) in all of corporate America bar none...
Check out the John Oliver piece on Marketing to Doctors. Available online. 17 minutes of what we have become. All you need to know about our future.
Pretty much agree, more or less. If you are trying to hang on in this business more than 5 years you are insane. This includes managers. The expense for training, maintaining and equipping reps is astronomical. The legal liability ( FDA, sampling, HIPPA, whistleblowing, car liability, etc.) is unbelievably high. The ROI is incredibly low and on an accelerating trajectory downward. Many of you think Merck is stupid and that maybe so on many things but on staffing overhead they are smart enough to know all the above. That makes your job obsolete or nearing so. There will always be reps and managers, it's just that those slots are ever shrinking. It's a crap shoot to stay in one of those slots. Really just a continuos game of musical chairs. If you are determined to make a go of it, one of your best opportunities is as a CSO IF you have a wide range of therapeutic experience and/or market experience. If you have only worked at Merck as a respiratory rep, in primary care, in the same territory for say 5-10 years, and that's the extent of your experience, then sorry, you are not much in demand. Not at Merck, certainly not out. CV, diabetes, on oncology, virology, etc. you are much more marketable but those slots are very competitive as well. Again, it's just deck chairs on the Titianic. Patent lives are much shorter. More shared risk, more and more co-marketing, fewer and fewer blockbusters. Used to you chased companies. Now you chase products. Know what pipelines look like and who has what or who may get what. Be limber, experienced and mobile. Willing to change companies, therapeutic areas, even were you resided. It will remain a very volatile industry from now on and if you need stability, get out now. I was laid off from Merck 8 years ago, done well as a CSO ( there's always periods of unemployment between contracts, however) actually enjoyed it, more than the nuthouse that's Merck. About another year and then I'll be out, retired. I think my story is probably similar to many still doing this craziness. It used to be a career. Not anymore. Never will be again, I think.
Very few professions survive and prosper once socialism gets a foothold. Of course the flip-side of this worn out ideology is capitalism, where competition and choice rule the day. It may seem unfair and harsh at times but when applied accordingly (minus corruption) capitalism leads to the countless marvels that we all take for granted today. As inept as Merck has become (a given if there ever was one) bureaucracy has taken Merck's ineptitude to a whole new level. Elected officials, most of whom cant tell the difference between a rectal thermometer and a soda straw now run the show, deciding what course of therapy is appropriate, what "cheap" medications will be used, what will ultimately have to be rationed and how much everything should cost. It should come as no surprise that once the ability of physicians to make decisions regarding what medication their patients are placed on is relegated to the all seeing and knowing oracle of government that our days would be numbered. Innovation is quickly being replaced by regulation, something the Russians discovered as they toiled away perfecting the vacuum tube, apparently oblivious to that little innovation known as the semi-conductor
Wow. I drive around all day trying to meet my reach and frequency. I analyze data until I'm blue in the face. Monthly field visits with the same idiot who then tells us what we are doing wrong and writes up a field visit report so that he can do the same thing the following month in the same offices and also with my counterparts. They are useless, my customer base is shrinking, products are on step edits, big groups close the doors, I am basically catering food and tring to avoid policy violations. Have I missed anything?
I am the OP and enjoyed reading the above input. I was a CTL and got displaced in July. I was encouraged to post internally for any vacancy and decided to take the package, bridge and leave. I was not confident that the severance and bridge would be available in any future downsize prior to my 55th birthday. My experience in the job hunt is not what I envisioned. Salary range is 50 -60 % less and other companies ( even CSO ) will not even interview you because of that. Anyone over the age of 45 + higher salary range should anticipate significant challenges unless you have an inside contact at a high level- just to land the interview. You will soon figure out that no one owes you anything. You do your best not to take the disrespect from recruiters and the interviewing process personal. I was under the impression that having Merck on my resume would be a plus. I was actually told by a few in the interview process that it was not.
A detail man aka drug rep was once (25 years ago) considered a top tier sales job...you got paid extremely well, had a lot of responsibility ... you were it as the company in your territory..most States had maybe dozen or so reps Total..can you imagine 12 -15 reps covering a whole state like Ohio, SC, AZ? Once you have sitcoms on Hulu kinda of mocking the job description (pretty ladies, tight blouses) you kinda of figure out that its not what it used to be...great job as a 1st career stepping stone for couple of years but not a career.
Not a company thing, it is an industry thing. No where to run to and no where to hide. Check back on this thread around March 2018 so we can have a 36 month reunion to see how everyone evolves. My recommendation: If you don't have one yet, develop your Exit Plan. Time to update resume and LinkedIn. But that is just my opinion, I could be wrong. See you in 3 years and we will see. Be Well.
this person gets it…great post and so true…I have traveled extensively in Eastern Europe and saw first hand what Socialism did there…Newsflash: Obama has been hugely successful in his promise to "Fundamentally Transform" America…it is gone now folks…Socialism is here, and it will continue to make Merck a profitable deal for upper management, and that is about it…winner take all, everyone else wallows in misery.
Watched it and yes, I think it was total horseshit. Name a sales profession where people don't take OTHER people out to dinner or out golfing Financial Advisors, government lobbyist, Realtors? Name a profession that doesn't do what we do and in fact, probably are WORSE than our profession. Handing out coffee mugs, pens, pads, you name it....But yet its ok for a lobbyist to take a government official to lavish hotels and buy lavish food or perhaps lavish entertainment to influence HIS/HER decisions. Nobody says a word about these other professions. Total hypocrisy and bullshit. Im not saying our profession didn't need a little regulation but compared to many other organizations, I'd say we're pretty tame comparatively speaking. And who goes to that website to check how much money or lunch a doctor accepts? I've not heard a single one. Plus I checked the dumb website and its not even updated. It still has 2013 bullshit on there. I agree our profession is going to change and yes, less sales reps with bigger territories but you will always need face to face salespeople to market anything. Plain and simple. But the days of having 5 reps in the same territory selling the same drug is over. Thats for sure.
Just watched the video. This is simply about our government having control over the healthcare industry, and as a result of that action, having more control over the populations so they can achieve their agenda, which is to depopulate the planet. Sounds terrible, but that is the direction we are headed, like it or not. The ones that will survive it are the creative minds that can educate themselves on health and important life issues.
This idiot prez has promoted his socialistic agenda to the point of absurdity. This company went that way when it decided we all got the same bonus, when no one was an individual anymore and we all have to walk and read word for word the company messaging. I think it started when some dirt bag marketing nit wit wanted the New Commercial Model shoved down our throats. It wasn't about pill sales anymore it was about the total office feel good crap and let's give you educational garbage for free. Socialism ain't workin but the stupid liberals love it.... Let's push Patient Assistance Programs!
