How to Break the Declining Sales Trend for Zostavax

And adjust the objective to make it obtainable.

 

Years with the company selling entire vaccine portfolio when they launched a vaccine sales force. Got the big boot with downsizing. Cannot believe leadership has you all chasing Zosta and P-23. Ped offices are pissed you are ignoring them and going to GSK in a big way. I recently had the shingles vaccination and had to push my FP to give it to me. This office had it stocked and I was in there getting adult vaccines for vendor credentialing and had to bring it up myself. I launched this product and this office was clueless. I had to have the conversation I am in my early 50's, it was approved by the CDC for my age and I checked and my insurance would cover it. I know you are all out there pushing this. My doc could even name his MVD rep but still was brainless on who were eligible to vaccinate. The entire staff was the same. I got the shot with some prodding but was pissed I had to sell them to vaccinate me. And insurance covered it 100% at age 51. Preaching to the choir but you reps are beating your heads into the ground to get any adult practitioner to give a crap about vaccines. Zosta or P-23. Cannot believe Mr. Nichols believes in this business model to pull you off peds and live in adult primary care. Management gets what they deserve. Glad I do not have to put up with your frustrations. Good luck. The rest of the ped vaccine competition must be eating MVD's lunch. Stay put unless you are downsized. Your salaries and bennies are the best in the industry for now. If you get punted you will be lucky to find something at half of what you have now.

 

Actually, you sound like you might be surprised as to how much better the industry pays compared to Mother. Once people start looking around, while there are fewer positions, the positions are much better.

 

This is all a bunch of nonsense. There is plenty of time over the course of a month to manage both ped and pcp. I can focus on zosta and p23 as directed but also keep my business going in peds. And I have a large territory with lots of travel time. If you stick strictly to what hq is telling you to do, then shame on you. Its possible to manage their direction and keep the ped business going. If not, you're not working full time. All of these comments about hq this, and hq that. I go out and do what's best for my business. I meet their objectives and my own with customers. And I'm not drinking any koolaid.

 

So how did you do with Zostavax last year? and this year? you must be good because the nation finished at 71% and is tracking at 79 to 80% this year. You must be A great rep...

 

The fact that we have to sneak behind management's back and do what is best for our customers is sad. A successful company allows its reps to run its business like they are ceo's of their own territory. Not Merck. Merck is going to dictate who we see, how many times we see them, what exactly we should say to them and all this is being done without taking the customers' consideration in mind. Merck's management has lost their minds when it comes to positive sales results and customers can sense this too.

 

WOW you are good! Youreally do have an impact on sales. Thank you for sharing S3.

 

Large territory? Plenty of travel time? You might be on the chopping block according to Merck's strategy of focusing on large metropolitan locations. Good luck.

 

This must be a really good S3 because most of them don't work their territory. They are too busy throwing their district mates under the bus or making up some b.s. detailing that sounds good to the CTL and DCO but would never work in a real office setting.

 

...no you are guzzling the koolaid. If you are doing everything you say you are doing then you better not be recording it because management is monitoring our calls - making sure we are spending most of our time on pcp business.

 

It's almost May of 2014 and the strategy is still failing with Zostavax behind plan as expected by the field. Management still doesn't get that docs don't want it for reimbusement fears and the patients who really wanted the vaccine already got it. This product has been out for almost a decade and it's a dud compared to our vaccines like Gardasil. Shingles doesn't kill like cancer or linger for a lifetime like a chronic disease such as diabetes.

 

But- the pain can be quite debilitating and once experienced, that might persuade friends of the patient to get vaccinated, besides that actual patient! Although some might be into S&M and will enjoy the excruciating pain.

 

The pain of offices losing money on the vaccine and the pain of patients having to fork out anywhere from $170 to $300 if there insurance doesn't cover the vaccine has strongly persuaded millions not to get the vaccine. Merck may have a remedy for shingles but they haven't come up with a remedy for the high cost of the vaccine.

 

It still always comes back to- PCPs have never been vaccinators and never will be vacinators but former tablet-dwelling vaccine "leadership" decides it is the field that is at fault for the lost cause vaccine we all call Lostavax. Maybe get rid of said leadership and see what happens if vaccine people once again lead well, vaccine people (if there are any left).