What’s the future of the Pharmaceutical Sales Rep?

Hahaha! Spot on with the evaluation of us old people. However, you did not mention our lack of desire to be Virtual robots stuck in our offices, or the big pile of cash, equities and real estate we have compiled while you youngsters have not saved a dime...as you willfully ignore the impending doom...which will become your career.

 

I’ve been a rep for 31yrs. Love going from place to place and interacting with people face to face. Since the pandemic began I’ve led my team in VCC’s, VCC’s with meals and phone interactions. All legit. That said, given my savings and investments, I’d work for 50-60% of current comp to actually be able to leave my house and see the people willing to see me. I can easily do the virtual job, VEEVA, Zoom, WebEx, whatever, but I don’t think I want to.

 

If you are making your numbers then the numbers are based on doing nothing. Your impact virtual is about 10% of FTF and you do half the calls so can you do the math dummy?

 

Zoom is an extremely ineffective sales tool.I remember before the pandemic being on training calls with zoom and able to multitask doing more important things. Let’s just face the reality of the industry now. The pharma rep is nothing more than a food bitch to the customers in 99% of the cases. I’ll keep cashing my check as long as they keep sending it!

 

What 10% impact?? You can do better.

Love to chat but I got a big ass check to cash. I hope things turn around for you.

 

Says the rep that has never sold a BNB medication. There are BNB meds that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and doctors/infusion centers/customers do indeed need to shell out the money to actually make a purchase. I know thats foreign to the sample droppers, so you might want to do a little growing up before making such an ignorant statement.

 

What are those medications, and which contracts are pharmaceutical reps negotiating to get those meds into infusion centers? You're full of shit, rep.

 

Biologics rep here. The answer is not many. Most handled well before the rep hits the “field” by the practicing doctors who were well aware of the launch and, rarely, a higher level account manager.

Hospital systems drive P&T at their infusion centers...rep sometimes helps set those up but have to pull in liaisons to handle the legal, pricing, and med info questions. A middle man (or woman) at best.

 

Some markets still require specialized knowledge. SP biological products that aren’t BNB need representation as well. If every Rx in your class requires a PA, you can stay busy tending the process and make really good money while integrating into the office...Even competing against part B channel drugs! If the BNB drugs require folks to go to centers during Covid, here at least, sales suffer. It is my experience and opinion that selling a technically challenging product is the only way to challenge yourself, stay relevant, and stay employed in PHARMA. Let alone enjoy your work.

Stay safe everyone!

 

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Biologics rep here. The answer is not many. Most handled well before the rep hits the “field” by the practicing doctors who were well aware of the launch and, rarely, a higher level account manager.

Hospital systems drive P&T at their infusion centers...rep sometimes helps set those up but have to pull in liaisons to handle the legal, pricing, and med info questions. A middle man (or woman) at best.
Some markets still require specialized knowledge. SP biological products that aren’t BNB need representation as well. If every Rx in your class requires a PA, you can stay busy tending the process and make really good money while integrating into the office...Even competing against part B channel drugs! If the BNB drugs require folks to go to centers during Covid, here at least, sales suffer. It is my experience and opinion that selling a technically challenging product is the only way to challenge yourself, stay relevant, and stay employed in PHARMA. Let alone enjoy your work.

Stay safe everyone! >>>>>

Good insights from people who actually do something in Pharma front line sales. To the "small minded", "small molecule", "dependent on forever price increases", "hand holding" and such, your future is sealed.

And I don't care if its virtual technology or what, the value proposition is this: Share a smile and the PI. That's if your not breaking the laws in any way shape or form.

So from an "old guy" with 34 years with some contracting, some managment, some key account responsibility and now comfortably retired. Good luck. But the last say, half of it held forms of bad business "jokes" to justify positions and brand positioning, politics and dodging bullets, lower and lower value coupled with a long litany of legalistic, compliance and "do as I say, not as I do" from corporate executives overseeing this charade of a card game. You can differ in opinion; but most of you have no real historical perspective.

And, I see the obvious need in this country for real legislation reform affecting drug prices at launch and thereafter. As well as continued PBM reform, etc. I doubt any of you have gotten to hear precisely how our corporate executives and sales councils as such decide on launch or "new year" price increases? I did and it's a game that is unethical, immoral, highly subjective, fraught with collusion and has to come to an end. So, with that finally occurring, "easy" jobs will be lost. That means reps and managers who think they are so valuable to the brand. And, research and development, they'll continue on just fine. That's a straw dog PhRMA argument as well.

 

With the rise of DoorDash and uber eats, I dont see how the Pharma rep will survive

 

I forsee most sample dropping type drugs will no longer have reps.

As was mentioned above, those speciality, expensive products do require rep training with inservices and complicated PIs.

Now that it's not as many reps now, but that's where I see it dwindle to for quite some time. I see market access jobs being in extra high demand in the future as well.