If you watched TV during the ’70s, you likely saw various iterations of an ad that said, “When E.F Hutton talks, people listen.” In these ads, everyone would stop what they were doing to listen to this brokerage firm’s advice. While it seemed like everyone listened to E.F. Hutton’s ad, not everyone listened to E.F. Hutton — E.F. Hutton is no longer in business!
When pharma, biotech, and medtech manufacturers talk to payers, it’s usually through the account manager. When payers listen, it’s usually the pharmacy or medical director. So, when account managers talk, do pharmacy and medical directors really listen? It depends. Manufacturers and payers agree that the vast majority of account managers are very good at what they do, and both agree on 10 best practices that increase the likelihood that payers will listen.
1. Be knowledgeable
Know the product and the approved clinical and economic messages. If you do not initially understand some clinical information, ask questions. Good account managers know this information well enough to explain it to payers, even if that information is technical in nature.
2. Be prepared
Practice your presentation and ask for feedback. Check your stimuli. Do you have the right deck and is it open? Check your technology. Do you have a good Wi-Fi connection? As Alexander Graham Bell said, “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.”
3. Be confident
Bring along a medical science liaison (MSL) to provide truthful, balanced, nonmisleading, and nonpromotional scientific or medical information in response to unsolicited requests, but do not use the MSL as a crutch. Confidently lead meetings, but also confidently turn to an MSL when appropriate. Pharmacy and medical directors are less confident in the information account managers share when the account managers themselves lack confidence.
4. Be empathetic
Remember that pharmacy and medical directors have goals and objectives that may not align with your own. For example, you may be trying to reach a monthly quota for meetings, whereas a pharmacy or medical director may be trying to limit the number of these meetings. Good account managers know when to ask for a meeting and when to avoid annoying the customer with each and every small update.
5. Be helpful
It is not enough to know your product; know how your product relates to each customer’s specific needs and wants. Provide useful information, such as marketing and distribution plans, competitive intelligence, and market events, that help customers with utilization and cost forecasts. Always pressed for time, pharmacy and medical directors value clear and concise summaries of complex information — even if they can access this information themselves.
6. Be clear
If you have reason to believe your brand will achieve a certain market share, be clear about the timeline. It is not helpful to provide a forecast of peak share without the important caveat that this result is likely months or years in the future. Be sure to specify denominators: Is the patient population all patients with a certain condition, all who are diagnosed, or all who are diagnosed and referred? Avoid confusion and any associated frustration.
7. Be concise
Do not ask for an hour if all you really need is 30 minutes. And 30 minutes may be all the time you get, assuming you get any time. Know that some payers may agree to meet simply because they like you and want to help you make your numbers. Present the right amount of information, leave sufficient time for your ask, and close out the call on time.
8. Be reasonable
Do not oversell your products. Describe your product within a broader market context and, when possible, suggest a reasonable position in a treatment algorithm. When predicting outcomes or savings, or when forecasting utilization or market share, offer a plausible range of values because payers may use these numbers when building their assumptions and budgets.
9. Be collaborative
Recognize that your goals and objectives may be at odds with those of a payer. An aggressive, noncompromising approach rubs payers the wrong way. When possible, seek win–win solutions and help to frame opportunities in ways that benefit both parties. Report back to the “home office” about what accounts really need and want. Hopefully, the home office will listen.
10. Be nice
Payers think most account managers are very nice. Many account managers form close, long-term relationships with pharmacy and medical directors. Some even become personal friends who celebrate together during joyous times and support one another through tough times. When pharmacy and medical directors have requests from 10 account managers but have time to meet with only three, they schedule time with those whom they know and like.
Of course, there are limits to what the best account managers can do. Their performance is impacted by factors largely out of their control, from the product and its data to the approved messages and offers. Payers do not always listen to manufacturers (and manufacturers do not always listen to payers), but good account managers following best practices increase the likelihood that payers will listen — and help to keep manufacturers in business.
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