Trends and Future Directions for the High Performing District Sales Manager: A Comparative View from 2007 and 2009

Research for this study was conducted through an online survey in 2009 to update 2007 survey data. Deep dive interviews in 2007 captured executive insights and best practices that are still applicable in today’s landscape.

By identifying recent changes, new directions and best practices, this report can help define the most important current and future roles of the district sales manager to drive superior sales productivity and growth including.

• Sales Force Growth & Reduction Drivers
• Detailed Sales Model Changes
• Physician Access Levels
• Critical DM Activities & Trends in DM Responsibilities
• Essential DM Management, Leadership & Competency Skills
• Impact of Pharma Model Changes on DMs
• Pharma Sales Rep Licensing
• DM Readiness for Change

Industries Profiled:
Biotech; Pharmaceutical; Health Care; Research; Medical Device; Chemical


Companies Profiled:
Actelion; Schering-Plough; Sanofi-aventis; Shire; Merck; Solvay Pharmaceuticals; Medrad; Takeda Pharmaceuticals; Nova Nordisk; Tibotec; Medtronic; Watson Pharmaceuticals; Novartis; MedPointe; Nycomed; Meda Pharmaceuticals; Ortho-McNeil; MGI Pharma; Pfizer; Merial; PLIVA Pharmaceuticals; Linde; Procter & Gamble Pharma; Lundbeck; Roche; Eli Lilly; Idenix Pharmaceuticals; GlaxoSmithKline; Genentech; Endo Pharmaceuticals; Eisai; Egis; ConvaTec; Cubist Pharmaceuticals; CSL Behring; Cegedim; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Boehringer Ingelheim; Auxilium; Amylin; Amgen; Abbott Laboratories

Study Snapshot

The District Sales Manager is the acknowledged cornerstone of pharmaceutical sales force effectiveness and high performance. Although the traditional DM role is well understood, the position is being re-evaluated today in light of industry pressures that are causing dramatic sales force change.

Many believe that the DM job will become more strategic and less tactical in the near future. Sales leaders are trying to determine what new activities DMs can be expected to take on and what skills and training they will need to succeed during and after the transition occurs.

This report examines the extent of change in current sales force models, investigates DM readiness for change and provides best practices companies are using to help DMs retain their effectiveness in the new marketplace.

• Overall Industry Hopes For Growth Remain: Companies expect to keep their sales forces flat in the upcoming year – and hope for growth remains with a majority expecting to increase sales staffs within three years. Field research reveals 53 percent of companies expect sales force sizes to increase. Products in development expected to hit the market, sales model changes, new therapeutic areas and customer segments to address will fuel this sales force growth.

• Alternative Sales & Marketing Channels Emerge: Rapid experimentation is occurring and myriad sales model changes are underway. The “revolutionary re-make” of the outside sales model has been overstated in terms of how quickly e-channels and technologies will transform.

• Customer Centricity Defines The New Sales Model: The majority of changes are occurring in territory size to better focus reps, to create individualize call plans for key accounts and to reduce how many accounts reps can call upon – all changes designed to deepen customer focus.

• Training Curricula Evolves To Enable Change: Nearly 60 percent of companies actively are revising the training curriculum for DMs. In the next three years, setting strategic direction, conducting local market analysis, managing budget and solving problems will rise in importance for DM tasks. Fifty-five percent of companies provide greater analytics and decision-training for DMs to differentiate local market priorities and plans.