Your sales force is the eyes, ears, and voice of your operations. It represents your product and your organization in the customer's eyes. How can you maximize the value of this highly-invested and highly-visible communications' channel?

G & S Research looks at your multi-dimensional sales environment from multiple angles. One-dimensional analysis is no longer effective in today’s environment. Payers are more influential in driving prescribing patterns. Legislative influences have changed the market. And, image and perceptions of the manufacturer, and industry as a whole, can affect brand loyalty and acceptance.

Study Design and Analysis

As with any study, G & S Research tailors each program’s design to satisfy the specific needs of the brand, to account for your existing programs, and to address the unique issues of each therapeutic area. An approach can include the measurement of prescriber perceptions of both the manufacturer and the sales force:

Company Perceptions
The degree to which company perceptions may directly or indirectly influence market share can be assessed. Further breakdown of variables and their importance on perceptions can be further explored as either positively or negatively influencing prescriptions.

Representative Perceptions
Likewise, sales representative attributes that distinguish their performance can be identified. Uncovering those behaviors that are most positively aligned with driving share—and conversely, those activities that negatively reflect share—can provide clear direction to sales training and coaching initiatives.

Sales force effectiveness tracking studies are an effective and popular way to monitor and test the ongoing effectiveness of your programs’ and reps’ performance. In addition, a competitive monitoring component allows you to stay on top of competing brands’ activities. This provides you with opportunities to be nimble and timely in responses to their shifting strategies and tactics.

Common Business Objectives

Reasons to conduct sales force effectiveness market research are broad and varied. And the need permeates the entire product lifecycle—from establishing a go-no go decision in the late development stage, to addressing sales force training needs at launch, to adjusting your messaging strategies down the road. Specific sale force market research may seek to:

• Evaluate sales performance on national, district, and area levels; among different physician types; and against a battery of attributes
• Identify additional training needs and core standard performance metrics and benchmarks
• Monitor competitor activities, performance, and perceptions
  
• Measure satisfaction with current samplings levels
  
• Determine gaps in current knowledge
  
• Assess message recall and effectiveness, specifically:
  • Determine how customers are responding to a promotional message
  • Understand specific message elements that are resonating with customers
  • Evaluate message elements that are being challenged by customers
  • Assess the value of specific supporting materials
  • Capture proven ways to successfully handle customer objections and other success stories