One of the most common mistakes SAMs and reps make is spending too much time and resources on opportunities that are not a good fit for their business.

 

SAMs need to expand the conversation and ask strategic questions around a patient experience. This will identify if the opportunity aligns with their organisation. Our “Discovery and Validation” Checklist outlines 15 key questions to help SAMs recognise how good the opportunity really is.

 

Discovery

The Discovery conversation is all about the SAM investing their time in recognising a patient experience issue. SAMs should ask primer questions to determine if the opportunity is real and if so, are we a good match? To dive deep into the opportunity and gain some privileged insights, research the opportunity and its related stakeholders.

The conversation has evolved from tactical, product-centric discussions to more patient focused approach. SAMs must adjust their behaviour to succeed. It’s time to transform the conversation to a discussion in which the SAM or rep asks strategic questions to uncover a customer or patient issue. Preferably one that the manufacturer can solve. The time invested in these conversations will create credibility and trust with the customer.

 

Differentiation between products has become increasingly difficult.  To avoid compromising on price, SAMs must communicate the value-added service that their organisation offers. Express this as assisting the customer and in turn the patient population.

 

There is no time-frame in the discovery process. It lasts as long as it takes for both the SAM and the KDM to fully understand the issues at hand. The KDMs must also recognise the potential the pharma/ biotech companies have to be part of the solution.

 

Click here to download our discovery checklist

 

Validation:

After “discovering” what the needs of the stakeholders are, the SAM should be able to decide whether the opportunity is worth pursuing. It should check if the ideal objectives are a good match to partner with the opportunity. However, SAMs still need to figure out if the issue is a top priority for the stakeholders and what the ideal solution is for them. A report from Salesforce shows that the best reps are 250% better at qualifying leads.

 

Validating and qualifying opportunities are the most vital elements of the account management process. Time and resources are often wasted on opportunities that never prove successful.

 

“Time spent on low probability prospects cannot be invested in finding or closing higher probability opportunities.”- Scott Channell, author of Amazon bestseller, Setting Sales Appointments, How to Gain Access to Decision Makers.

 

The purpose of validation is to qualify and confirm the impact, and the ideal patient experience outcomes of each relevant Key Decision Maker. The types of questions answered in this process will determine whether the KDMs are ready to commit. It will also highlight if other decision makers need to be part of the process. Are the stakeholders that we are speaking to ready to make that happen? Validation raises some important questions that need answering. These questions act as a qualifier on the opportunity itself. They also determine how strong the KDMs motivation is for solving the issue.

 

Both discovery and validation take place in the one conversation. The main difference between both the phases is the type of questions the SAM needs to ask.