The 80/20 rule is a metric used within the business world which reveals that fully 80% of all business can be attributable to only 20% of the actual clients. This can be the subject of conjecture and certain clients are always seen as more important by the pharmaceutical company, due either to their pure volume of sales, their position in the market or other important considerations such as a transition to other market areas. In these cases, key account management strategies must be established by the company and must be adequately communicated and implemented within the sales and marketing team as a core priority.

A pharmaceutical company has many different stakeholders and must satisfy a number of different “clients.” So many different issues have to be addressed including the company’s position, public relations and media activities, lobbying in political circles, quite apart from core issues of marketing and economics. There is so much on the plate, be it daily or weekly and there is always a danger that senior management may take on too many issues and end up being less effective overall. As key account management is only as effective as methods and levels of communication and the efforts of the sales and marketing team, a pharmaceutical consulting firm should be engaged to help the company process.

Following the appointment of a specific account to the role of “key,” the pharmaceutical consultants should help in composing a concerted plan of action. The business must look at the relationship from the client point of view and accurately gauge what they feel to be the substance of the relationship. There should be an interactive approach to communication here and the goal should be to create a “win-win” scenario at all times, regardless of complexity. While attention to the essentials is of course important, the key account would be more likely to continue the association if additional value is perceived.

A comfort zone must be the desired result, for if the client senses this, then a continuation can be expected and an expansion possible. When trust is established, the client will often not have to engage so many of its resources in trying to oversee and control the related activities and will foresee the relationship as an efficient one.

It has been said that account management is often one of “damage control.” Every now and again problems and issues will undoubtedly arise. The company should do its utmost to fully understand the workings of its client and try and pre-empt any objections or problems. If a sales and marketing team has achieved a high level of training and education, it will be much better positioned to get past the hurdles in its path.

Key account management calls for a highly intelligent assessment of the client’s interpretation of any relationship. As always, a level of satisfaction is at the top of the list and when senior management goes overboard, a long-term relationship is likely, with great potential for additional revenues. In almost every instance, pharma consulting firms practice the art of delivering satisfaction.

Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of L2L Consulting, specialising in enabling pharmaceutical companies to achieve new heights of productivity and performance, throughout all levels of management and revenue generating activities.

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