Medical affairs and sales teams have distinctly different roles, but aren’t they just two planets orbiting the same sun?
Words by Jade Williams
Like Barbie and Ken, salt and pepper, or left and right – medical affairs and pharmaceutical sales serve different functions but go together hand in hand. While their roles may seem quite different, both these players are working toward getting new and innovative therapies to the right patients.
However, with competition heating up in the industry, companies are feeling the pressure to stand out and ensure healthcare professionals are aware of the unique benefits of their products. A substantial share of new launches across 2022 were first-in-class, creating a competitive landscape for companies wishing to sell their own products over newcomers.
In this scenario, medical affairs is in a prime position to capture the interest of HCPs before sales even gets a foot in the door. However, the word ‘sales’ doesn’t usually get more than a whisper from medical affairs teams. While the selling should be left to sales, is there anything wrong with medical affairs acknowledging its role in the pitch?
Should sales be a dirty word?
Pharmaceutical companies, like many businesses, make money by selling. They need revenue to fund research and innovation that can ultimately benefit patients. So, while the industry has been portrayed as the ‘bad guy’ for charging for treatments, drugs need to be
sold to reach patients, and the entire industry works directly or indirectly towards that goal.
This is an idea that some medical affairs professionals will admit more readily than others, according to Marieke Jonkman, Chief Value Officer and Emotional Intelligence Consultant, The Medical Affairs Leadership Institute. She says that many medical affairs professionals may see sales as a bad word in the function “due to the fear that profit motives might overshadow patient care”. Further to this, she argues that “the concern is that decisions could be driven by revenue rather than the best interests of the patient”.
While prescribing decisions are no longer being made on the golf course, this former sales practice can still hold sway in how reps are viewed by medical professionals and beyond. “The perception of sales as a bad word in medical affairs is a complex issue with no one-size-fits-all solution,” Jonkman says. And if it’s a challenge, what’s the solution?
Leading with science
While sales technically has to be a bad word in medical affairs, as its role is to provide unbiased scientific information, the power of MA lies in its ability to explain the science to customers. By becoming a valued scientific partner to HCPs, the function can transform these relationships into meaningful, long-lasting collaborations.
In a 2022 survey by SalesForce, 84% of consumers said that the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. Just as shoppers want more from a streaming service than a list of movies and shows, HCPs want a full-bodied customer experience, not just a sales pitch, but engaging, relevant scientific support too.
There’s room for MSLs to become more strategically focused
So, while medical affairs should remain impartial, could it do a better job of ‘selling’ the scientific information it provides? Maja Beilmann-Schramm, Director, Global Field Medical Excellence and HCP Exchange, Merck KGaA, and MSL Mentor, believes that “there’s room for MSLs to become more strategically focused” when it comes to HCP engagements.
“You’re not going to meet a physician for a coffee and a chat,” she continues, “we want to either learn something or share something with them.” To this end, Beilmann-Schramm urges MSLs to not lose this focus and “keep their medical goal in mind” to ensure they leave each meeting with tangible results.
Lessons to learn
Sales and medical affairs may be different functions that share a common goal, but there is a lot that each function could share and learn from the other. From mastering relationship building to creating engaging touchpoints, sales has a lot to offer medical affairs and vice versa. The fundamental driving force behind this relationship should be trust, however. “You have to let the salesperson in,” argues Beilmann-Schramm.
For example, if an MSL is at a conference with a particularly hard-to-reach HCP, the medical rep could “direct them to the commercial team and give the sales rep an opportunity to shake their hand”, suggests Beilmann-Schramm. Helping to establish these key touchpoints can help to build trust between functions, which she argues is ultimately an opportunity to evolve together. “Working closer together and appreciating what each other does in their role to support their counterpart is definitely the way to go,” she adds.
As well as opening the door to new relationships, medical affairs can work with their commercial counterparts to share scientific knowledge. This is particularly important as science becomes more complex. Through this shared knowledge, reps can go into sales with a scientific edge and create a fertile environment for HCP decision making.
“Medical and commercial need to work together to understand and capture needs, make those needs known across the organisation and respond in a coordinated way to address those needs,” confirms James Harper, Founder and Managing Director, 28b. He notes that this knowledge sharing needs to be driven by new technologies and data sharing capabilities, as well as new ways of thinking and skills.
Striking a balance
As the customer engagement landscape continues to evolve, pharma companies need to navigate the drug market more effectively, differentiate their products and, ultimately, bring innovative therapies to the patients who need them.
As Jonkman argues: “Effective leaders in medical affairs understand the sensitivities around sales,” and as such “have the leadership skills to foster an open dialogue that balances the commercial considerations with scientific obligations”. This is a sensitive topic, but the right leader can help their team to see that sales is not an alien function, but a much-needed ally.
Effective leaders in medical affairs understand the sensitivities around sales
Sales should not be a ‘dirty’ word in medical affairs, but rather than forcing the term into the medical side of pharma, Harper believes that “the much more important issue is how commercial and medical can collaborate together to better meet the needs of the HCPs”. It is in this double act of medical affairs and commercial that the potential for success lies.
By embracing this synergy, focusing on the common goal of improving patient outcomes and adopting each other’s tactics – evolving together just like Barbie and Ken – companies can stand out in a competitive marketplace while maintaining the ethical integrity that underpins their mission.
