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Have you noticed that many prospects are perfectly willing to string you along for as long as you are willing to let them? Have you noticed how many would rather stand

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

you up than say no? What’s a sales professional to do? Just keep plugging away, call back and reschedule, etc., right? Absolutely not! While this will go against w

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

hat many sales experts will tell you, I beg to differ. It is time that you recognize that your time and effort is valuable and conduct your business in a manner that r

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

eflects that. After all, if you don’t value your time and effort, how can you possibly expect your prospects to?

Let me give you a real life example. I have a friend

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

(for purposes of this example, we’ll call her Mary) who set an appointment with a potentially valuable prospect (for purposes of this example, we’ll call him Jim) that

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

could have meant well over a thousand dollars in commission. She and her prospect agreed upon meeting at the prospect’s office at 2:00 on a Wednesday afternoon. Th

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

e drive Mary to Jim’s office was well over an hour and having spent several hours prepping for the meeting, she had invested more than five hours in this meeting.

Mary

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

arrived at 1:55 and after having to explain to the receptionist that she had an appointment (red flag) was told have a seat until Jim became available. 2:00 came and

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

went. 2:15 came and went. 2:30 came and went. Finally, Mary inquired of the receptionist when she would be “allowed” to see Jim. The receptionist promised to check.

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

At 2:45, more than 45 minutes after the scheduled start of the meeting, the receptionist informs Mary that Jim is in another meeting and will not be able to make thei

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

r scheduled appointment.

Mary, clearly disappointed, left her card and told the receptionist that she would call Jim back “in a day or two” to reschedule. Would anyon

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

e like to guess the response when Mary calls back? Jim is never available and never returns her calls. Unbelievable, but certainly not out of the ordinary these days.

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

Mary is a victim of bad advice…of the conventional wisdom that says that we as sales professionals need to bow to the needs, wants, and desires of our prospects and a

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

ccept their rudeness because we need them more than they need us. I disagree completely. Is your time valuable? Is it just as valuable, if not more so than your pros

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

pects’? I say it is and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you will notice fewer and fewer of the situations like the one I just described.

Mary and I had a long

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

heart to heart about her situation. We put in place a process for each new appointment that while adding several steps to get to the appointment has resulted in a far

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

fewer situations like this one, far less wasted time, a conversion rate more than double her previous rate, and most importantly, a 52% increase in her income.

Take c

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

ontrol of your sales process. Your prospect needs to be led. The minute that you let him or her lead the process is the minute that you lose control and your odds of

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

conversion drop dramatically. You are the boss. You have something that your prospect needs and wants. Start acting like it today and watch how much respect you will

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

command and how many prospects will be willing to follow wherever you lead them…ultimately to a sale that leaves both of you better off than prior to your transaction.

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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