From the sales conversation to company leadership. Tailored development for teams and managers. Experience since 2001, multinational clients and a specialisation in pharmaceutical companies.
Medical representative development
Sales Call Models for Pharmaceutical Companies
During a visit to a doctor’s practice, there is time for just one topic. The representative has prepared a presentation, but the doctor needs an answer to a specific question. A Sales Call Model helps identify what matters and guide the conversation towards a meaningful next step. At ED Development, we design and implement models for pharmaceutical teams, working with sales leadership, marketing and managers.
Shared conversation framework
What does a Sales Call Model address in a pharmaceutical company?
A Sales Call Model connects visit preparation, the conversation with a healthcare professional and subsequent evaluation. It helps representatives recognise the needs of a doctor or pharmacist, identify the patient or consumer, select relevant product information and agree a next step.
In our development programmes for pharmaceutical companies, we consider the medical and clinical context, the specialisms of doctors and hospital departments, and internal rules and legal requirements for communication. Elena Demeková draws on management experience since 1993 and consulting experience since 2001, including model implementation for many pharmaceutical companies. For an overview of our work with clients, see ED Development’s client projects.
Programme content
From visit preparation to agreement with a healthcare professional
We tailor the content to your model, portfolio and the situations your representatives face in the field.
Module content
Preparing for and opening the conversation
Our development work with companies and their sales teams ranges from a strategic view of the customer, patient, working relationship and competitive landscape to setting objectives and priorities for sales conversations.
Module content
Customer and patient needs, scientific information and objections
We develop participants’ ability to analyse relevant needs, potential, the legal context and customer and patient habits. We help them apply the Situation/Patient - Product Solution concept. We help put marketing and communication strategies into practice through sales conversations. We work with objections from participants’ own experience.
Module content
Agreement and commitment
We help teams reach agreement by developing their ability to manage priorities and summarise key points from the conversation and the customer’s professional preferences.
Module content
Shared criteria for managers
Managers align expectations and agree how to monitor sales visits, whether in the field or as part of internal preparation. They base feedback on specific behaviours and the representative’s agreed development priorities.
Real-world situations
When to adapt or implement a Sales Call Model
Development makes sense both when introducing a new corporate model and when an existing approach is applied inconsistently across the team.
- Representatives know the steps of the model but interpret them differently.
- The product presentation continues without addressing the doctor’s question.
- The same approach is used in doctors’ practices and pharmacies.
- Objections from the field recur without a joint review.
- Visits end without agreement on follow-up contact.
- Managers assess conversations against different expectations.
- New product priorities are not reflected in how conversations are conducted.
- There is no follow-through in everyday work after a development module.
How we work
How we design and implement a Sales Call Model
The programme brings together senior management’s brief, representatives’ work and support from their managers.
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Identifying needs in the field
Training needs analysis may include interviews, joint customer visits and observation of work. We identify the gap between expectations and how the model is used.
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Aligning the model and expectations
We refine the programme content with sales and marketing managers. Depending on the brief, we involve the medical department and prepare managers to support the team.
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Applying the model with customers
Implementing Sales Call Models is an ongoing and often long-term development process within a company, frequently involving all levels of the Sales & Marketing & Medical departments. The development and implementation process is therefore divided into modules. There are 3 to 5 weeks between modules to apply the approaches at work. Coaching often builds on the experience gained during implementation.
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Skills assessment
The programme concludes with certification and evaluation of the agreed indicators and KPIs. We assess the quality of preparation, conversations and subsequent feedback.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
- since1993Management experience
- 25+Years of business development
- 60+Multinational clients
Didn’t find your answer?Elena Demeková, CEO and Senior Consultant
How should a medical representative prepare for a visit to a doctor?
Preparation starts by defining the visit objective, understanding the doctor’s specialism and building on the previous conversation. Representatives need to select relevant materials and prepare questions. In the programme, we work with your products and situations so that preparation helps representatives make decisions even when the topic changes or time is limited.
How can representatives handle objections from doctors or pharmacists?
The first step is to clarify what lies behind the objection. A scientific question, experience with a product and a lack of time each require a different response. During development, we use objections from participants’ own experience and develop responses based on scientific information and company rules. We also check whether the response has answered the question.
Can you work with our corporate Sales Call Model?
Yes. We start with its principles, compare them with the team’s current practice and identify the changes needed. We set the model in the context of local sales situations and product priorities. We work with managers to agree what they should observe during visits and how they can support use of the model through ongoing feedback.
Why do you involve sales and product managers?
Representatives need to understand product priorities and receive feedback based on shared expectations. Sales managers support use of the model in the field, while product managers connect scientific messaging with the team’s communication. Depending on your needs, the programme can build on sales and product manager development.
How long does it take to implement a Sales Call Model within a team?
The schedule depends on the team’s readiness, the scale of the changes and managers’ involvement. In a modular programme, we allow 3 to 5 weeks between sessions for using the approaches at work. We agree the specific scope after the needs analysis, including who will support representatives between modules.
How do you check that representatives use the model in practice?
Before the programme begins, we agree observable criteria, such as visit preparation, the quality of questions, the use of scientific information and how specific the next step is. We use practical situations to assess how the model is applied, in line with the brief. Evaluation also includes the manager’s ability to recognise the representative’s behaviour and agree the next development priority with them.
