Several Phenomenal Guidelines On How To Influence Without Appearing Authoritative
If you want to set up productive, lengthy and reliable relationships in business, you have to be able to exert influence without appearing to be trying to position yourself as an authoritarian. Not surprisingly, key account management training should help to show you how you can exert influence in any relationship, but should definitely focus on the amount of time and effort that you need to put into preparing, before you set out to engage with the prospect. Pharmaceutical sales can be a particularly difficult industry to deal with, especially when the representative tries to convince an end-user about a particular product. Powerful forces can be at play and often a diverse set of emotions come to bear on any decision, so that the sales representative has to be armed with a lot of preparatory work before he or she can expect to attain success.
Many healthcare professionals, pharmacists and practitioners have become rather jaded, often as a consequence of saturation, overkill and poor sales and marketing techniques. The average professional comes across many different pharmaceutical reps during any given week and may not anticipate these meetings very well. This makes the pharmaceutical sales rep’s job a lot more difficult, as influence must be exerted without any posturing or undue articulation.
Comprehensive pharma training must be provided by consultants, so that the sales representatives under their charge are well aware of the meaning of preparation and go into the field with ultimate confidence. You have to know what your endgame is and what you want to achieve, very clearly. This will vary from client to client, but the rep must master the ability to differentiate, even if he or she is always trying to sell an identical product. Be prepared for the rebuttal, which could be couched in many different forms and be prepared to be clear and assertive, without appearing to try and dominate.
It takes a lot to build a foundation of influence, through a process of preparation and subtle action. Maybe the rep will have to work through gatekeepers within the target organisation along the way? Be proactive here and make sure that you are empathetic and understand the challenges facing the prospect. You have to take into account numerous factors, all around the periphery of the situation, some of which may not have a direct bearing on the ultimate goal, but may be necessary to help you achieve your outcome. By doing all this groundwork, you are establishing a key position of trust, an essential attribute taught during key account management training.
By knowing what your prospects are likely to say to you in advance, you can have your position carefully crafted and be prepared to deal with their objections, positions and likely response. Put a clear and palatable solution to them, one that is likely to meet their ultimate needs, as well as satisfying your objective in closing the sale. If you have built plenty of flexibility into your position, you can afford to give way if needed, so that you create a joint feeling of collaboration between you both, as you cement the perfect relationship of the future.
Alan Gillies is the CEO of L2L Consulting, a cutting-edge pharma consultancy firm which specialises in optimising productivity and performance within international companies by applying tailored organisational strategies.
