Main Subject - Business

With that end in mind, I offer you the following 22 prospecting sources to help stimulate real growth within your territory and your business—ME INC.

Newspapers
Review the business section, want ads, and business articles to get company names and ideas as to whom you might want to approach. Look for corporate announcements as well. The newspaper can provide lots of ideas.

Industry Associations
Get a listing of compani

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

es and individuals who belong to specific associations—legal, medical, engineering, and so on. Consider offering yourself as a keynote speaker at their next meeting. They are always looking for ways to spice up their meetings—maybe you're the answer. If you are terrified of speaking to a group, bring along someone from your company who enjoys it. Your company will look good and you'll get the leads.

Yellow Pages
This is an excelle

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

Examples of combination products may in

nt source of businesses within your territory. Start calling from the back of the book with the Zs and work forward. Most salespeople start at A and never get past the Es. Chances are good that businesses toward the back of the book have never been called. You may want to consider purchasing Yellow Pages from other cities that are within your geographical territory. Alternatively, you can access Yellow Pages for any city on the Internet.

V

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

ehicles on the Road
Get company names and phone numbers painted on the hundreds of trucks, service vehicles, and company vans you see every day. They may even have a toll-free number proudly displayed, so use your handy tape recorder to record the information. Then follow up.

Trade Shows
You can't get a faster introduction to a large number of customers all under one roof. I have met some of my largest customers at trade

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

shows. However, don't be intrusive and try to sell them at the show. Rather, ask a few up-front questions to determine their potential then get a name to follow up with later. Call your local convention center or chamber of commerce and get a calendar of upcoming events.

Library
Use your local library. It often has current business publications, annual reports, and an archive of newspaper articles on micro-fiche. Make a copy of re

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

Combination pro

levant articles, announcements, and want ads. Then put them in your prospecting file for future follow-up.

The Internet
The world's largest library is at your fingertips. If it's not on the Net, it hasn't been thought of or invented yet. Use it to retrieve valuable information about a specific industry, investigate new technologies related to your field, subscribe to mailing lists, tap into a newsgroup, and so on. The Internet off

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

ers a plethora of opportunities for prospecting and sources of information otherwise unavailable to you. However, I caution you: It can be time-consuming. Don't become a mouse potato and waste away selling hours or janitorial hours distracted by the fun of it.

Friends and Allies
Ask among your circle of friends and current business allies for referrals. They are often willing to help you out—simply for the price of asking. After a

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

ll, the more people you know, the more people you're capable of knowing. As one of my friends said, "It's not who you know, it's who I know."

Breakfast Clubs
Consider joining one that helps you network. They are always looking for new blood, new members. Alternatively, offer yourself as a speaker—they often look for interesting people to feature as a keynote. Talk about an exciting, interesting new technology developed by your com

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

pany or emerging trends within your industry. Heck, you'll probably get a free breakfast out of it and it's a great way to get your day started.

Old Files
Take a gander through old files in the office. I'm sure you'll find some orphan accounts—perhaps even some potential born-again accounts.

Target Markets
Pursue a specific profession and learn what you can about it. For example, it might be legal, medical, communicat

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

ion, transportation, construction, food service, and so on. However, don't try to spread yourself too thin. Concentrate on one or two specific professions and become an expert in that field.

Subscriptions
Subscribe to appropriate business magazines. They are often rich with corporate articles and advertisements that may introduce you to the new kid on the block or to a company you haven't heard of before.

Referrals
Pe

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

haps the most overlooked source for new business. Simply ask existing customers for a couple of names that they would be comfortable passing along. There are plenty of books and seminars outlining effective strategies of networking. I suggest you consider honing your networking skills because the return on your investment is like no other.

Business Directories
Several companies offer business directories that list all the business

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

Following aspects would a

es in your area. Listings include size, locations, president's name, executives, revenue, product lines, and key contacts. These directories can be purchased for a nominal fee and can be broken down by geographical area, revenue, size, or by number of employees. Some directories have the option of cross-referencing phone numbers, addresses, subsidiaries, and parent companies. It can be a worthwhile investment.

Internal Customers
N

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

onsales employees can be encouraged to provide leads. An uncle, cousin, or a friend who works at a company might be a potential customer. Even the people in the service department could be very helpful to you. Some companies support this method by offering a financial incentive for every prospective customer they pass along. If the company doesn't pay an incentive consider offering one yourself—even if it's only a $50 gift certificate for a lo

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

cal restaurant. People generally respond favorably to gestures of appreciation.

Observation
Keep your eyes and ears open. We are bombarded daily with thousands of messages—billboards, radio, advertisements, banners, TV, and so on. Look for anything new within or around your territory—construction, an information sign on a building, or remodelling in progress. Take an unfamiliar route to your existing customer to see what's going o

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

n in and around your territory. Don't drive by and wonder—stop in and find out.

Building Directories
Every office building has a directory on the main floor that lists the businesses throughout the building. I used to take a picture of it or recite the names into my tape recorder then follow up by telephone and qualify for any possible potential customers.

Social Contacts
This goes beyond your immediate circle of frie

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

nds and family to include neighbors, members of social, community and religious organizations; former classmates and any other group whose members might buy the type of product or service that you offer. These social events are an opportunity to meet new and interesting people. However, be tactful when pursuing these contacts. Don't come across as the leech who's always looking for a lead—who looks at every social event as a potential sale. Si

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

mply have an informal business chat and agree to follow up during regular business hours or when it's convenient.

Existing Accounts
Look for additional opportunities within your active accounts. We can get very complacent working with only one department or one division, sometimes overlooking other opportunities that are right under our nose. Ask for a current organizational chart and prospect the entire company—take your blinders

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

off.

Acquisitions and Mergers
Read the business section of your local newspaper and watch for any announcements of acquisitions and/or mergers. Your favorite account could triple in size overnight and open up an opportunity to pursue new business—real growth. Armed with an endorsement as an incumbent, your chances of success within the new company are excellent.

Social Clubs
Consider joining a social club or a servic

.

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

e club such as a Rotary Club, Lions Club, or The Chamber of Commerce. It not only gives you an opportunity to volunteer for a worthy cause, it is a great avenue for networking.

Cold Calling
I have saved the best for last. The dreaded cold call! The very thought of it sets in motion all sorts of immobilizing defence mechanisms and excuses. Most salespeople have somehow convinced themselves that cold calling is unprofessional, intru

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

sive, and unnecessary. I hear them say: "We don't make cold calls in our business. We get leads from referrals, tradeshows, ads, and our regular customers." That's all fine and good but don't be too quick to abdicate—very few businesses are immune to the benefits of cold calling. It is the backbone of good prospecting and when done properly it will yield high potential prospects. Cold calling can be a very lucrative part of your sales strategy

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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Just wanting promotion is not enough for most of us. If you want your potential to be recognised you have to take responsibilty for your own future. How you act, what you say and do all impact on the way others perceive you. Advice on how to ensure that your potential is realised and recognised.

The way water heaters work is by heating the water from the bottom of the tank, where the heating elements are positioned. Due to cold water being denser, the hot water then rises to the top of the tank where it is then carried off to its destination.

Analytical ferrography is among the most powerful diagnostic tools in oil analysis today. When implemented correctly, it provides a tremendous return on your oil analysis dollars.

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Main Subject - Where To Find Prospect?

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