Main Subject - Business

When I first stepped into the world of sales over 20 years ago, I chose a tough way to start. I believed then, as I do now, that door to door insurance sales ranks right up there with being the hardest selling gig there is.

I would normally work in a community some 2-5 hours away, knocking on

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

the doors of people who had never before seen my 20 year old face ( which looked all of 16 or 17), or even heard of the Agency I represented in most cases. Imagine some kid that looked like they were still in high school, knocking on your door, coming in to ask you a few questions, delivering

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

Examples of combination products may in

a presentation, and then asking you for $1000-$4000. Like I said, it was tough.

I was always somewhat amazed when someone got out their check book, and wrote me the check for an insurance policy they hoped was as good as I had told them. How did I do it? I 1986, I was trained, as most sales

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

people are today, to use what Dr. Eric Knowles refers to as “Alpha Strategies.” In short, Alpha Strategies are techniques designed to overcome resistance. As you might imagine, there was a fair amount of resistance in those who I was asking to abandon their current insurance company, and trust

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

someone who had been a total stranger less than 2 hours before, with a check for well over $1000.

The challenge we faced as agents, was that even when we were successful at overcoming the resistance, we had done nothing with the resistance; it was still there, lurking beneath the surface, and

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

Combination pro

when the emotional “high” we had induced began to wane, chances were that the resistance would eventually prevail. To return to the home office at the end of the week, only to discover that the “Big” sale you had made had been cancelled, was like being punched right in the gut!

The world’s f

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

oremost expert on resistance reduction is Dr. Eric Knowles. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Dr. Knowles last week, discussing what he calls “Omega Strategies”, and it was an honor to hear the principles I had studied so thoroughly in his book resonate in the voice of Dr. Knowles

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

himself. He presented us with several examples not contained in the book, in terms of application and use in day to day interactions.

One “technique” that I absolutely love, because of its simplicity and power, is that of simply acknowledging the resistance. When I first learned of this rese

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

rch, the part of me that was trained to sell insurance said, “Whooooooaaa, you’re actually going to bring up the fact that they are resistant?” As a red cheeked insurance agent, I had been taught to keep them focused on thoughts that were aligned with making the decision to buy.

Knowles prese

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

nts an overwhelming body of research that indicates we should in fact bring this to their attention. In one example, Knowles found that when one of his research participants asked another student, “Would you mail this letter for me?” that about 70% of those asked said yes. However, when the as

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

sistant made the same request, but first acknowledged the resistance of the person being asked, it jumped to almost 100% of the requests be answered with “Yes.” What were the words that were responsible for an increase of as much as 30%? “I know you probably don’t want to, but……” That’s it. Th

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

Following aspects would a

e question in full was, “I know you probably don’t want to, but would you mail this letter for me?” How much could an increase in compliance of nearly 30% mean to you?

Knowles discovered that by acknowledging the resistance, we can lower its intensity, and in some cases, even defuse it comple

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

ely.

If you have a message to deliver that you know others may find hard to believe, (resistance) tell them. “Folks, I’m going to tell you something that you probably won’t believe,........” If you’ve been involved in sales or a career that requires a significant amount of persuasion for any

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

length of time, this will feel like using your non-dominant hand to write with…at first. But after you have witnessed this principle literally melt someone’s resistance, you’ll soon find yourself using it with ease.

Notice that when using this principle of acknowledging the resistance, the es

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

sential message has not changed or become more attractive; you have not added a “bonus” or anything else to “amp” up your offer or sweeten the request. You are simply letting the other person know, that you realize they may not want to do it, believe it, accept it, etc.

This technique can als

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

o significantly deepen and speed up the process of establishing rapport. By acknowledging what they are feeling or thinking, it’s as if you were so in tune with them that you actually read their thoughts.

One caveat: Only use this with something you are certain there is, or will be resistance

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

to or about. Knowles found that when resistance was acknowledged, when in fact there was none, that it could have a backlash effect, and actually cause an otherwise confident person to begin to doubt what you’re saying.

By first reducing the resistance to your message, you may be surprised to

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

find it requires much less effort to persuade. Let me ask you this; given the choice between constantly having to find better way to overcome the fatigue that results from walking up the long hill from your mail box, or, would you rather simply decrease the effort or “resistance” by taking a

.

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

different path? We now have the same choice available in the process of persuasion.

I remember Dr. Knowles saying, “I know this seems so straightforward and simple, that you may be hesitant to use it, perhaps even wanting to disregard it completely, but the science is there…this stuff is powe

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

rful, and will increase your persuasiveness in virtually any environment.” Having used these principles with my clients in personal coaching sessions, I can tell you that Dr. Knowles is right.

You might not want to try this stuff today, but if you decide to now, I think you’ll be glad you did

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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Using specifics in your headlines makes the reader believe that you really know what you are talking about, you have researched the information, and that you can document what you are saying. Use of specifics can increase your headline's credibility.

As a woman, there are many ways to keep me from doing business with you. One is to send me email spam; like most people, I don't like that. Another way is to send teenagers to knock on my door to sell your product; if I don't recognize the person knocking, I won't answer. These are typical annoyances for most people, however, the number 1 way to keep me from doing business with you may not be.

Print advertising is essential. It engenders sales. If the public has had no previous exposure to your name or company, chances are that they will probably not choose to do business with you. You must invest in print advertising to build salesmanship. Let people see who you are. In time, they will remember you.

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