Many new companies have entered into pharmaceutical business, making the industry now a highly competitive one. Competition has led to price wars leading to cost cutting wherever possible and feasible so that one can have the price advantage over others.  Companies have also resorted to exporting to spread their net far and wide, where margins are not that much, particularly for exports to Asia and African markets. If one wants to export to developed countries like Europe, US and Japan, then one needs to satisfy stringent regulatory and quality standards which requires huge investments in facilities which may not be possible for small and medium size companies. Under the circumstances it still makes a good sense to focus on domestic marketing, besides other avenues.

Difficult to get entry level salesmen for pharma
However, companies are finding it difficult to get entry level salesmen for pharmaceuticals selling/marketing.  All companies, including MNCs who pay a better salary with MNC label, face shortage of salesmen and are unable to have full compliment of their field strength at any given time. If 30 per cent of sanctioned strength is remaining vacant on an average, and the per month sales turnover is Rs.10 crore with the full compliment of field force, then such companies tend to lose approximately Rs.3 crore per month on account of vacancies alone. Let us discuss below some of the ways and means to fill up vacancies in the field and also how to retain existing field force: Line managers must be educated that one of the main reasons for non-achievement of targets is vacancies and hence all efforts must be made to fill up vacancies with the right candidates fast.

Proper induction of newly joining salesmen
Line manager must induct the newly joining salesmen properly, demonstrate to them each and every field activity clearly, so that they understand their job well, able to perform well and succeed in their job. Companies can create a check list of each activity to be carried out by the line managers for induction and ensure that this is strictly implemented by the inducting line managers.

Managers must provide on the job training to all their team members during joint work, supervise, motivate and guide their salesmen to achieve their targets, thus earn incentives, and gain confidence. Remember, salesmen do not leave an organization, but desert the line managers concerned. So much is the important for line managers to develop salesmen and help them perform better. In addition product managers and training managers can also plan to work with weak salesmen whenever possible to help them perform better.

An effective line manager must be strict, ensure discipline in the team, professional, supervise effectively, inculcate good working habits, guide and motivate the team to success. His team will value him like a mentor and owe their success to him.  His team will be with him for long. Organizations should try have more of such effective line managers in their ranks, as opposed weak line managers, as  part of their efforts to retain field force.

Training programmes
Training programmes must be conducted to impart basic product knowledge for all newly joined salesmen on products, selling and marketing skills, competition, customers profile, How to convert customers to our brands, How to identify right customers for right products, personal order bookings, how to handle frequently asked question on products, etc. and refresher training programmes once a while to brush up what they had learnt already and also to update on latest developments.

Supervision by managers
Proper supervision by the line managers like monitoring the field activity of each of their team members must be very regularly, like implementation of strategy in the field, call averages, personal order booking, progression of secondary sales, frequency of visits to the customers, sales progress vis-à-vis target, etc, intervene when necessary to put the concerned team member on the right track, so that every one in the team achieves the tasks assigned in the manner as desired, thus achieve the target, and earn incentives.

Good and consistent performers within the team must be considered for career growth as early as possible, so that we have managers who have come through the ranks from within, through sheer performance, and do not allow others to poach them in the name of offering career growth.

When there is a vacancy the line managers during their field work, particularly when they wait for the call in the clinics, they can pick up conversation with salesmen of other companies waiting and see if any of them is interested. If any one is keen, they can pursue further.

Line managers can put up a notice with the stockists and retail counters in the territory about the vacancy and give their mobile number for contact. Since many salesmen visit the stockists and retailers day in and day out, it will give lot a of publicity and will attract potential job seekers as well. Managers can inform their net work/friends in the industry about their requirement of people. They can go to the science and pharmacy colleges in the locality, collect the contact numbers of students who have just passed out, and contact  them. Managers can also conduct campus placement in colleges in the locality, and talk to the final year students directly. I have recently conducted a campus placement activity in a pharmacy college, where I have addressed the final year students on the following:

a) Introduction about the company and its promoters, operations, facilities, products, etc.

b) Introduction to the job

c) Career prospects in the job

This elicited a great response from the students, and many of them including the principal congratulated me for conducting a well organized and informed campus placement interview. This should get a better response, as opposed to simply collecting the resumes from the students.


To avoid loss of time, powers for selection and recruitment can be delegated to regional managers for medical representatives, and for appointment of area sales managers to the concerned sales managers, as long as they follow the guidelines for recruitment strictly. Many a times medical representatives, and area sales managers find it difficult to get leave, and also to invest on to and fro fare to attend to the interview at head office. For example if a medical representative candidate from Chandigarh has to come to Bangalore for an interview, then he needs to have leave for about five days, and also a good amount of sum on to and fro train fare, hence may not be keen to attend the interview at Bangalore.

Screening of senior level appointments
The senior level appointments like regional managers and above, may be first screened at local level by the immediate superior, and then can be sent to head office for final interview. Line managers must be exposed to Management Development Programmes periodically wherein besides other topics, the importance and impact of filling up of vacancies on the overall sales can be explained to them.

Organizations also need to provide reasonable time, resources, and support to the newly joined field force, and help them perform better, before jumping too quickly to remove newly joined people for one reason or the other. This will ultimately lead to lot of vacancies at any point of time, inconsistency in meeting the customers, higher attrition rate, and drop in sales. A doctor who sees three/four medical representatives from the same company in an year’s time, develops a question mark over the company. If the attitude is good, the candidate is working hard to deliver the results, and the line managers feel that the candidate will come good in the coming months, then such people deserves to be given a little more time to settle down and deliver results, rather than removing them in haste. Such hasty removal of people will spoil the image of the organization in the market, and not many prospective candidates will be willing to be part of that organization. Filling up of vacancies in such organizations will be that much difficult and time consuming.

Companies can take up space in job portals, print advertisements in leading news papers in the area, conduct walk in interviews, SMS campaign in the area, participate in Job Mela, getting help from placement agencies, etc. to hasten the process of filling up of vacancies.

Some well known brands in the product portfolio help attract talents to organizations.  If a candidate has two job offers, he might choose to join the organization whose brands he is aware/heard of.

I have often seen that well performing medical representatives from MNCs go and join small companies just because MNCs couldn’t satisfy their career aspirations, within a reasonable time, hence they lose good people to smaller companies. MNCs need to think and plug this drainage of manpower.

Selection of candidates
Earlier pharmaceutical companies used to choose only students from science and pharmacy stream. Nowadays companies are selecting candidates from arts and commerce streams also and many of them are doing well too. Such deviations, without affecting the overall quality of the selection process, can be considered, in view of the importance and urgency of filling up of vacancies, in cases where  candidates from science and pharmacy stream are not available. Once a lead is available for filling up of a vacancy, act soon, like conducting a telephonic interview, reference check, etc. and then move swiftly to decide yes or no. If we take a lot of time to decide, they might get an opportunity somewhere else and decide to join them.

In metro cities, qualified and suitable girls can also be considered for medical representatives – where not much of  outstation stay is required - thus vacancies can be filled in quickly and meeting of customers can be less interrupted.

Addressing the concerns of field force in providing necessary supports like timely receipt of samples, other inputs, imprest amounts, salary, expense reimbursements, incentive payments, etc.  is equally important. Any disregard to their genuine concerns, will end up driving them to some other company.

Once the ex-field force have completed necessary formalities, ensure to settle their full and final accounts promptly, as any delay in this, will only end up spoiling the image of the organization in the market and will lead to less attractive to prospective employees. Filling up vacancies will be that much difficult and time consuming.

Taking care of career aspirations of consistent performers without much delay is another important activity in retaining performers.  Only if right people are not available from within, we should look outside.

Managers must learn to admire and appreciate good work done by their team members openly, and advise corrections if any for any shortfalls, during one to one discussion only, rather than always cribbing about the problems/issues like a nagging ‘mother-in-law’ and never bother to appreciate about the good work done by the team.

Encourage good performers with attractive incentive payments, appreciation letters, increments, awards, certificates, trophies, sharing their success stories with others, etc.

However, pruning is also equally important periodically to weed out dead woods, and keep the business less fatty and healthy. For example, a review at the end of six months period can be undertaken to see the performance level – cumulatively – of each head quarter, and then see what can be done with head quarters whose performance is 50 per cent and below.  If the line managers sincerely believe that these may not improve in the coming months also, then a decision can be taken whether we have to do away with such head quarters or merge them with the nearby head quarters to make them cost and business effective.

Thus HR & Line Managers can play an important role in facing challenges from competition – filling up of vacancies and retaining performers – and keep the business healthy.