Pfizer slashes its salesforce
Pfizer is slashing its salesforce by 20%, a move that will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the industry.
This inevitable decision reflects the changing pricing and customer-access dynamics of the industry. For the past year or so, company after company has admitted that its ROI on multiplexed sales calls (multiple calls to the same practice) has eroded, and company after company has quietly reacted to this erosion with measured, targeted reductions in the number of calls per physician.
Everyone was waiting for one company, Pfizer in particular, to come out publicly and admit that it wasn’t changing its sales practices fast enough to protect profit growth. No company wanted to be first to blink, as a unilateral move was viewed as risky. Now that Pfizer has blinked, does this mean others will follow?
While I suspect that some execs will seriously consider using Pfizer’s move to try to gain a competitive sales edge, most majors are likely instead to use the move as an opportunity to do the same. GSK, which has made numerous overtures in this regard (search this blog to read some), is likely to be up next, followed by many others.
Pharma…new world. New world…pharma. I hope you two enjoy a productive relationship.
