The view from both sides
 It's
coming up tomorrow -- the dreaded ride-along. Your district manager is
coming to town to work with you, and you are not looking forward to it.
Not for any particular reason. Your numbers are good, and your reports
are always accurate and turned in on time. And your boss is an okay
guy. Still, having someone in the car with you, on your calls with you
and at lunch with you for the next day (or two!) is not something you
readily embrace. If this describes how you feel about an upcoming work
contact with your DM, you are not alone -- nobody looks forward to it. The district manager ride-along has been a pharmaceutical industry ritual since the days of detail men, and we wanted to know what the reps of today think when they get the call. So we conducted interviews to get to the thoughts everyone has -- but few express -- about the DM ride-along. And we didn't just dig into what reps think. As you know, every story has at least two sides, so we asked some district managers to weigh in with their opinions as well. The rep's view "No matter what they say, I know it's an evaluation." Without question, sales reps feel that the DM work contact puts them under the microscope. No matter how much experience they have or how long they've known their manager, many reps feel that everything they say and do is being recorded for the yearly performance review. One representative in the northeast commented that getting the ride-along phone call always gives him an initial feeling of being evaluated. "With everything that I do, I feel that I am being judged, especially if I don't know what the manager's expectations are for the day," he said. This tenured industry veteran went on to say, "Even though I get that initial sensation, most of the time I feel that my manager is here to help me, not judge me, but it's just natural to feel that way." "When my manager is with me, I need to see lots of doctors." Several reps expressed the feeling that with all the pressure they are under to deliver call numbers, they had better be seeing eight to 10 doctors every time their manager rides with them. This leads many to take their managers on the well-known "milk run" of their friendliest, easiest physicians. Some reps conceded that this is certainly something they have done from time to time, but they noted that -- given the frequency with which their managers work with them -- the approach quickly runs dry. In those cases, the "milk run" approach is only used when a bigwig from the home office comes along for the day. "I'm not sure how I should spend the time with my manager. What is she looking for?" Representatives also indicated that the pressure to produce call numbers can interfere with activities that can lead to big returns down the road, such as spending time with key customers. "When my manager is with me, I can't spend two hours in one office, even though the doctor has huge potential," said one rep. "I need to get in, get my signature and get on to the next office." Lunches were offered as an alternative to this situation that could enable reps to see more doctors, but, commented one rep, "If I don't get enough advance notice of the work contact, this is hard to do." Another side to this issue is how the DM may be able to help improve the rep's results in difficult offices. "Overall I make my numbers and my manager knows that, so when she comes to work with me, I take her to the offices where I need the most help," said one rep. Some representatives may take this approach in order to bring more resources to trouble spots or to customers who have the potential to make a significant positive impact on the territory. As one rep stated, "My manager has a lot of experience and works with reps from all over the district. If she can help me to move a high prescriber toward my product, I am going to take advantage of that." The district manager's view "I'm there to coach, not evaluate." All of the managers we interviewed stated that their main objective when working with reps is to help them improve. One manager put it this way: "It's coaching, not so much evaluating. I ask the reps to let me know ahead of time what they want to work on. Is it closing or handling a specific objection? Whatever it is, we will work on it all day. After that, we put an action plan together and continue working until the rep and I both feel that the situation has been addressed." Another manager spoke of helping people turn skills into habits. "I know that it takes time to change behaviors -- mine, the reps' and those of the doctors they call on," he said. "People don't change overnight, so I look for ways that I can help develop skills." District managers generally indicated that work contacts do play a role in evaluating a representative's performance, but of the many factors that go into the yearly evaluation, work contacts are only one. "Have a plan for the day." Managers unanimously agreed that representatives -- no matter how tenured -- need to have a plan for the day. "I don't mind not seeing a physician, but I can't stand an unplanned day," said one DM. "If the office is too busy or if there are other reps waiting, I can deal with that, but driving all over the territory hit-or-miss-style just does not cut it." Some managers themselves admitted to using the milk run approach when they were reps, and as one DM stated, "the classics never go out of style." Overall, the managers we spoke to stressed that what counts for them is the quality of the calls and the relative importance of the customers seen. "I go where the business is." One topic that generated diverse responses among managers was the methods they use for determining which reps to work with. One approach is to spend time with the reps who need the most coaching and improvement because, as one manager put it, "the good people don't need me getting in their way." Another manager commented that she spends more time with her top performers in order to observe best practices and share them with rest of the district through e-mails, voice mails, meetings and future work contacts. Other managers choose to spend their time with high prescribers in areas of the district where the most impact on the business can be made. "If the representative is successful, then I am successful. So I am going to work where the business is," said one DM. "If that is with a top performer or with someone who is new to the company, that is where I am going to be." Managers were quick to point out, however, that they have to balance this approach with their mandates to work with all representatives a specified number of times per quarter and year. Said one manager, "I know the reps don't necessarily like having me work with them, but I am being evaluated on getting my ride-alongs completed." Making ride-alongs work You and your manager share a common goal: to make your territory a success. Ride-alongs are just one of many ways your manager works together with you to help achieve this goal. Talk to your manager ahead of time about what each of you would like to accomplish during the ride-along. Ask questions, and encourage your manager to ask questions of you. Admittedly, work contacts can make even the best reps squirm, sweat and worry before, during and after the ride-along. But maybe keeping in mind that you and your manager are in this together can help ease the pain so you can relax and enjoy the ride.
|
|
