Hard-earned by the worthy 
Figure 3
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Quality time is hard to come by, and RepReview respondents overwhelmingly point the finger at "too many competitive representatives
taking up physicians' time" as the culprit of the access problem (see Figure 3).
But it's not the only obstacle. Seventy-seven percent of respondents said they think public opinion of pharmaceutical and
biotech manufacturers has declined in the past year. Of those who sense this change, 32% attributed it to bad publicity and
media coverage. The cost of medication was cited by one in five (22%). This is a result of the skyrocketing price tag for drug development
and the consequence of a reduced pipeline and life cycle for true blockbuster products. Drug costs are also affected by the
financial burden of supporting and sustaining a large sales force, which requires marketing, training, compensation, speaker
programs and more. 
Figure 4
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As if that isn't enough, industry regulations — including PhRMA codes and AMA restrictions, for some — as well as managed-care
prescribing parameters, information restrictions, overextended physicians, closed-door practices and other factors are also
limiting reps' ability to develop critical relationships with prescribers. Managers also cite decreases in physician reimbursement
and new productivity requirements for physicians as barriers (See Figure 4). So how can the pharma sales force even begin to overcome these challenges? Nearly half (45%) of all respondents cite "making
effective use of physicians' time" as the one-most-important factor for getting more time. Yet reps say they currently provide
new information to physicians in only about 42% of their sales calls. Clearly, there's a disconnect between what reps want to do and what they're able to do given the current restraints on them. Adding value for physicians can be particularly cumbersome if a rep's lead brand is mature — it has no new data and often
no new indications on the horizon. It's tough to succeed when there's nothing new to say about a brand and the physician decides
on whether or not to see the rep again partly based on how efficiently he or she uses the time. Harsh realities Together, these factors have dramatically changed the selling game in the industry. Reps no longer have enough face time with
physicians to deliver the full-message detail — even though reps say that marketing provides useful materials and that they
do a good job at rolling out viable campaigns. Respondents estimate that they get enough time to adequately detail a physician
in just 16-17% of their calls. This makes it very difficult for a sales rep to impact prescription decisions. 
Figure 5
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And the reality is that too many reps are functioning as sample suppliers. Despite the usefulness of the sales tools available
to them, reps and managers agree that samples are the single-most-important selling resource (see Figure 5).
Overall, respondents estimate that only half of the physicians on their call list would still see them if they had no samples
to give. Predictably, sample suppliers estimated a far smaller no-sample audience (only 39%) than trusted colleagues (59%).
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