It’s Time to Negotiate, So Listen Up

In the popular conception, professional negotiation usually entails two sides battling it out over a conference table, exchanging demands, threats, and ultimatums. The reality of business negotiations is a bit less dramatic, involving genuine dialogue where two sides attempt to converge on a point where both will emerge feeling that the final agreement will benefit all parties equally. Shockingly enough, this is often accomplished without raised voices or anyone storming off in a huff.

Pharmaceutical sales negotiations typically follow this same principle, although drug representatives also face the added burden of having to work within the Food and Drug Administration’s strict regulatory guidelines regarding what drug reps can and can’t say to the medical professionals they call on.

And, as Tony Pinsonault, managing partner at Pinsonault Associates (www.pinsonault.com), a pharmaceutical and biotech industry training organization, notes, reps are also typically constrained by the industry wide ethical selling guidelines laid out in the so called “PhRMACode,” as well as the frequent need to understand the managed care environment in which their products are reimbursed.

Despite all these obstacles, Pinsonault says, negotiation skills remain critical for pharmaceutical reps who hope to develop mutually satisfactory relationships with customers and colleagues.

Asked what specific techniques he would recommend for newer reps who are interested in sharpening their negotiation skills, Pinsonault emphasizes one skill that he says needs constant reinforcement.

”The most important skill for a representative in a negotiating situation is listening,” says Pinsonault. “A successful representative must listen for cues and respond accordingly. Every customer will tell you what he or she expects to gain out of the negotiation, but if the representative does not pay attention and heads off in another direction, there is little chance for creating a meaningful agreement.”

Pinsonault says that when calling on physicians, a sales representative’s efforts will likely reach a tipping point at the moment when he or she identifies the customer’s underlying need. That’s when the rep’s listening skills become a negotiating asset, he suggests.

“To take a simple example,” Pinsonault says, “if a physician needs a medication for patients that has minimal side effects, and the representative keeps touting the benefits of an amazing new tablet with 24-hour timed release, that is definitely not addressing the physician’s – or the patient’s – need. If a representative is totally focused on the ‘sale’ and not the needs of physicians and patients, doctors pick up on it, and the doctor’s prescription business will go elsewhere.”

The benefits of effective negotiation habits extend beyond the physicians offices, however. As Pinsonault notes, strong listening skills combined with a focus on finding areas of mutual agreement can reap rewards in nearly all areas of life.

“Representatives who develop the habit of creating ‘win-win’ solutions with their customers will find that this skill becomes embedded in their day-to-day relationships with everyone else in their lives – managers, nurses, receptionists, and even family members,” Pinsonault says. “We all use our negotiating skills to get what we want from others. Methods and styles of negotiation may differ, but the basic principles don’t. Successful negotiations create mutually satisfactory relationships with customers and colleagues alike.”