{"id":7961,"date":"2006-02-21T15:02:00","date_gmt":"2006-02-21T15:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pharma-mkting.com\/sales-reps-make-poor-spokespeople\/"},"modified":"2019-02-21T01:27:53","modified_gmt":"2019-02-21T01:27:53","slug":"sales-reps-make-poor-spokespeople","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ec2-54-175-84-28.compute-1.amazonaws.com\/pharma-mkting.com\/blog\/sales-reps-make-poor-spokespeople\/","title":{"rendered":"Sales Reps Make Poor Spokespeople"},"content":{"rendered":"

I read with despair the article in today’s AdAge about Glaxo’s strategy to use its sales force as a “PR Machine” (“GLAXO DRAFTS EMPLOYEES TO POLISH INDUSTRY IMAGE: New Strategy Makes Entire Sales Force a National PR Machine<\/a>“). <\/p>\n

“Deciding to eschew a traditional corporate branding campaign, Mr. Pucci [Michael Pucci, GSK’\u2019s VP-external advocacy] instead has unofficially ‘deputized’ his sales force to speak on behalf of GSK and the industry about the affordability of prescription medication; how today’s medicines fund the next generation of blockbuster drugs; access to state and federal programs that offset drug prices; and even some common misconceptions about direct-to-consumer advertising.”<\/p>\n

I have written about Pucci’s efforts previously (see “The Empire Strikes Back<\/a>” and “GSK Strikes Back with a Grassroots Campaign<\/a>“) and I even praised the strategy. <\/p>\n

However, I did not pay enough attention to what appears to be Pucci’s key tactic: using the 8,000-member GSK sales force to carpet bomb “every county in every state in the country.” <\/p>\n

I have very little faith in the ability (or even the desire) of sales reps to become credible spokespeople, especially after reading “Hard Sell” (see “Generation X Pharma Reps<\/a>“). <\/p>\n

Sales reps, however, are plentiful and are perfect agents for spewing forth the party line equipped with “aids” and canned presentations, which I am sure is what Pucci is arming them with. But credible they are not! <\/p>\n

I imagine an encounter between a Gen-X sales rep and a Rotarian member after the Powerpoint presentation: “Dude, what will it take to get you to love my company?” Sales reps just have to close the deal!<\/p>\n

And credibility is the whole enchilada! Why send out the LEAST credible employees to do PR? Come on, Pucci! Get with it! <\/p>\n

Pucci and GSK (and other pharma companies for that matter) need to broaden their horizons and enlist MORE CREDIBLE employees to carry the PR load. I said this before — use your rank-and-file employees (secretaries, researchers, etc.) to tell their OWN stories not “salient talking points and answers to tough questions,” which are the features of a typical detail! <\/p>\n

Also, get with the 21st century version of buzz! Forget the “Rotarians, Elks, Lions Club members, and senior-citizen groups” — they cannot create buzz. Try blogs, podcasts, etc. If you need help with this, I’m sure there are dozens of people — including myself! — who can help you. But, really, get help. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I read with despair the article in today’s AdAge about Glaxo’s strategy to use its sales force as a “PR Machine” (“GLAXO DRAFTS EMPLOYEES TO POLISH INDUSTRY IMAGE: New Strategy Makes Entire Sales Force a National PR Machine“). “Deciding to eschew a traditional corporate branding campaign, Mr. Pucci [Michael Pucci, GSK’\u2019s VP-external advocacy] instead has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"topic":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSales Reps Make Poor Spokespeople - Pharma Marketing Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/ec2-54-175-84-28.compute-1.amazonaws.com\/pharma-mkting.com\/blog\/sales-reps-make-poor-spokespeople\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sales Reps Make Poor Spokespeople - Pharma Marketing Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I read with despair the article in today’s AdAge about Glaxo’s strategy to use its sales force as a “PR Machine” (“GLAXO DRAFTS EMPLOYEES TO POLISH INDUSTRY IMAGE: New Strategy Makes Entire Sales Force a National PR Machine“). “Deciding to eschew a traditional corporate branding campaign, Mr. Pucci [Michael Pucci, GSK’\u2019s VP-external advocacy] instead has […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/ec2-54-175-84-28.compute-1.amazonaws.com\/pharma-mkting.com\/blog\/sales-reps-make-poor-spokespeople\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pharma Marketing Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-02-21T15:02:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-02-21T01:27:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/ec2-54-175-84-28.compute-1.amazonaws.com\/pharma-mkting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pmn-logo-intro-post-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"744\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"419\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pharma Guy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Pharma Guy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/ec2-54-175-84-28.compute-1.amazonaws.com\/pharma-mkting.com\/blog\/sales-reps-make-poor-spokespeople\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/ec2-54-175-84-28.compute-1.amazonaws.com\/pharma-mkting.com\/blog\/sales-reps-make-poor-spokespeople\/\",\"name\":\"Sales Reps Make Poor Spokespeople - 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