As the healthcare environment for the pharmaceutical industry is undergoing major changes, salesforce effectiveness replaces the traditional ‘size sells paradigm’. Consequently, pharmaceutical companies are being forced to optimise both their bottom and top line. This paper applied a quantitative approach based on an interactive survey to analyse these developments. The survey results confirmed major trends, including the growing importance of payors, and showed that the development of salesforce size and structure will soon head in a different direction as sales representative numbers stop growing. Clearly, there is no silver bullet with which pharmaceutical companies can increase salesforce effectiveness. The industry is, therefore, preparing for the future by exploring and piloting innovative sales and marketing models. Once they have identified a suitable approach to salesforce effectiveness and implemented it in the best possible way, companies can create competitive advantages.
