Who’s Your Pre-launch KAM?

Who’s Your Pre-launch KAM?

On the commercial side of pharma, there is little debate that the Key Account Manager (KAM) has become the quarterback of most customer facing teams. The KAM orchestrates multiple aspects of bringing a product to market. To do this, they must have access to key stakeholders, and truly understand the healthcare ecosystem in which they operate for the commercial team to achieve success.

But what about pre-launch? We all know, for a host of reasons – including compliance, that the commercial KAM can’t do that!

So, who is leading the drive from late-stage (stage II/III) trials to launch?

Who is building the network of stakeholders who become key advocates post-launch?

Who is uncovering and tracking the intelligence these stakeholders share that lead to strategic insights?

Many of our clients would say, “Of course, that is the MSLs’ job…”

But is it really?

During a product’s lifecycle, many individuals in the pharma value chain influence product success through connections they make with external stakeholders. Team members in R&D, Clinical Trials, Medical and Regulatory affairs may have fewer connections pre-launch than commercial leads do at post-launch, but they are not less important! It can be argued that advocates and stakeholders developed pre-launch by Medical Affairs are the most important connections. Consider the importance of KOLs:

Sixty-seven percent of surveyed physicians said KOLs have the most influence on clinical decisions when compared to sales reps, medical science liaisons, and field reimbursement specialists.1

Who among your pre-launch team are building the trusted partnerships that develop true KOL Advocates?

No matter what role you choose to be your pre-launch KAM, how you support their skills development will have a great deal of impact on their success and ultimately the success of the brand and the company. In fact, if you are not supporting your customer facing medical staff with specific stakeholder interaction skills training, you may be at risk of negatively impacting your results.

Let’s consider the role of the Medical Science Liaison (MSL) as an example. This role has become critically important in contributing to the success of a company and its brands. They have the opportunity to both communicate how a new brand may help patients and the healthcare ecosystem as well as gather insights that can impact future drug development and future changes to currently marketed products. In fact, they help bridge the gap between medical affairs efforts and commercial efforts.

As the importance of the MSL increases, more and more companies are seeking to increase the engagement skills of the MSL. Since this type of development has not traditionally been top of mind it can be tough to know where to start. Based on hiring practices, an MSL is assumed to have excellent scientific knowledge and the acumen required to learn the specific details of the products and disease states they align to in their role. This is most likely a very safe assumption, and you will find that MSLs love to interact and share their knowledge. This level of knowledge can quickly help an MSL develop their credibility. However, it can also negatively impact how they develop relationships and become true trusted partners to their stakeholders and the healthcare ecosystem.

Much has been said about mindset in society and business over the last several years. A mindset shift from one who shares information to one who gathers insights through two-way discussions may be your first step toward the behavior changes that are required for partnership development and insight gathering. A change in mindset on its own will not likely lead to the expected results, although it is an excellent step in the right direction. To become laser focused on the stakeholder and their goals and to become a trusted medical partner will require honing skills such as account segmentation and planning, stakeholder targeting, questioning, listening and business acumen to name a few. This can be a daunting task for an organization that has not previously placed much focus on learning and development for their R&D and Medical Affairs employees.

At iMD, we work hard to help you raise the bar with impactful Medical Dialogue. If you are making a move toward improving the interaction and engagement your team has with healthcare professionals and healthcare ecosystems, you may need some help. Let us be that for you.

Authors: Steve Lytle and Andrew Connolly. Founders of iMD.

To learn more about how to raise the skills of your pre-launch KAM click here: imdialogue.com