Current trends in speaker bureaus and advisory boards within the pharmaceutical industry. Presented at ExL Pharma's 2nd Advisory Boards and Speaker Bureau conference in June 2010. For further information, please visit www.exlpharma.com
2. Building the Right Speakers Bureau What’s the goal of building a speakers bureau? What are the right steps to creating an effective speakers bureau? How does it benefit the healthcare community and your company?
3. What’s the goal of building a speakers bureau?- To do Speaker Programs that: Educate customers on appropriate use (right patient, right dose, right time) Increase product use Enhance value with peer-to-peer education Improve sales representative access Promotes better dialogue Raises physicians’ perception
4. Objective of The Right Speaker Bureau Build the Right Bureau to ensure: Effective and compliant speaker usage Meet business objectives Provide valuable programs for the customer Increase speaker satisfaction This is achieved by building the Bureau with the: Right Number of Speakers Right Location of Speakers Right Type of Speakers 4
5. The Right Type of Speakers The Right Location of Speakers The Right Number Of Speakers Benefits Strong company advocates Schedule flexibility Enthusiastic, engaging and polished advocates Reduces cost and time spent in contacting for negative or no response Credible and competent Representatives who don’t know speaker can be confident he/she is a good speaker Right specialty mix Clinical product experience Increased utilization & improves speaker competency delivery Reduces risk of not meeting minimum speaker usage requirements Reduce cost of training and travel for speakers who won’t speak often Speaker understands local market conditions Leads to: increased availability, reduced cancellations and costs Reduced travel time and increased speaker satisfaction Speakers are located where market potential is high and programs are planned 5
6. Building the Right Speakers Bureau What’s the goal of building a speakers bureau? What are the right steps to creating an effective speakers bureau? How does it benefit the healthcare community and your company?
7. What’s the goal of building a speakers bureau?- To do Speaker Programs that: Educate customers on appropriate use (right patient, right dose, right time) Increase product use Enhance value with peer-to-peer education Improve sales representative access Promotes better dialogue Raises physicians’ perception
8. Objective of The Right Speaker Bureau Build the Right Bureau to ensure: Effective and compliant speaker usage Meet business objectives Provide valuable programs for the customer Increase speaker satisfaction This is achieved by building the Bureau with the: Right Number of Speakers Right Location of Speakers Right Type of Speakers 8
9. The Right Type of Speakers The Right Location of Speakers The Right Number Of Speakers Benefits Strong company advocates Schedule flexibility Enthusiastic, engaging and polished advocates Reduces cost and time spent in contacting for negative or no response Credible and competent Representatives who don’t know speaker can be confident he/she is a good speaker Right specialty mix Clinical product experience Increased utilization & improves speaker competency delivery Reduces risk of not meeting minimum speaker usage requirements Reduce cost of training and travel for speakers who won’t speak often Speaker understands local market conditions Leads to: increased availability, reduced cancellations and costs Reduced travel time and increased speaker satisfaction Speakers are located where market potential is high and programs are planned 9
11. Speaker Identification Should be able to choose from list of approved speakers if training has been properly done Ask potential attendees who they respect in the community Big writers are not always the best speakers “Gotta get my big gun lined up to speak…he writes a ton…” Speakers, especially specialists, can use programs as a referral base in the community Personal experience with the product is a must
12. Topic Selection Example of a Good Topic Selection: “Current Insights on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Role of Glucose Hypometabolism” Example of a Poor Topic Selection: “Want to Learn about AD?”
13. Topic Selection Topic should be timely and relevant to their practice Need to emphasize points of interest Example…discussing a “New Therapeutic Option” For your attendee – “How does it benefit me and my practice?” Remember, you’re competing for their time…make the topic compelling to them
14. Recruit the Right People to Drive Attendance EVALUATING SPEAKER PROGRAMS
15. Sales Force is Still Best Driver of Attendance Source: Cutting Edge Information 2009
16. Recruiting Maximize your invitations and your $$ Start invitation process at least 1 month prior to planned event (6-8 weeks is optimal) Focus on attendees who are genuinely interested in the topic Eliminate those out for a “free meal” Personal invitations are the best Follow up with mail/emails/phone calls
17. Recruiting Create a buzz about the program Under RSVP on the printed piece, indicate how many seats are available Creates the feel of importance and limited seating Work with office managers to make sure they are aware of the program Start following up at least 2 weeks prior to the program Thursday evening programs seem to have the best turnout
19. Execution Must be within guidelines Include modest meals Occur in a venue and manner conducive to informational communication Work with the restaurant well in advance to ensure compliance with company guidelines for meals, etc. Ask speakers to provide actual “success stories with the product Attendees will appreciate “real-life experience” while coming across fair-balanced
20. Follow Up What’s the point of doing the program if you don’t follow up? In my experience, this is the biggest problem Be prepared to respond to any questions raised Have adequate amount of samples Don’t want to have secured commitment and then not have samples Ask for the business