Things About Pharmaceutical Sales Rep Hierarchy You Always Wanted To Know

Navigating the Ranks: Unfolding the Sales Hierarchy in the Pharma Industry

 

Stepping into the world of pharma sales can be quite an adventure, especially when it comes to understanding the different roles and ranks.

In essence, the sales hierarchy provides a clear structure, helping you understand how different roles and responsibilities are distributed within a company.

From sales representative hierarchy to the sales manager hierarchy in company, each level has a critical part to play.

 

Pharma Sales Rep: The Ground Soldier

 

The journey often starts at the base of the sales titles hierarchy as a pharma sales rep or medical sales rep. These individuals are the backbone of the pharmaceutical sales team, engaging directly with healthcare providers to promote their company's products.

 

Climbing the Ladder: The Hierarchy of Sales Positions

 

As you climb the sales position hierarchy, you encounter roles like the sales executive and sales manager. A sales executive hierarchy is typically the next step, where reps take on more responsibilities, including managing key accounts and strategic planning.

 

Making it to the Top: Head of Sales vs Sales Manager

 

At the pinnacle of the sales position titles hierarchy, you'll find the head of sales and sales manager roles.

Often, there can be confusion about the roles of the head of sales vs sales manager. The sales manager is typically responsible for leading a team of sales reps, while the head of sales oversees the entire sales operation of the organization.

 

Exploring the Structure: Hierarchy in Pharmaceutical Company

 

In a pharmaceutical company hierarchy, you'll notice an array of designations beyond just sales roles.

From research and development to regulatory affairs, the designation in pharma company landscape is vast, reflecting the diverse functions within the organization.

 

The Tools of the Trade: Sales Skills List

 

Regardless of where you stand in the sales jobs hierarchy, having a robust sales skills list is crucial. These skills, which can range from effective communication and negotiation to strategic thinking and problem-solving, are essential in driving sales success.

 

Whether you're a pharma sales rep interacting with healthcare professionals, a sales executive managing key accounts, or a head of sales driving the overall sales strategy, remember, it's all about making a difference.

It's about delivering solutions that help improve patient outcomes.

In the grand scheme of things, it's not just about the title or the hierarchy; it's about the value you bring to the table and the impact you make in the healthcare landscape.

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You might be wondering why I'm writing about pharma sales rep hierarchy:

Why do you need to know about it?
What can you do with what you know?

These are some of the questions we're going to answer as far as this post allows. Feel free to add to the questions list in the comment box at the end.

Sales Rep Hierarchy

Sales reps in the Pharma industry were known by many names such as:

pharma sales rep
medical sales rep
medical reps
product specialist
sales executive professional
sales representatives.

They are mainly referred to in the same position.

The pharma company I used to work with used sales executive for a beginners sales position. When they got promoted, they were called Area Sales Representative. Finally, they will earn the title of Senior Sales Executive.

Different companies have different 'naming' for sales rep position, but the function is all the same.

The same pharma company also rank its sales executive according to their skill level. There are 4 skill levels, often referred to as SL1 to SL4. Within these skill levels, there are various competencies that reps would have to demonstrate before they either progress or regress.

Yes, some reps do move "backward" in the hierarchy!

What Does The Hierarchy Imply?

In short, the hierarchy implies sales competencies ...

... the kind of skills that the pharma rep has consistently demonstrate as observed by the sales manager.

There are two times when the sales manager will evaluate a sales rep competencies:

The criteria of observation or key performance indexes were set the beginning of the year. They usually list primary skills as the main subject and supporting evidence to validate the subject matter.

The sales manager then observe the performance and appraise it in the middle of the year, and at the end of the year.

There were also interval observations when sales manager works on the field with the rep.

One important thing worth remembering is:

Sales skills level will correspond with a pharma sales rep salary.

There are instances where there was no correspondence, but such situations were very rare.

In short, the hierarchy for sales reps in pharma tells you their competency levels and their probable pay scale.

Who Rank Them?

Pharma sales reps are often ranked by their immediate sales managers.

The appraisals were done at least twice a year.

The mid-year appraisal often allows reps to make a correction.

If everything goes well, by the following year, the rep might get a new figure in the basic pay. It ranges from 3% to 10%, but this is not a norm. It depends mostly on how the pharma company performs.

These days, being able to keep the job is a big enough bonus. As of this article is written, Astra Zeneca is planning to ax 1,600 jobs.

So, if you still have your job, count your blessing.

How Reps Are Ranked In The Hierarchy?

As I said before, they were ranked based on their competencies level.

For example:
Let's say rep A and rep B ranked one above the other in the sales hierarchy. Let's say rep A is at level 1 and rep B is at level 2.

For a specific competency like opening sales call, rep A might demonstrate a few items that were put under "sales call opening," and rep B shows more. For rep A to match or surpass rep B, the items shown must be the same or more between them in that category.

In other words:

More skillful a rep at specific selling skills, the higher the position in the hierarchy.

But then again, there is always an exception. I've seen such limitation many times throughout my career.

Why there's an exception?

That's a subject for another post.

Personally, I can lose control when writing on that particular subject (Hint: it got to do with human relation).

Advantage Of Hierarchy

The best thing about sales rep hierarchy is, it allows planning and managing of reps easier.

It can be a useful motivational tool, too if properly applied. I got different views when it comes to working motivation, but we'll talk about that some other day.

Disadvantage Of Sales Hierarchy

It's a human-made.

I can tell you that emotion is one of the defining factors that can interfere with the physical nature of this system. I mean, it's not a failsafe system, and it's subjected to change, some times, for no known reason.

Well, it's just human.

That ends my opinion about the subject of pharma sales rep hierarchy:

Did you grasp the essence of it?
What benefit can you get from understanding this subject?

Share your thought below.