Want to know about the first line manager role in Nepal Pharma industry? Read it out thoroughly.
The sales and marketing team which is usually called Salesforce is led by the first level of commander called first-line Manager / Area Sales Manager (FLM/ASM) in the pharmaceutical industry. First-line managers also play vital roles in any organization.
They supervise Medical Representatives and report to senior managers about the day-to-day operations of the business. The primary functions of first-line managers are to manage, train and motivate the existing sales team to drive revenue growth.
They may also be involved in setting targets, tracking metrics, developing schedules, and making sure Medical Representatives are staying on track. Since both Medical Representatives’ and first-line managers’ responsibility looks same in term of business but the accountability is different.
As the accountability of Medical Representative is to achieve monthly sales target whereas first-line managers accountability is to achieve the monthly product-wise target, monthly Medical representative (MR) wise target as well as Area total target.
The major customer for first-line managers is their own Medical Representative, the internal customers.
First-line managers’ external customers are
(i) Prime doctors who are accountable for major prescription business.
(ii) Retailers/pharmacies who are also responsible for a major product business.
(iii) Stockiest/Distributors who hence hold the major business of the company.
10 most important roles and responsibilities of the first line manager role in Nepal Pharmaceuticals industry
- Develop sales and marketing strategies to drive growth in the assigned area.
- Manage the sales team for sales growth and revenue enhancement &
Conduct market research to understand competitors and market trends. - Provide innovative ideas and suggestions to improve market presence.
- Provide timely feedback to the Medical representatives regarding their performance.
- Organize training, educational workshops and challenging opportunities for the career growth of Medical representative.
- Conduct business plan review meetings with the sales team.
- Develop creative promotional strategies to attract more customers.
- Appreciate the contributions and accomplishments of the team through the proper rewarding system.
- Recruit Medical representative (MR), assess their performance and take necessary actions when needed.
- Develop an area-specific business plan for profitability while complying with the needs of the local market.