Seattle Market

I'll probably be transferring to Seattle in the next few months. What is the market like? Access? Most common HMO? Best areas? Best drugs? Thanks!

 

Where are you coming from?

 

OP -
I'll be coming from the Northern WI area so I'm pretty used to bad access and no formulary coverage. It would just be nice to move somewhere I actually have a chance to make bonus. Less drive time wouldn't hurt either.

 

I would say that based ob bad access and limited formulary (formulary depends on your drugs) for much of the NW, your bonus will probably be a reflection of what you are currently used to. How many Presidents Club winners have come from the NW in your previous company? Not many from any of the companies I have worked for.

 

Not what I wanted to hear, but you are right. Most of our PC winners are from Texas, Florida, and Illinois. Thanks for the info though. Do you think it is any different for specialty, hospital, or biotech reps?

 

I think access is better when you are a specialty, hospital, or biotech rep because a lot of the time you don't have me too drugs (not always true but, more often that in primary care). I am in medical/surgical sales and access is a lot better than when I was in pharma.

 

I am in a specialty division in Seattle with a one of a kind drug and I can tell you that access is very very difficult there also. It is not impossible, but tough. It really doesn't matter about the access, because most everyone has the same treatment, but you will suffer if you work for a company that has "call requirements" for the day. If that is the case, be prepared to let your fingers do the walking like the rest of us do up here.

 

That is a great point. If your manager has worked in that market, or lives in that market, that will really help your cause. Most of the folks in the corporate office have little understanding of the environment in the NW.

 

[ QUOTE ]
That is a great point. If your manager has worked in that market, or lives in that market, that will really help your cause. Most of the folks in the corporate office have little understanding of the environment in the NW.

[/ QUOTE ]

I couldn't agree more with that statement. When I was hired, my manager had worked here for 5 years. He was orginally from the East Coast but it didn't take him long to realize how anti rep and anti branded product, this part of the country is. He is now gone, like most of them do, and now I have to deal with a new manager from CA. They always come from CA because no one from here would be a DM unless it's with a good company. I'm dreading my first ride along with him because I hear he's aggressive and thinks he can turn things around up here. Lord help me!

 

Medco via Microsoft is our biggest drug plan. They have great coverage in terms of brand products. Customers don't pay co-pays even on DAW 2s.

The anti- brand/ drug company mindset is your biggest enemy here.

 

Im in cardio specialty, cathlab type drug. Access is changing fast, for the worse. Emergency dept's are mostly closed. Quite a few cathlabs have closed to us. Some of the doctors offices are closed now also. And it's getting worse every month. My new manager has struggled coming to terms with the market here, it's a work in progress to het her to understand the situation, it's much worse than most parts of the country. Each day, I just hope to have ONE thing to do, fact is, my job is evaporating. And, lets not talk about job satisfaction, let alone job security. Lastly, plan to spend more time in your car even if your territory is smaller, our traffic problems in the Seattle area is legendary, some of the worst traffic in the nation and it's getting worse as more people move here. It's not easy being a rep in Seattle.

 

The biggest physician group players: Polyclinic, Group Health (aka "Group Death" here), Everett Clinic, Virginia Mason, Pacific Medical (PacMed) and most of the Univ of Wash physicians are closed or difficult to see.

Managed care access is horrible, especially in Group Health with its all-generic mentality and those assholes at Regence.

If you have worked in an area with a buttload of managed care, you will fit right into the Seattle market.

 

You will need to work twice as hard in the Seattle Market in order to succeed. You need to be creative, persistent, and try to establish relationships with the whole office. As for the comment about President's Club this market can and has produced them for our company, but only certain divisions win because either they have a formulary win or the drug is not dependent on formulary success to sell. It is extremely tough for Cardio Drugs as the major plans prefer not to deal with Big Pharma and are forcing especially PCP's to use Generics. The Managed Care Plans have high incentive dollars on the table for Large Clinics and Physician Practices to keep the Pharma Industry out anf the Generic Drug Utilization high. In fact Regence and Premera are the Driving force behind the scam organization Puget Sound Health Care Alliance that is lobbying to remove Pharma from the State all together( Wish a lawyer would get hold of this, sounds like restraint of trade to me). There are some good people here working in the industry, do your homework and definitely ask to ride with whoever your counterpart will be before accepting the job( we have a fair share of lazy and un-motivated reps here). Good luck, can you win here, absolutely, will you work really really hard, yes.

 

I have access to some great headhunters/contacts, please feel free to send your resume or contact me! dekigoddessgogirllovinlife@yahoo.com

 

Where are you from? I've worked in California and it's a cakewalk compared to the situation up here. I work Oncology and find that many of the Oncologists are just not happy campers in the Seattle area. I wined and dined in the Bay area but here, it's a completely different deal. I also think the average Oncology rep here has so much more to worry about and deal with than the California reps.. It's easier to get lunches, dinners..etc... overall just easier to do business down there. I understand that the fellows over at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance are wanting us to turn in photographs along with our codes of conduct so they can put together some kind of yearbook.. How anal is that? The best reps in the country are up here, I've worked other geographies been in the business for 25 years.. sharpen your pencil.

 

A few posts back, someone told you to be creative. Please do not, follow the rules. Its the creativity and mirror territories that have gotten us in this situation up here. New managers always come arrive telling us to get creative to see our targets, and more offices and departments close. Do you see the connection? Otherwise, I agree with everything else that poster wrote.

 

I have worked this market for 10 years, (Seattle) and all of Washington and Idaho. By far the Seattle market is difficult for a number of reasons. The anti-pharma intitiatives that Everett and Poly started a number of years ago. In addition to the managecare environment. I have worked from the PC rep level (office based and hospital specialist) all the way to manage care specialist for the Pacific NW.

I agree if you start to "become creative" this opens up the door for those DMs and Reps that assault doctors in parking lots at clinics. Not going to help your and our situation as a whole.

 

Our customers hate us, not personally, but hate our job, our companies, our products, etc.... We are seen as the evil ones.

Worse yet, it is becoming more and more clear to me that our own companies hate us.

Why do we do this? How do we get out?

 

All this information is unsettling. I live in Wisconsin and wanted to move somewhere else where the Pharma jobs were more plentiful but don't want to move to the south. Was laid off from my job three years ago and have been having a miserable time ever since. I loved pharmaceutical sales even without the access. Are the systems in Seattle still accepting samples? They don't in Wisconsin or Minnesota.

 

The NW is extremely challenging. I've worked specialty here for 13 years in two arenas and it is eroding. The job is what you make it. Mostly unsatisfying and aggressive sales is the worst thing you can do. Take what positive reactions you can and celebrate small victories.
As for the creative remarks, I think you have to think outside the box up here to be successful. Don't try to weazle your way in or catch them in the parking lot. However, do build advocates in offices where you can. Get in good with your nurses and have them work for you. Join and volunteer at events related to the diseases you treat and truly try to be a consultant when you can. Be genuine because these doctors see straight through the bullshit.
Other than that pace your days and run some errands