Worst Sales Force

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Anonymous said:
With regard to the Genentech reps. It's not really selling if you don't have a drug that you have to compete against. Let's see what happens as the wheels continue to fall off the Avastin wagon. I would argue that it takes more skill to sell a therapy that has serious competition. It makes a better story if you can say you were successful selling "dogs" then to say I sold drugs with no competition and I had an enormous expense account. For the record, our drugs are not "dogs".
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That very well may be true but if Genentech comes across a hiring managers desk versus MGI, Ligand, or Eisai, the Genentech guy will go to the front of the line. Whether they are better or worse sales people or if selling commodities like anti emetics or an inferior drug like Dac are harder or not is debatable. The Genentech guy could say that because they have leadership products their goals are always sky high and everyone is gunning for me. Remember this is pharmaceutical sales, you are competing against a your forecasted goal not another product…

Also people get hired because of connections at key cancer centers and experience in a therapeutic area. The “I sold a dog story” doesn’t resonate in oncology where most therapeutic choices are based on guidelines, standards of care, and data. They want to know do you have a good understanding of this certain tumor type, and do you know and have access to the key players in the territory. The worst job to have here is a lymphoma rep wanting to break into a solid tumor. They are not going to know any of the big academic breast, lung, prostate, CRC, docs. The Aloxi/Dac reps at least call on everybody with Aloxi since it is contracted so they have very good access and connections at a lot of cancer centers/academia. BTW Dac, Ontak, and Targretin are the definition of dogs…


Aloxi and Fragmin are good products, but they are supportive care which most good oncology companies do not consider as “oncology experience”. Just as GCSF reps at Amegn and Ortho how hard it is to break into and make oncology money…
 



Anonymous said:
That very well may be true but if Genentech comes across a hiring managers desk versus MGI, Ligand, or Eisai, the Genentech guy will go to the front of the line. Whether they are better or worse sales people or if selling commodities like anti emetics or an inferior drug like Dac are harder or not is debatable. The Genentech guy could say that because they have leadership products their goals are always sky high and everyone is gunning for me. Remember this is pharmaceutical sales, you are competing against a your forecasted goal not another product…

Also people get hired because of connections at key cancer centers and experience in a therapeutic area. The “I sold a dog story” doesn’t resonate in oncology where most therapeutic choices are based on guidelines, standards of care, and data. They want to know do you have a good understanding of this certain tumor type, and do you know and have access to the key players in the territory. The worst job to have here is a lymphoma rep wanting to break into a solid tumor. They are not going to know any of the big academic breast, lung, prostate, CRC, docs. The Aloxi/Dac reps at least call on everybody with Aloxi since it is contracted so they have very good access and connections at a lot of cancer centers/academia. BTW Dac, Ontak, and Targretin are the definition of dogs…


Aloxi and Fragmin are good products, but they are supportive care which most good oncology companies do not consider as “oncology experience”. Just as GCSF reps at Amegn and Ortho how hard it is to break into and make oncology money…
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So true, I told the hiring manager I sold Eisa drugs like Aloxi and I was told this exactly. Oncology experience at Eisai is WORTHLESS! I am in no better shape than the other 99 ex-pharma reps trying to sell for a real oncology company
 



Anonymous said:
So true, I told the hiring manager I sold Eisa drugs like Aloxi and I was told this exactly. Oncology experience at Eisai is WORTHLESS! I am in no better shape than the other 99 ex-pharma reps trying to sell for a real oncology company
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I guess the world is against you. You should just give up. It's so nice when you can blame someone else because you are not where you should be. You make it easier for the the other 99 to get ahead.
 



Anonymous said:
I guess the world is against you. You should just give up. It's so nice when you can blame someone else because you are not where you should be. You make it easier for the the other 99 to get ahead.
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Wow take it easy. All they were saying is that Eisai Oncology isn’t some highly thought of and sought after experience that oncology companies are looking for. Eisai is my only oncology experience and the recruiters out there are saying that the therapeutic area and the drugs I sell are not what most hiring managers are looking for, expecially with the surplus of Biogen and Genentech reps looking for work.
 



Anonymous said:
Wow take it easy. All they were saying is that Eisai Oncology isn’t some highly thought of and sought after experience that oncology companies are looking for. Eisai is my only oncology experience and the recruiters out there are saying that the therapeutic area and the drugs I sell are not what most hiring managers are looking for, expecially with the surplus of Biogen and Genentech reps looking for work.
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Your first mistake is to rely on a recruiter. Network with other reps. If you have good relationships in the offices, other reps will know. They will be motivated to submit your resume because they can get paid. Your recruiter is telling 20 other reps the same thing.
 



Anonymous said:
Your first mistake is to rely on a recruiter. Network with other reps. If you have good relationships in the offices, other reps will know. They will be motivated to submit your resume because they can get paid. Your recruiter is telling 20 other reps the same thing.
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I’d agree that networking with other reps and offices is a great way to get you resume I the hands of hiring managers but recruiters are still used heavily by most oncology companies and even if your resume is submitted by a rep at that company if you do not have the therapeutic experience they are looking for especially while being at a bush league unknown company it doesn’t bode well when you are up against OSI, Genentech, Biogen, BMS reps. That’s all I’m trying to say. Also if that rep is calling on the same office I’m calling on there probably isn’t an opening in that territory…
 



Anonymous said:
I guess the world is against you. You should just give up. It's so nice when you can blame someone else because you are not where you should be. You make it easier for the the other 99 to get ahead.
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my friend , if you are also selling these dogs, you will also be in the same boat. And I will be ahead of you because I have numerous pinnacle trips. This has nothing to do with blaming someone else. It just means that our experience in oncology with these products will not put you at the top of the line.
 






Anonymous said:
I’d agree that networking with other reps and offices is a great way to get you resume I the hands of hiring managers but recruiters are still used heavily by most oncology companies and even if your resume is submitted by a rep at that company if you do not have the therapeutic experience they are looking for especially while being at a bush league unknown company it doesn’t bode well when you are up against OSI, Genentech, Biogen, BMS reps. That’s all I’m trying to say. Also if that rep is calling on the same office I’m calling on there probably isn’t an opening in that territory…
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Good point, however, networking at this time is not what it used to be, In every company , you have tons of people who know other pharma reps who have been laid off and are about to lose the house or cant pay other bills. The insiders will lobby very hard to get their ex-colleagues, friends, sister in law hired before any outsiders are even considered. Personally have seen this happen 4 times with ex-Pfizer reps and employees. The laid of pfizer manager finds a new company, lo and behold most of the his/hers new hires are ex-pfizer reps!!!!
 



Anonymous said:
my friend , if you are also selling these dogs, you will also be in the same boat. And I will be ahead of you because I have numerous pinnacle trips. This has nothing to do with blaming someone else. It just means that our experience in oncology with these products will not put you at the top of the line.
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Save the "I have so many awards story". There are vacant territories that sometimes qualify for President's Club. With your attitude, any solid interviewer will see your negativity. Back to my original point. If you believe that you are not at the "top of the line" just because of what you are selling, it puts into question your ability to sell yourself. I hope if I do have to interview again, I get someone with your attitude that I am going up against.
 



This industry has about 50K fewer jobs than 5 yrs ago. Most let go will never work in the industry again. You only survive if you have a good track record and some friends out there. Oh, yeah, Eisai is not the worst. There are much worse out there.
 









Anonymous said:
So true, I told the hiring manager I sold Eisa drugs like Aloxi and I was told this exactly. Oncology experience at Eisai is WORTHLESS! I am in no better shape than the other 99 ex-pharma reps trying to sell for a real oncology company
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If a hiring manager told you that and you didn't know how to clinically explain to him how wrong and misinformed he is about the drugs you sell and what you do, then you neither understand what is in your bag or the disease states in which you sell. In other words, you don't deserve to get hired by another oncology company because you don't understand that you are selling in more competitive areas than just about any Genentech rep our there.

If he was saying this to you because you came from the hospital side and most of your experience is around Fragmin, then I might understand.
 



Anonymous said:
If a hiring manager told you that and you didn't know how to clinically explain to him how wrong and misinformed he is about the drugs you sell and what you do, then you neither understand what is in your bag or the disease states in which you sell. In other words, you don't deserve to get hired by another oncology company because you don't understand that you are selling in more competitive areas than just about any Genentech rep our there.

If he was saying this to you because you came from the hospital side and most of your experience is around Fragmin, then I might understand.
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I disagree. Eisai is basically worthless from an oncology background perspective. Companies in the big tumor types,(prostate, CRC, lung, breast), which let’s face it, is where the largest oncology sales forces reside, MGI, Ligand, and Eisai experience are not all that valuable to them. Sure with Halaven you may get a peak from a company selling in BCA but still your experience will pale in comparison to others that have been in that space for many years, unless you sold in BCA before.

I could explain Dac and Aloxi all day long but a Lung CA DM is not interested in MDS and nausea and vomiting. They want to know what and who I know in the Lung cancer world. If you don’t know this than Eisai is definitely your first oncology job, and you have not been on any oncology interviews.

Not to mention that Eisai has little name recognition in the oncology world and where it is recognized it has a less than positive view…think of all the people, especially high ranking leaders, that have had bad experience at Eisai and are no longer here…what do you think they are saying about Eisai?

Also whether what we sell is more or less “competitive” than what Genentech sells is arguable but again that is where you and Eisai are missing the point. We don’t really “sell” oncology drugs as much as we manage accounts and provide support. What companies are looking for are three key things: access to key centers, strong relationships with KOL’s in that tumor type, and a knowledge of the tumor type and available treatments so they don’t have to start training at square one.

Well at Eisai it is difficult to have any of those as we sell in very niche markets up until now.
 



I too am ashamed of the time spent at this company. I lnow augh uncontrollably when I think about the 'leadership'in place, the POA's and the crazies running around like they are saving the world.
 






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