Beyond the numbers: A patient-centric approach to sales 

Anton van der Sanden is an exceptional colleague who shows us how putting himself in a patient’s shoes can complement his sales role. Read more about his journey aligning sales to patient-centricity. 

“Oh my goodness, where do I start?” Anton van der Sanden says. “I do many, many things, all under the umbrella of ‘sales’. But my job is not at all what most people would think of as sales. Grab some coffee, we’re gonna be here for a while!”

Anton works as an Expert Account Manager and Team Lead Cardiovascular at Boehringer Ingelheim. With over 15 years’ experience in pharmaceutical sales under his belt, not only is he the perfect person to speak to about this role, he also knows exactly how his field has changed. “And changed it has. For the better - even compared to just 15 years ago. Back in the day, a pharma sales role used to be about ‘share of voice’ or ‘share of detail’: You were supposed to speak to as many doctors as you could about as many medicines as you had. Companies might differ in detail or approach, but that was the general strategy.”

A conversation about more than just pills

But doctors can use Google too. They don’t need a sales rep to tell them about whatever medicine you’re trying to sell. “Honestly, the traditional way is just not fit for purpose in the 21st century. That’s why Boehringer Ingelheim has taken a very close look at what ‘sales’ actually means. And, to not much of a surprise, it turns out it’s much more valuable for everyone involved if we put ourselves in the patient’s shoes and use sales to try to address their issues. That’s why we try to help them reduce the number of hospital admissions, or think of innovative ways to help them discharge patients quicker. It’s a different conversation, about more than just pills. It’s almost a holistic business discussion.”
So has the industry moved from peddling pills to peddling business solutions? “Not quite yet. While it’s true that the pharmaceutical industry as a whole is slowly shifting in that direction, there are huge differences in approach between companies. It’s just that at Boehringer Ingelheim we don’t believe this method is going to be successful for much longer. It doesn’t provide enough value for doctors and patients. The approach I just talked about is a bit more innovative. I think it’s one of the reasons why the Top Employers Institute has given us Global Top Employer status.”

Working from the patient’s perspective 

At this point, the discussion takes a segue. Up until now, Anton has talked a lot about helping doctors improve healthcare outcomes. But what about the patients. What role do they play in all of this? 
“I must apologise for the cliché, but the patient really is at the core of our philosophy. The patient’s central role has been the driving force behind how we see ‘sales’. It would be easier for us to sell pills. But we’re not doing that. Instead, we think of healthcare in ‘pathways’, where we streamline patients’ treatment plans, connecting providers, treatments and specialists – as early as possible and before things escalate. Do our products play a role in that? Of course they do, but they’re just the elements that you happen to need when you improve healthcare pathways. A hospital might even use our competitor’s products and achieve similar results. But ultimately, we’re not just providing pills. We’re helping doctors and hospitals to be more effective by streamlining treatment pathways. That’s why I connect people and speak to patient networks regularly: The Dutch Heart Foundation, the Dutch Association for Cardiology. These aren’t our customers, but I speak to them to learn things which I can apply in my discussions with doctors to help them do their jobs better. In doing so, everybody wins – especially the patient.”

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