An indication expansion can enlarge the target audience massively within a short time. Instead of roughly 1,200 doctors, around 3,000 additional practice addresses were suddenly on the table.
The obvious reaction comes quickly: we need to increase reach.
But more contacts alone do not solve the problem. The field force cannot expand its visit capacity at will – and one more phone contact is a long way from a relevant dialogue.
The project shows what matters instead: a clear division of roles between field force and remote team, a shared qualification logic and an information flow that works in both directions.
More target doctors do not automatically mean more field force capacity
The starting point was an indication expansion. The potential target audience grew considerably, while the field force's capacity remained limited.
Two additional visits a day are not enough to cover several thousand new contacts in a meaningful way.
A remote team from Covendos was therefore deployed to approach the B and C segments in particular in a structured way.
The idea seemed logical at first: remote creates additional reach, while the field force can concentrate on its existing priorities.
In practice, however, it quickly became clear: an additional channel alone does not create a working system.
The real problem lay in the interfaces
At the start, the remote team and the field force largely worked side by side.
The remote team made calls, the field force was out visiting practices – but it was not defined clearly enough which information the two sides should exchange and when a handover actually made sense.
The first results showed this weakness as well.
In the pilot phase, just under 600 doctors were worked and around 300 dialogues were held. Little of this was immediately usable for the field force, though.
After all, a friendly phone call is, from a sales perspective, not yet a reason for a personal visit.
The decisive question was therefore no longer:
How many doctors were reached?
It was:
Which of these contacts are really relevant for further follow-up?
From contact numbers to qualification
Together with Covendos, the conversation logic was therefore reworked.
The focus was on concrete qualification criteria:
- Does the practice treat relevant patients?
- Is there a concrete need for information on the new indication?
- Does a personal visit by the field force make sense?
This changed the role of the remote team.
It was no longer about generating as many contacts as possible, but about gaining relevant information and preparing the right contacts for the next step.
1,450 dialogues – but the 180 handovers were what mattered
In the further course of the project, around 2,400 doctors were actively worked.
This took around 5,800 contact attempts.
These activities led to around 1,450 personal dialogues. Genuine interest was identified in about 430 doctors.
Some of these doctors continued to be looked after remotely.
180 contacts were handed over to the field force with a concrete reason for the conversation.
That was the real breakthrough.
The field force did not simply receive hundreds of additional names on a list, but qualified handovers with context.
Such information could read, for example:
The doctor knows the indication, treats relevant patients and wants to talk specifically about patient selection.
That gives the field force a completely different starting point.
It is no longer just a new contact.
It is a concrete reason for a conversation.
Remote does not take customers away from the field force
At the beginning, there was definitely some scepticism in sales about an external remote team.
Why should a service provider call our own doctors? Will it cause confusion? Is remote now supposed to replace my visit?
This perception changed once the value of the handovers became visible.
The remote team did not take customers away from the field force. Rather, it opened doors to practices that, because of limited capacity, might otherwise not have been worked any further.
This is particularly relevant when visit time is scarce.
When field force representatives visit several B customers in person, that time is inevitably missing elsewhere – possibly with higher-priority A customers.
Remote communication can therefore help to use personal time where it has the greatest benefit.
Segmentation can change as well
Another effect showed up in the assessment of existing target groups.
A historical C customer does not automatically have to remain a C customer for a new indication.
Through the remote dialogues, the project identified individual relevant practices that had not previously been in focus.
At the same time, it became visible for which contacts a personal visit currently does not promise sufficient added value.
Both are valuable.
Qualification does not only mean identifying new opportunities.
It also means not deploying resources where they currently have little effect.
Reach is not the same as access
Large contact numbers quickly look impressive in reports.
But the decisive metric is not only how many addresses were worked or how many call attempts were made.
Reach only becomes relevant when it leads to usable dialogues.
The difference between reach and access becomes visible where a mere contact turns into a relevant dialogue with a concrete next step.
Remote sales and the field force should therefore not be seen as two separate channels.
They work best when both sides share information and each does what it does best.
What would be done differently in a restart
One of the clearest statements from the project is: the approach would be chosen again – but together from the very beginning.
This takes three things:
- clear roles,
- defined interfaces,
- and consistent involvement of the field force.
Marketing, remote team and sales must not work as separate worlds.
The benefit only fully materialises when insights from remote dialogues flow into the field force – and information from the field force in turn improves further remote follow-up.
Relevant dialogue instead of mere contact numbers
The goal should therefore not simply be to reach more doctors.
The better question is:
How do we create more relevant dialogues with limited resources?
In the project described, it was possible to hold over a thousand personal conversations within a few months and to create additional breadth in the target audience, without overloading the field force.
Remote sales does not replace the field force in this.
It can rather help ensure that personal on-site time is used where it can deliver the greatest benefit.
And that is exactly the difference between more reach and genuine access.
Listen to the podcast
The full episode “Mehr Reichweite, mehr Zugang: Der Weg zum relevanten Dialog” is available in German.
Duration: 7:41 minutes