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Increase in turnover in the pharmacy network. Ways to increase sales in a pharmacy

I go to the pharmacy in the evening. Not because I need something specific, I just walk slowly home, and the sign of the pharmacy is warmly blinking with light. I walked around, looked, bought some little things like body cream and cotton pads. At the same time, I remember that I was going to buy vitamins for a long time. But not simple, but those that are for beauty - skin, hair, nails.

The consultant has already given me my purchases and switched to other things. There are no more customers in the pharmacy. I:

Oh, wait, please, I wanted to ask one more thing...

Consultant (returning to the window):

Yes, please ask.

I would like vitamins for beauty. For skin, hair, nails...

And what is your state of all this? Serious problems?

“Strange,” I think. Can't you see what my condition is? I'm not wearing an oxygen mask." And I say out loud:

Well, how serious... Just some problems. Pretty small. I want everything to be beautiful and perfect.

The consultant calls me two brands of vitamins. I ask you to show them to me for comparison, the consultant takes out both packages. Another visitor appears in the pharmacy - the poor fellow managed to catch a cold in such warm weather! I move aside to give him the opportunity to get the medicine as soon as possible.

Hiding behind a handkerchief, the man is trying to convey to the pharmacist the name of the desired drug.

- Knoxprey? the consultant asks. — Yes, we have it.

Is it suitable for the elderly? asked the buyer, who was clearly in his sixties.

Yes, it can be taken by all adults, as well as children from 6 years of age. Just don't use it if you have high blood pressure or glaucoma.

This, thank God, is not. Let's!

Meanwhile, I study the composition of vitamins, not understanding anything in it. After three minutes of this mindless reading, I ask myself until a new client comes up:

And which ones do you think are better?

Looking for what.

Well, I told you! Skin, hair, nails...

Both of them will do,” the consultant replies. Both companies are good.

I'm at a dead end. She doesn't know what I have. eternal problem with a choice, and I'll be standing here for twenty minutes, if not more. I still decide to find out this terrible secret and move on:

And I was told that these are more suitable for older women, but these are more suitable for young skin. This is true?

No, of course not. Just on the first - a photograph of a woman in years, and on the second - a young girl.

And yet, probably, those with a young one - finally decide on a conclusion.

The consultant (quite unexpectedly) suggests:

The first one is better though. They are stronger and give the best effect.

I'm completely confused:

But they are for women!

And for girls too. But you see for yourself which ones to take. Both of them are good.

The decision-making process started again. I understand that the problem of choice has risen again in full height. And I can't deal with her. Therefore, I have only one way out - to flee:

Let me still think and come, for example, tomorrow. Anyway, I won't be able to buy it today. Yes, and I have a card in another pharmacy, but vitamins are still quite expensive. Albeit good ones.

Consultant (friendly and nice):

Think, of course. And come again.

Psychologist's comment

Pharmacy shopping is expert shopping. Of course, the consultant must know the properties of the drugs sold. This point is not even discussed. Of course, it's good when he has relevant sales manuals that list the main characteristics, pros and cons, limitations, possible customer objections and how to respond to them. Then many difficult situations could have been avoided and facilitated the sale process. In the case of Knoxprey, this is exactly what happened: the client had questions, the consultant gave an exhaustive answer to them, the man made a decision to buy, received his drug and left.

With a female visitor, everything was not so simple. Don't forget simple truth: The main thing actor is always a client. Many of us have our own ideas about the ideal client. We would like him to be literate, not to ask stupid questions, to be polite to us, to always appreciate our concern for him.

But real people are always less than ideal. And by and large, apart from themselves, they are of little interest. Those who work with clients need to understand very well and not wait until the ideal client comes, but work with those who come.
And here only a dry knowledge of their products is not enough. This condition is necessary but not sufficient. When serving customers, you need to have creative thinking - otherwise you will never achieve success in sales.

You need to be able to see the world through the eyes of the client, speak his language, be able to find out the needs of the client, and then satisfy them creatively. Otherwise, this work would be much more efficient for robots.

It is necessary to distinguish between the release of goods and the actual sale, and, which is also important, the sale and just “pushing in”. If you just release the goods, then you are nothing more than a clerk, in which case you can be replaced by a robot. If you “push” a client, then calling you a professional is also unlikely to work. But what is common between the situation of "vacation" and "pushing in"? And the fact that neither there nor there is a fundamental component of a good sale - finding out the needs of the client.

If the customer's needs are not clarified, the sale cannot take place, you will miss the target all the time.

In the situation described, the pharmacist did not advance beyond the level of a clerk - she was able to sell to the client only what the client himself asked for.

We are all mostly non-professionals in areas that do not lie in the sphere of our interests. When in winter I myself decided to drink a course of vitamins, according to the recommendations, I chose the Alfavit vitamin complex. He came to the pharmacy and announced his intention, but it was not there: there were more than 6 varieties. And even after I brushed aside the options for breastfeeding mothers and those who are over ..., it was still not clear what to choose. And if not for the advice of the pharmacist, I, too, could have stood for a long time, choosing the best option.

A professional consultant works with questions. These questions should always be comprehended and aimed at clarifying the needs of the client.

What information did the pharmacist get when she asked: “What is your state of all this? Serious problems?"

When a consultant asks such questions, he expects to hear some kind of answer and, based on this answer, to make an offer to the client.

I remember the case when I ordered tea in a roadside cafe, and the girl at the distribution asked me: “Do you want tea without anything?” To which I answered her: “Please, tea with nothing for me.” She at least knew what she would do with the answer. But we are not talking about a roadside cafe, but about a pharmacy where professionals should work.

Then the situation develops almost like a joke. What associations should have arisen at the sight of a photo of a woman and a young girl on the boxes? That's right, those that have arisen. After the client asked, and the pharmacist said that both companies are good and there is no difference between them, the client made a decision to buy. The contradiction that appeared in subsequent remarks can confuse anyone: “Although the first one is still better. They are stronger and give a better effect.” But: “You see for yourself which ones to take. Both are good."

For a professional this unforgivable mistakes. It seems that the pharmacist personally scares away customers in his own pharmacy.

For what? I have no answers to these questions, and it seems to me that the pharmacist himself does not have them either. But until they are gone, customers will continue to flee.

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Method number 1. Focus on bestsellers

You, of course, know that a small number of items brings the main income to a pharmacy. But the specifics of the pharmacy business implies the presence in the assortment of obviously unprofitable drugs, which are not possible to refuse for many reasons, incl. due to the social component of pharmacies. Therefore, in order to remain a competitive enterprise and at the same time be forced to subsidize cheap medicines that are significant for the disabled and pensioners, focus on bestsellers without experiencing shortages and interruptions in the supply of these commodity items. It's about not so much about the medicines that are in demand and in demand, but about the drugs that bring the maximum income per unit of production in your particular pharmacy.

Method number 2. Maintain the right pricing policy

The maximum price your pharmacy can charge for a product is usually determined by demand. It is clear that the population as a whole has a favorable attitude towards a cheap pharmacy, but it would still be more appropriate to locate it in residential areas, where the main contingent is concentrated - buyers with low incomes, which are more often older people. But in central urban areas or in business districts, a pharmacy will not experience difficulties with customers, even selling medicines at inflated prices. Some of the visitors who are experiencing financial difficulties, but by the will of fate found themselves in an expensive pharmacy in the business district, will have to put up with its high prices. Others, due to financial security, will simply not pay attention to the cost of medicines.

Method number 3. Optimal assortment

Low prices for medicines in a residential area, not supported by the proper range, will force the local population, and especially pensioners, to look for more far-sighted competing pharmacies. Although a large assortment is not always justified economically - with its growth in geometric progression the costs of maintaining inventory, occupied space, personnel, etc. increase. Therefore, a pharmacy located on a busy main street or in the business districts of the city is doomed to favorable commercial prospects even if there is a minimum necessary assortment that satisfies casual customers. For this reason, a small-scale pharmacy will also be quite successful, especially given the high rental rates for non-residential premises in a crowded place.

Method number 4. Rational purchasing strategy

If your pharmacy does not apply for a commodity loan, but works on a prepaid basis or pays the wholesaler upon delivery of medicines, then you get them at affordable prices. And vice versa, if a pharmacy due to a shortage working capital purchases pharmaceuticals on a deferred payment basis, the distributor is forced to increase their selling price, embedding their risks there. Accordingly, the final cost of packaging in retail. True, a pharmacy may not automatically raise prices, but in the event of a decrease in the trade margin, it will not be able to compensate for all its costs, and this, if not a loss, then lost profit, is quite obvious. In such a situation, she can only count on an increase in trade.

Method number 5. Proper display of goods

One of the most effective ways to increase sales, responsible, to a certain extent, for the growth of pharmacy profits, is a competent display of goods or merchandising. Its main task is to ensure that the drug is easily found at the planned purchase. With a partially planned purchase - to encourage the buyer to choose a particular medication, and in the case of an unplanned purchase - to provoke the consumer's desire to purchase this product. In the latter case, this may be of particular interest to the pharmacy, since, due to the characteristics of consumer behavior, about two-thirds of visitors are prone to additional impulse purchases in trading floor and only one third comes to the pharmacy with specific intentions and is not distracted by unmotivated incentives.

Method number 6. Availability of a sales consultant

In many ways, the frequency of unplanned purchases is due to the skillful actions of sales floor consultants - especially in the departments of parapharmaceuticals and medical cosmetics. It is no secret that cosmetic medicinal products are quite expensive and it is not so easy to sell them. How can you explain to a woman why one brand of night cream costs $10 and another brand costs more than $100? Why such a difference? Because the volume is the same. And here, in addition to the general high educational level and sociability, a competent consultant needs special skills in sales techniques. After all, the tasks of the consultant include not only informing the buyer about the availability of certain positions in the assortment, but also identifying the needs of a particular client. And then the selection of the most optimal set of cosmetics from a large number brands, each of which has its own individual care concept.

Figure - 4 Consultant on the trading floor of a pharmacy

Method number 7. Qualified customer assistance

First of all, this is a clear work of the reference and information department, incl. and by connecting to telephone and electronic medicine alert services. Unsatisfied demand must be skillfully leveled by adequate replacements with analogues or drugs with a similar therapeutic effect. It is possible to practice a system of pre-orders (for temporarily out of stock, rare or very expensive drugs) with subsequent home delivery, which will be favorably received by the elderly, sick and lonely or very busy categories. To revive consumer demand, you can take an active part in joint actions with pharmaceutical manufacturers to promote new drugs.

Method number 8. Quality of service

Excellent service is not only competence, but also the ability to establish a trusting relationship with each customer, be patient and considerate, and always remain friendly. The forced unavailability of a pharmacist when he is talking on the phone or looking at a computer, or rearranging packages is unacceptable. A rushing buyer simply won't wait to be noticed. Avoid queues (requires several windows on the sales floor), insufficient staff to dispense goods to customers, as well as problems with change money, non-functioning cash registers, or lack of spare cash tapes.

Method number 9. General comfort of visitors

The work schedule of the staff and the pharmacy itself should be drawn up taking into account the business and other rhythms of the activity of the population, i.e. be convenient not only for pensioners, but for all potential customers. The not very good location of the pharmacy can be compensated by the abundance of identification marks (pointers, signboards), which will help to orient the flow of people, directing them to this pharmacy. The pharmacy should appear solid (more credible), which includes the absence of undesirable surroundings, an updated facade, a wide and comfortable porch, etc. In the pharmacy itself there is a bright, comfortable, spacious hall. All rooms are renovated and tastefully equipped. It is necessary to take care of older customers - benches, tables and chairs in the trading floor. Goods should be correctly placed on shelves and showcases, and related information (names, price tags, etc.) should be conveniently placed. In particular, labels should not be very small or illegible (with corrections, crossed out, sealed, etc.), or even completely upside down.

Figure - 5 Counter type pharmacy

Method number 10. Building consumer loyalty

Loyalty is the positive attitude of the buyer towards the pharmacy, which he retains despite the existence of financially more profitable offers on the market. A loyal customer will be lenient towards higher prices and will be sympathetic to individual errors in service. But you shouldn't disappoint him. In essence, loyalty is a predictable and natural response to the pharmacy's efforts. Therefore, having managed to win a client, the pharmacy is forced to constantly develop in order to remain attractive to him. Otherwise, it will not be possible to keep an increasingly demanding customer - he will be intercepted by a more enterprising competing pharmacy.

Pharmacists in pharmacies combine the duties of medical workers and sales specialists. Pharmacy sales are based on general principles sales, but there are nuances.

There are six stages in the structure of the technology of professional pharmaceutical sales on the trading floor:

knowledge of the portrait and characteristics of consumer behavior of buyers

making contact

collection and analysis of information about needs

argumentation and demonstration of the goods necessary to solve the problem

responses to visitor objections

completion of the sale

The role position of a pharmacy worker at the stages of sales

The first stage is knowledge of the portrait and characteristics of consumer behavior of buyers, and it includes observation, questioning, expert assessments, and analysis of literature data. In this process, the pharmaceutical worker acts daily as a researcher.

The next stage of sales is establishing contact, and this is gaining trust, showing attention, good relationship, the desire to help, because this is what visitors are waiting for. And here the profession of a pharmaceutical worker is close to the profession of an actor. The next stage of the sale is the collection and analysis of information about the needs, questions, observations.

Then comes the argumentation and demonstration of the product to solve the problem, the pervostolnik at this stage transforms the properties of the product into utility, benefit, means of solving the problems of a particular buyer. The pharmaceutical worker acts authoritatively as an expert. Visitors are very diverse, they put forward their doubts and objections. At this moment, the pervostolnik accepts and processes objections, acting as a psychologist at this stage.

On last step the sale must again show attention, courtesy, and the pharmaceutical worker acts in the final role of the seller.

In order to see how practical activities sales processes are carried out, what roles are often performed by first-timers, how competently and skillfully they build a dialogue on the trading floor, how good is the performance “Pharmaceutical sales”, our university held a special Scientific research. Graduate students, students and interns went to nearby pharmacies, and 1,292 completed or incomplete sales processes were surveyed in 70 drugstores. At the same time, 80% of sales were successful, 20% of sales were unsuccessful. It should be noted that the knowledge of pharmaceutical workers of the main portrait characteristics and the features of the consumer behavior of the population and the ability to use them were not clearly manifested, sometimes unobtrusively guessing by individual strokes.

In the relevant foreign and domestic literature it is believed that establishing contact with a visitor whom a pharmacist wants to see as his buyer in the future should be given up to 40% of attention and time. The main task of the pharmacy specialist at this stage is to strengthen the trust of the visitor, since the visitor has already indicated trust by entering this pharmacy. To do this, you need to please the visitor at first sight, demonstrate the image of a professional who pays attention, is in good mood and sincerely wants to help the person who asked for help.

A study of the sales process showed that it is the visitors, and not the pharmacy specialists, who are more polite and interested in establishing verbal business contact with the front desk employees.

Probably, visitors still remember the perestroika period of drug shortages, and, wanting to make contact, they seek to appease the pharmacist. It turned out that during 1292 sales, the initiative to greet a pharmaceutical specialist came from potential buyers 32 times, which is 2% of the number of sales surveyed. On the part of the pharmacy workers, there was only silence in response. The word "Hello" in various combinations they were able to pronounce only 12 times. In 2 cases, awareness of the fact of the presence of a potential buyer was marked with the phrase "I'm listening to you!"

An analysis of foreign and domestic sales experience suggests that the fundamental task of the person carrying out the sale is the collection and analysis of information. This is done to find out the needs of visitors, so you need to ask questions and hear answers in order to offer the best for them. possible solutions problems based on financial capability and accessibility. At this stage of the sale, the one who asks the most good questions and listens better is in control. This suggests that pharmacists must take the initiative in their own hands. The nature of the questions asked by a pharmaceutical specialist depends on the degree of formation of the visitor's needs. Based on the study, it seems that pharmaceutical sales have a number of advantages in this area. specific features. Only in 34 cases - this is 2.6%, the pharmaceutical specialist still managed to say before the visitor asked different phrases: "What else?", "Nothing else?".

There are five types of needs, depending on how the visitor is aware of this need. We can say that the visitor came with a formed need, having a prescription in hand, or with a conditionally formed need - he knows the name of the drug or pharmacotherapeutic group. Unformed need - the visitor knows the symptoms of diseases, hidden need - the visitor has come, but does not yet know what he wants, as well as immediate need. Depending on the five types of needs, the researchers tried to identify and systematize which speech turns and phrases are currently most often used.

The dialogue between a pharmacist and a visitor in the presence of a prescription (5-6%) or with the exact knowledge of the name of the drug (88-89%) develops as follows: "Hello, do you have such a medicine?" - "13 rubles 50 kopecks" (this is how 80% of all sales are made). But sometimes a pharmaceutical specialist still makes contact, in which case you can often hear the phrases: “Is it more expensive or cheaper for you?”, “Do you want one package?”, “Pills or syrup?”, “Pills for a child or for an adult?”, “Imported or domestic?”, “What dosage is needed?”.

Naturally, the presence of a prescription and knowledge of the name of a drug or pharmacotherapeutic group significantly limits the possibilities of dialogue on the trading floor, and therefore, using the technology of the considered model with minor modifications, up to 90% of prescription sales are solved and 80% - subject to the formed need. In this case, it is alarming that the pharmacist has stopped talking about the rules for storing medicines, about the rules and features of admission. Unfortunately, in a range of 35 to 50 prescriptions and up to 20% of specific drug requests, potential buyers were rejected and left the pharmacy without making any purchase. The research group systematized and generalized such situations, and this made it possible to form a number of typical models. With the option considered below, 65% of cases of failed purchases occurred. In this case, the dialogues developed in this way: "Hello, do you have this medicine?" - "In a nearby pharmacy!".

The next model (up to 19% of failures): "Hello, do you have this medicine?" - "No".

And another model (up to 16%): “Hello, do you have this medicine?” - "17 rubles 50 kopecks." - "Very expensive!".

A very large percentage of refusals are for prescription drugs, so you need to study frequently repeated prescriptions, purchase analogues, and conclude an agreement with those pharmacies where prescription drugs are prepared. If a person comes with a prescription, he may also have accompanying ready-made forms, and in this situation, pharmacists do not have the right to refuse.

Basic models, which account for up to 82% of sales with a conditionally formed need: “Hello, do you have analgin?” - "Yes, I have". - "Thank you". And half of the visitors leave.

The next model: “There is no domestic one, will you take an imported one?” or “There is no Analgin, will you order?” - "No thanks". Here, the lack of work with objections becomes especially evident - if the visitor does not have the desire to continue the conversation with the headman, they also do not show interest. Another model (up to 80% of failure cases): "Hello, do you have analgin?" - “There is no domestic one, will you take an imported one?” - "No, I would like domestic." Up to 37%: “Hello, do you have analgin?” - "17 rubles 30 kopecks." - "Very expensive, but is there something cheaper?" - "No". Or: “Let me see, please. Why such a short shelf life? - "What is." - "Thank you". And in these cases, visitors leave, but you could help them, because all specialists are familiar with the basics of sales theory. The pharmaceutical sales process does not end with initial stage collecting information, it is just beginning. In these cases, it was forgotten that drugs have synonyms, analogues, and so on.

But everything could be completely different! Therefore, there are no limits for improvement, regardless of basic education, forms of organization and conduct of the pharmaceutical business.

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