J3 in the hoodJohn Coleman, President and managing Partner of J3 healthcare Sales and marketing, talks about J3’s unique concept of providing urban sales and marketing strategies to the pharmaceutical industry.

Can you tell us a little about how J3 Healthcare got started? How has your organization developed? What areas of healthcare do you specialize in?

J3 healthcare began two years ago after my partner and I realized that most companies didn’t have enough representatives to properly serve urban and distressed territories. During my time as a representative, large parts of my territories were underserved and didn’t develop from a revenue generation standpoint that would satisfy large companies. I began to think about how these territories could develop into revenue producing parts of larger territories. There is the presumption that areas with large minority populations are dangerous and not as advantageous to market your products. While that analysis may have some validity, there is still a large market that is available to the first company that understands its value and the intricacies with regards to the selling and marketing process. as I spoke to physicians in these territories, they informed me that they would prescribe products in relation to what companies called on their offices. When I increased my presence and it exceeded that of my competitors, my market share grew exponentially faster than any other parts of my territories.

as I continued my career in the pharmaceutical industry, I began to see the need for an organization that could work closely with large and small companies to help market and promote products in specific territories; thus, the creation of urban and underserved sales teams, training and multicultural marketing services.

Currently there are no companies in the business that offer to co-partner and market products specifically in urban areas. In doing the research, we realized that companies leave hundreds of millions of dollars per year on the table because they don’t have a presence in these territories. The issue is how companies merge their current sales strategies and tap

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Training & Learning

into the urban and multicultural markets. my partner Brent Tilley and I formed J3 about two years ago. From there we brought on several individuals with extensive marketing experience in pharmaceutical and consumer goods and rounded the team out with a training team that consists of individuals with corporate and secondary school training experience.

What kind of technologies do you offer in the training and learning field?

We offer a training and development program that was developed during my time as a sales trainer, called the Triumvirate of Sales Success©. The technology is based on the belief that pharmaceutical sales representatives must expand their overall knowledge of general business and economic trends in addition to understanding the products they sell and the marketing strategy that is set by their company. By combining their knowledge of those three facets of the sales process, a representative will be prepared to effectively represent their company. (see image opposite)

What was the purpose behind the creation of the Triumvirate of Sales Success? How has this approach improved J3’s overall success?

The purpose behind the creation of the Triumvirate of Sales Success was to spur the business side of the sales process. In my experience, most pharmaceutical sales representatives only focus on the product and marketing aspect of their job. They often leave out the last piece, which is business analysis. I believe that the representatives who add the final piece to their sales strategy are those that are successful. For example, knowing the socioeconomic and cultural area that you are in when you’re selling a product. This also ties into the overall focus of J3’s urban sales teams and the marketing arm. This approach has given J3 the ability to truly inspire representatives with new information. The business analysis piece is something that I am unaware of being taught in any of the pharmaceutical training courses I participated in as a student or teacher until J3 arrived.

One aspect that is riddling the industry is underdeveloped territories. How can organizations best maximize profits in lesser deserved regions?

not to say too much, but companies have several options when dealing with urban and underserved territories. The first is to really use the business analysis piece to decide if there is growth in the territory. often times, companies don’t delve deep enough in the inner city to find out if there are opportunities. During my marketing rotation, I was privileged to work with the los angeles County hospital System. I had a product that was not being sold in the entire hospital system but was first-in-class for the disease state. When I did the analysis, I realized that with a little effort and sound marketing strategy, the product could make a significant impact. We implemented a specific call cycle

for the hospitals, and the physicians and patients responded. market share skyrocketed in less than two quarters and revenue grew by more than $100,000 in one territory.

Second is to seek out physicians in specific territories and get their feedback on the viability of a sustained sales process. establishing a partnership with physicians that practice primarily in urban and underserved areas will go a long way to build confidence in the product and the company itself. Finally, J3 has other tested strategies that can be implemented to improve sales in underserved territories almost immediately.

as the world is shrinking with technological and information sharing improvements, there are often difficulties in exchanging data. What are some solutions you provide for multicultural marketing in the pharmaceutical industry?

We provide several solutions for the multicultural side of the business. our primary service is the access we can provide a company to large blocks of the minority population. We accomplish this through our deep relationships with several sectors of urban and minority communities. Because of our past participation in events and causes we are able to leverage those relationships to implement our marketing strategies. There is a lot to be said for the financial power of minority groups, and we as business people must recognize this with regards to the pharmaceutical business. although there is the physician element involved, we must still be cognizant of a company’s overall presence. again, J3 believes that there is a shift coming in the pharmaceutical business with regards to multicultural marketing. We believe those who have leveraged their relationships with minority communities will reap large profits and a group of loyal followers.

How do you see multicultural marketing playing out in the future? What are some ways that organizations can prepare themselves down the road?

multicultural marketing will be the new paradigm in the pharmaceutical business – just as it has been in the retail and consumer goods industry. When plotting strategy, I have looked to the retail business and consumer goods industry to see the outcomes that they have had from their marketing initiatives. although the pharmaceutical business does have regulations regarding marketing, there are still proven strategies that companies can implement that will differentiate them from their competitors and pay immediate dividends. The companies that embrace the market and create effective new strategies will increase their market share and develop long-lasting relationships with communities that they weren’t connected to before. organizations can prepare themselves for the changes that are to come, by embracing the new market and partnering with firms and individuals that can help craft their message to the newly developed market.

John “JaCK” Coleman, President and managing Partner of J3 healthcare Sales and marketing, is responsible for business development and day-to-day operations of J3, whose business is focused on partnering with pharmaceutical companies to improve their sales and marketing efforts in urban and underserved territories. Prior to forming J3, Jack spent 10 years in a variety of roles in the pharmaceutical arena including sales representative, specialty sales representative, hospital sales representative, training manager and international marketing team member.