How to choose your first PCD product basket
UNOS Biotech 2 min read
Twelve to eighteen SKUs is the usual working size for a first basket. Roughly: two or three analgesics, two antibiotics, one or two PPIs, an anti-allergy product, a couple of supplements, paediatric items if your prescribers write them, and one or two speciality products matched to whichever doctor relationship is strongest. Then prune it at ninety days. Almost nobody gets the first list right, and the ones who do well are the ones who edit it.
New associates almost always take too many products. The logic feels right — more products, more chances to sell — but it ties up capital in slow-moving stock and dilutes the time you have with each doctor.
Start from the prescriptions you already see
You know which molecules move in your territory because you have watched them move. Write down the ten products your existing doctors prescribe most often. That list, not a catalogue, is the starting point.
A workable first basket
For a general-range territory, twelve to eighteen SKUs is usually enough to start:
- Two or three analgesic/anti-inflammatory products. High frequency, every practice uses them.
- Two antibiotics. One broad oral (an amoxycillin–clavulanate or a cephalosporin), one macrolide.
- One or two PPI/gastro products. Almost universal repeat demand.
- One anti-allergy product. Seasonal but reliable.
- Two supplements. Calcium and a multivitamin — better margins, repeat purchase, less price comparison.
- Two paediatric items if you call on paediatricians at all.
- One or two speciality items in the segment where your prescriber relationships are strongest.
Weight the basket towards margin, not volume
General range products build your credibility and your call frequency. Supplements and speciality products pay for the business. A basket that is all general range will keep you busy and poor.
Watch the pack size, not just the rate
A 10×10 ALU-ALU pack and a 10×15 blister of the same molecule behave differently in the market. Ask what the chemists in your area actually stock before you commit to a presentation.
Review at ninety days
Three months in, sort your SKUs by units sold. Anything in the bottom quartile that is not strategically necessary should be dropped and replaced with a second product in a segment that is already working. Expanding a working segment beats adding a new one.