Neuroscience Sales Specialist

  • Full-Time
  • Richmond, VA
  • ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc.
  • Posted 3 years ago – Accepting applications
Job Description

Seeking talent near: Richmond, VA

For the safety of our employees and communities in response to COVID-19, ACADIA has implemented a temporary work from home policy. As a part of this shift, we have migrated all interviews to virtual interviewing via phone and video.

Responsible for all aspects of managing assigned sales territory, including selling products and addressing customer needs.

Primary Responsibilities:

  • Effectively impacts existing and new customers by providing exceptional value and service, which ultimately helps providers to identify and start appropriate patients on therapy.
  • Educates physicians and physicians’ staff on the value of the Company’s products for patient care.
  • Utilizes knowledge, critical thinking, and dialogue skills to deliver meaningful customer experiences that result in satisfaction, equity, and loyalty.
  • Anticipates, identifies, and appropriately addresses healthcare professionals (HCP) objections, questions, and concerns.
  • Utilizes appropriate techniques to gain consistent access to customers.
  • Utilizes appropriate sales aids, clinical reprints, etc. according to training. Tailors appropriate resources and information depending on customer needs.
  • Develops strong relationships with HCP customers including key opinion leaders’ (KOLs’) within the territory.
  • Identifies and investigates customer concerns and communicates with appropriate staff to solve problems in a timely manner.
  • Analyzes sales potential and then executes in the territory to ensure appropriate calls, reach, frequency, business meals, speaker programs, etc. to achieve consistently strong business results. Works within given budgets and policy guidelines.
  • Analyzes, evaluates, and adjusts as needed to develop effective quarterly business/action plans.
  • Prepares and submits timely reports of business transactions and keeps accurate expense account records.
  • Provides appropriate guidance around pricing and reimbursement for promoted products to customers. Acts as liaison between customers and Company when specific reimbursement questions arise.
  • Communicates and collaborates with sales management and region/area teammates, as well as cross-functional teammates (i.e. managed markets, operations, sales training, marketing, etc.) as business needs dictate.
  • Attends conferences, trainings, exhibits, meetings, and product launches as required.
  • Takes on leadership opportunities as appropriate, and consistently operates with a positive, collaborative attitude.
  • Remains compliant with all regulations in the course of carrying out responsibilities.
  • May participate in the training of new Sales Specialists in the field.
  • May participate in training activities during Area, Regional and National meetings.
  • Consistently carries out responsibilities with proficiency and professionalism.
  • May participate in cross functional projects affecting area, regional and commercial objectives.
  • May provide mentoring support to new and/or junior Sales Specialists.
  • Other duties as assigned.

Selling Responsibilities

  • Proudly represent ACADIA and its culture, mission, and values
  • Meet or exceed sales expectations
  • Exhibit a firm understanding of the selling process
  • Develop and execute territory business plans
  • Exercise professionalism, leadership, and teamwork at all times
  • Adhere to all ACADIA company policies.

Customer Service

  • Partner and build relationships with customers to understand and meet their needs – including providing disease, product, and reimbursement information
  • Interact and sell to the entire spectrum of applicable customer types, including staff, nursing, physicians, and other healthcare professionals
  • Provide approved resources to customers as appropriate, including product samples, clinical trial data, and patient brochures
  • Manage relationships with important customers, including key opinion leaders, ACADIA speakers, local medical societies and advocacy groups, long-term care facilities, local and regional payers, pharmacists, etc.

Knowledge

  • Develop deep neuroscience and ACADIA product knowledge, and an understanding of local and regional market trends
  • Aggressively pursue ongoing personal development
  • Earn a reputation throughout the neuroscience medical community as a subject-matter expert and a valued resource
  • Disease state and product information expert

Education/Experience/Skills:

External Candidate Requirements:

Bachelor's degree required, with an emphasis in the life sciences preferred. A preferred minimum of 5 years healthcare sales with at least 3 years of experience in complex or account based selling environments required. Experience with specialty distribution (specialty hub and reimbursement), partnering with customers/stakeholders such as key opinion leaders, academic institutions, centers of excellence, hospitals, long-term care, nurses, advocacy organizations and patients/caregivers in therapeutic areas such as neurology (movement disorders) and psychiatry (antipsychotics) strongly desired. Must be in good standing with the FDA and OIG. We are considering applicants at both the Senior and Executive level.

Must possess:

  • Demonstrated advanced selling skills and ability to dialogue effectively with customers
  • Demonstrated leadership ability
  • Strong persuasive selling and negotiation skills
  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills
  • Ability to build and maintain lasting relationships with key customers and build networks within the neuroscience community
  • Ability to demonstrate exceptional disease state and product knowledge
  • Ability to anticipate future business opportunities and customer needs, operating with a business ownership mentality
  • Demonstrated ability to learn and apply technical/scientific knowledge and business analyses
  • Organization, initiative, and self-motivation
  • Consistently models professionalism, integrity, and the ability to comply to strict policy, work in a highly regulated environment, and maintain confidential information and data
  • Must live within the territory or within 30 miles of the territory border. Depending on the territory’s geography and work requirements, may also be required to live within a reasonable distance to a major airport
  • Must possess a valid driver's license and maintenance of an acceptable driving record. Must follow all applicable guidelines as set forth in the Company Fleet Management Program including periodic DMV reviews
  • Requires significant and extensive driving of company provided car on a daily basis as well as overnight travel depending on the territory’s geography. Air travel also required, based on territory’s geography, to the Company’s headquarters and for regional and national meetings and events.

Scope:

Having wide-ranging experience, uses professional concepts and company objectives to resolve complex issues in creative and effective ways, exercising judgment in selecting methods, techniques and evaluation criteria for obtaining results. Works on complex issues where analysis of situations or data requires an in-depth evaluation of variable factors.

Physical Requirements:

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, see, talk or hear in a standard office environment and independently from remote locations. Employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Ability to personally drive and remain eligible for a company provided car for day to day work requirements and to travel by airplane independently as needed. Travel up to 80% of the time (depending on territory geography) and work after hours if required by travel schedule or business issues. Must live within the territory or within 30 miles of the territory border. Depending on the territory’s geography and work requirements, may also be required to live within a reasonable distance to a major airport.

ACADIA is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer: Minority/Female/Disability/Veterans/Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

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