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Post by brotherm1 on Dec 13, 2016 2:17:30 GMT -5
Hopefully the locations for the.new sales positions align with favorable endos, favorable insurance coverage, large target populations, and will be targeted with good advertisement.
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Post by harryx1 on Dec 14, 2016 12:38:03 GMT -5
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Post by cedafuntennis on Dec 14, 2016 13:21:13 GMT -5
I would hope they get going fast. I just found out that a major hospital in the Southern California area had a diabetes symposium these past 2 weeks. All the big players showed up and even though Mannkind was specifically invited and there were endos very interested in attending a presentation and Q&A, Mannkind declined at the last minute. Not a good thing. Not good at all, what-ever the reason.
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Post by porkini on Dec 14, 2016 13:29:35 GMT -5
I would hope they get going fast. I just found out that a major hospital in the Southern California area had a diabetes symposium these past 2 weeks. All the big players showed up and even though Mannkind was specifically invited and there were endos very interested in attending a presentation and Q&A, Mannkind declined at the last minute. Not a good thing. Not good at all, what-ever the reason. I wonder if this is actually true [declined at last minute]... must be a program/agenda for that symposium out there somewhere that would show Mannkind on it? Or, I guess I'm asking you cedafuntennis, if you are going to toss crap at the wall to see if it will stick, how come you neglect to toss something factual to backup your claim? Thanks and enjoy the rest of your day!
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Post by golfeveryday on Dec 14, 2016 13:42:11 GMT -5
Hopefully the locations for the.new sales positions align with favorable endos, favorable insurance coverage, large target populations, and will be targeted with good advertisement. Pharma has very good software that will draw territories for any target audience based on Rx volume. I am quite sure these territories were not random.
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Post by dictatorsaurus on Dec 14, 2016 14:47:41 GMT -5
I'm wondering if any of these jobs will ever translate into sales and why it took so long to bring a proper crew on board.
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Post by madog365 on Dec 14, 2016 15:06:20 GMT -5
My question is - will filling these new positions be on top of the existing contract sales force already in market? Will there now be over 100 sales reps slinging full-time afrezza across the country?
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Post by ilovekauai on Dec 14, 2016 15:21:30 GMT -5
Ceda: Before I put you on block, perhaps your concern should be directed to Michael Castanaga, MNKD CCO. I'm sure he would be interested in knowing this if indeed what you stated is factual. Aloha.
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Post by sophie on Dec 14, 2016 15:22:02 GMT -5
I'm wondering if any of these jobs will ever translate into sales and why it took so long to bring a proper crew on board. My take- $$$$$$$ It's likely they didn't have the cash at the time to hire who they wanted to. We know they outsourced to an agency. It's likely they knew early on that a settlement was coming, so they probably figured priming the pump in multiple locations for the eventual permanent hires was better than focusing on a smaller region with higher quality reps. In hindsight, it doesn't look like they could have done worse with a more concentrated plan, but then again, how do you convince a top rep to leave a company where they're having immense success to come to your company that is hinging on insolvency? It's highly likely they couldn't find the cream of the crop because those are the ones that don't get laid off or take a "step down" to a smaller company. Of course, it's also possible that I'm giving too much credit to management and they figured this plan would be fruitful. I'm hoping for the former, obviously. The part that troubles me is that Mike C was oozing with enthusiasm with some of the hires, with the initial count stated to be around 70. I'm going off of board numbers for that figure since I didn't do the research myself. We later found out almost half dropped out and/or got cut. I'm hoping this isn't an indication that Afrezza is a tough sell, i.e those who were motivated couldn't pitch it and got discouraged or those who weren't having any success got cut as dead weight. They mentioned that it takes several months to have an impact with docs in the CC (although many other new drugs seem to have no problem selling out of the gate), so make of it what you will. The bottom line is it takes money to make money. Obviously we'll find out soon whether there is the needed influx of money or not.
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Post by saxcmann on Dec 14, 2016 15:41:08 GMT -5
My question is - will filling these new positions be on top of the existing contract sales force already in market? Will there now be over 100 sales reps slinging full-time afrezza across the country? Yes!
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Post by compound26 on Dec 14, 2016 15:48:20 GMT -5
My question is - will filling these new positions be on top of the existing contract sales force already in market? Will there now be over 100 sales reps slinging full-time afrezza across the country? Yes! A bit less than 100. On the conference call, Mike said Mannkind had 42 sales people at that time. And not all of the current 54 openings are for sales people. So I guess Mannkind will have around 80-90 sales people if all the current openings are taken.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2016 16:04:35 GMT -5
Just went through the MNKD jobs portion of the website. If you look at each posting, it is in some instances for multiple territories. Alabama has two jobs under one post, Charlotte has 3. In total, there are 80 postings for Area Business Managers which is Mannkinds job title for sales representative. In addition, as pointed out there are a pair of postings for Regional Business Managers East and West. Figure around 8 - 12 reps per sales manager. Looks like the Controller role, VP HR role, Mgr Sr Mgr financial reporting, Director Digital Marketing roles are all still listed - these are all higher level rolls with significant base salaries. Unless Mannkind is bullshitting, they have more money coming in. My take, Mannind 2.0 was school time with Mike et al learning the ins and outs of Afrezza: how to position, sell, titrate, and all the other stuff one needs to sell product. With the infrastructure in place from Mannkind 2.0 & several months to learn and tweak from their experiences, perhaps the MNKD Locomotive will rumble to life in 2017. Looks good. Have to execute and move the metal. Sales training has been done several times which should make the process more efficient and time to ramp for reps, less. Anyone know if they are taking the diabetes nurse educators they had working for them through Touchpoint over to direct employees? With 80 reps, all we need for proof of concept is 5-10 big endos in each territory writing for Afrezza and we are off to the races. Easier said than done but the focus could not be more clear.
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Post by saxcmann on Dec 14, 2016 16:05:42 GMT -5
A bit less than 100. On the conference call, Mike said Mannkind had 42 sales people at that time. And not all of the current 54 openings are for sales people. So I guess Mannkind will have around 80-90 sales people if all the current openings are taken. Actually a bit more than 100.
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Post by mnholdem on Dec 14, 2016 16:09:08 GMT -5
I am unable to access it at the moment but I confident that the original statement about the commercializing team was that the team numbered close to 70 people. However, it was mentioned that the team included managers and nurse educators. I'm thinking with 12 NE's and a few Mgrs, the Area Business Mgrs (Sales) would have only numbered in the low 50's from the get go.
Hardly indicative of any kind of mass exodus, IMHO.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2016 16:27:25 GMT -5
I'm wondering if any of these jobs will ever translate into sales and why it took so long to bring a proper crew on board. My take- $$$$$$$ It's likely they didn't have the cash at the time to hire who they wanted to. We know they outsourced to an agency. It's likely they knew early on that a settlement was coming, so they probably figured priming the pump in multiple locations for the eventual permanent hires was better than focusing on a smaller region with higher quality reps. In hindsight, it doesn't look like they could have done worse with a more concentrated plan, but then again, how do you convince a top rep to leave a company where they're having immense success to come to your company that is hinging on insolvency? It's highly likely they couldn't find the cream of the crop because those are the ones that don't get laid off or take a "step down" to a smaller company. Of course, it's also possible that I'm giving too much credit to management and they figured this plan would be fruitful. I'm hoping for the former, obviously. The part that troubles me is that Mike C was oozing with enthusiasm with some of the hires, with the initial count stated to be around 70. I'm going off of board numbers for that figure since I didn't do the research myself. We later found out almost half dropped out and/or got cut. I'm hoping this isn't an indication that Afrezza is a tough sell, i.e those who were motivated couldn't pitch it and got discouraged or those who weren't having any success got cut as dead weight. They mentioned that it takes several months to have an impact with docs in the CC (although many other new drugs seem to have no problem selling out of the gate), so make of it what you will. The bottom line is it takes money to make money. Obviously we'll find out soon whether there is the needed influx of money or not. Hiring reps through Touchpoint removes a lot of liability for Mannkind. To your point a small company in difficult financial straights is unlikely to hire a seasoned stable rep from big Pharma but with this model, Mannkind can sort through the 40 Touchpoint reps they have, keep the good ones ad part ways with those that are not working out. Downsized reps from big Pharma are not always the poorest performers. Unfortunately, the process of downsizing is not always that scientific and the legal department always has a say in order to mitigate risk of lawsuits. With Novo layoffs recently and Sanofi announcing two days ago they are laying off 20% of their diabetes sales force, lots of good talent, well versed in diabetes with endocrinologist relationships to be had by MNKD. www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/sanofi-to-slash-20-diabetes-salesforce-as-struggling-unit-faces-brand-new-biosimwww.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-29/novo-nordisk-to-cut-1-000-jobs-to-battle-diabetes-competitionPS - part of Mike's job is to ooze enthusiasm. He is the head cheerleader and as such, his energy and enthusiasm set the tone for the entire commercialization team. If he doesn't exude confidence, his people won't either and a rep who sells with their head down is dead.
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