A pharmaceutical commercial program often depends on multiple systems and services. CRM, sample accountability, sales training, analytics, and field operations need to work together, sometimes across different providers.
When a company launches a product, enters a new therapeutic area, or changes its sales force, selecting a provider is about more than capabilities. The people behind the solution must understand the program and adapt as its needs change.
This was the focus of Synergistix’s virtual roundtable, “The Partnership Fit: Choosing the Best Solution for Your Program.” You can watch the full roundtable discussion on YouTube.
Pharmaceutical commercial leaders and solution providers discussed how to select partners and build relationships that work over time. Whether you’re evaluating a new provider or reassessing an existing relationship, these five considerations can help.
1. Start with the Outcome, Not a Predetermined Solution
Before comparing providers, define what your organization needs to accomplish. As Sharon Lustig, President & CEO at CMR Institute, explained, “We really need to strengthen the problem definition that we have. A lot of buyers write requirements for the solution they imagine, and not necessarily for the outcomes they’re looking for. But what do you want people to do or change? What does the organization need to change? How do they want customers to feel or do differently after the solution is in place?”
The answers to these questions should guide the solution, rather than the other way around.
Consider a request for sales training on a specific topic. The broader goal might be to change how representatives work in the field. When providers understand that goal, they can recommend an approach that addresses the underlying need rather than simply delivering the requested training.
Get input from operations, sales, marketing, legal, and compliance. Separate essential needs from preferences, especially when timelines are tight. For a product launch, what needs to be ready on day one, and what can wait? Consider how CRM, data, training, and other services will work together. A solution that meets its own requirements may still be a poor fit if it doesn’t support the larger program.
2. Use Discovery to Test the Partnership Fit
Early conversations should tell you more than what’s on a provider’s feature list. Look for questions that reveal how your team works, how you plan to use the solution, and how it fits with other systems and providers. For example, a data partner should ask not just what information you need, but also how your field team will use it.
Ask prospective partners to walk through situations that reflect your needs:
- Have you supported a new product launch, a move into another therapeutic area, or the addition of a sales team? What did you learn?
- How would you coordinate with other providers supporting our program?
- What can you customize, and where do requirements such as sample accountability or physician validation limit flexibility?
Strong answers should demonstrate relevant experience, sound judgment, and clarity about tradeoffs. Recommendations from people you trust are useful, but providers still need to show that their capabilities fit your current situation.
3. Agree on How Both Sides Will Handle Challenges
Discuss how both teams will work through disagreements and setbacks before they occur. Agree upfront that respectful challenges and honest feedback are part of a productive working relationship.
Can you challenge each other’s recommendations respectfully? What happens when a request can’t be met? How will you discuss competing priorities around scope, timing, or budget?
Make accountability concrete. As Steve Gornto, Vice President of Sales at Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, explained, when something goes wrong, a provider should acknowledge the issue promptly, explain how it will be corrected, and describe how it will try to prevent a recurrence. Clients must meet their commitments, too. For example, if a CRM partner needs an updated target list 30 days before a quarter begins and receives it only two days beforehand, the client must recognize its own role in any resulting challenges.
These conversations help both sides resolve issues without blame and stay focused on the shared goal.
4. Treat Your Partners as an Extension of the Team
Think beyond the initial contract. Your needs, teams, and technologies will change. A strong partner should be able to adapt, work alongside other providers, and proactively suggest improvements.
Respect matters on both sides. As Paulette Geene, Senior Director of Commercial Operations at Acrotech Biopharma, put it, “The partners that you work with, they’re an extension of your team. So you try to treat them with the same respect that you would treat your own team.”
That means sharing the context behind requests, delivering needed information on time, recognizing good work, and distinguishing true emergencies from tasks that can wait. It also means communicating constraints honestly and respecting the time and resources of others.
5. Evaluate AI Capabilities with Clear Expectations
AI belongs in the conversation, but it should serve a clear purpose. Our panelists discussed using AI to summarize provider-evaluation conversations, compare options, improve processes, and support training and planning. They also emphasized knowing when people must remain responsible for decisions.
Ask prospective partners where they use AI, what data informs the results, and what checks are in place. Next-best-action recommendations, for example, depend on accurate field and commercial data.
Dan Loeffler, VP of Customer Experience at MedPro Systems, suggested that AI could make vendors’ technology offerings increasingly similar. If so, responsiveness, empathy, and the ability to work well together will become even more important.
Keep the Conversation Going at the 2027 Collaboration Conference
Choosing a provider starts with a clear goal, but lasting partnerships depend on communication, shared accountability, and a willingness to adapt. You can hear the full discussion on YouTube.
This roundtable was just the beginning. Continue the conversation at the 2027 Synergistix Collaboration Conference, February 17–19 in Fort Lauderdale, where life sciences professionals will come together to exchange ideas, strengthen connections, and explore what they can accomplish together.
Explore the 2027 Collaboration Conference
Back