xcel
08-31-2006, 11:33 AM
Big pharmaceutical using hybrid cars to rev up market and image. (http://www.nj.com/business/ledger/index.ssf?/base/business-4/1157004574258190.xml&coll=1)
Jeff May - Star-Ledger - August 30, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/06_European_Prius_II.jpg
Prius II saves time by not having to fuel as often.
In a perfect world, the best prescription drugs would sell themselves. But drug companies still rely on hordes of salespeople to move product, and the reps need any advantage they can get to stand out.
One card Novartis salesman Craig Agrusti has to play is his company-supplied car: a silver Toyota Prius, the bulbous, gas-electric hybrid that gets terrific mileage.
Agrusti has been using the Prius for 13 months under an eco-friendly pilot program by the Swiss drug company, which has 4,300 employees in New Jersey. He says the car is a conversation starter, and Agrusti has even convinced one Passaic County doctor he calls on to ditch his Jaguar for a Prius.
"It's no Corvette, but it's a heck of a car," said Agrusti, 33, of Montville.
Novartis has 20,000 vehicles in its global sales fleet, and plans to switch over a substantial percentage to hybrid cars as part of its adherence to the Kyoto Protocol, a commitment by some industrialized nations to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions and forestall global warming. The United States does not support the Kyoto Protocol, so American companies are not required to follow the guidelines.
Roche, which began testing 20 green cars in 2004, is even farther ahead - about 10 percent of its sales force currently drives hybrid vehicles, according to spokeswoman Kim Cayz.
The shift makes sense because of the surging cost of gasoline, but the drug companies say they will realize little immediate savings. One reason for the change is the industry's underlying commitment to human health - and it also doesn't hurt efforts to burnish the image of drugmakers.
"The pharmaceutical industry gets such a bad rap in so many areas," said Jamie Reidy, author of "Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman," a humorous account of his days as a former Pfizer sales rep. Driving an eco-friendly car can help deflect some of the criticism, he said.
Any change in company-supplied vehicles would be hotly debated by pharma sales representatives, who tend to be obsessive about cars because they spend so much time in them, Reidy said.
Agrusti - one of five Novartis employees issued Priuses in the pilot program - drives roughly 85 miles a day, principally in Bergen and Hudson counties. He sells Zelnorm, a treatment for chronic constipation, and Enablex, a medication for overactive bladders.
The Novartis rep says the Prius has less trunk space than traditional cars, but enough room to store drug samples for doctors. Its performance is surprisingly peppy on the Garden State's highways and byways.
"I'm in my car 10-plus hours a day," Agrusti said. "It's a very, very comfortable car. That was a huge selling point for me. And not going to the gas station as much, you're saving time."
At Novartis, Chevy Impalas and Chrysler Town & Country minivans currently make up the bulk of the 7,000-vehicle U.S. sales fleet. The drugmaker is adding 50 Priuses to the fleet in November, and also plans to lease Saturn Green Vues, Volkswagen Jettas that use cleaner-burning diesel fuel and four-wheel drive hybrids, such as Ford Escapes or Toyota Highlanders, for sales locations that get a lot of snow.
"What we're looking to do is dramatically increase the mileage-per-gallon of our current fleet," said Paul Tomaszeski, executive director of business support services for Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
In tests so far, the Prius is getting twice the gas mileage of non-hybrid cars. Each Novartis sales representative is issued a company gas card that requires an odometer reading to be punched in during fill-up. That data is collected and used to crunch average mileage figures, Tomaszeski said.
The Chevy Impalas have averaged 23 miles per gallon, and the Chrysler minivans about 19.6 mpg, he said. The five Priuses - three in Los Angeles, two in the New York-New Jersey area - have averaged 44 miles per gallon.
"That makes for a very nice bar chart," Tomaszeski said.
There are less tangible advantages, too. Sales reps can use their company cars on weekends but have to pay for their own gas when they are off-duty, so the hybrids offer an unexpected perk, Tomaszeski said. In Santa Monica, Calif., owners of hybrid cars don't have to feed parking meters, and in some parts of the country, lone drivers of green vehicles are allowed to use high-occupancy vehicle lanes.
"There are some benefits out there beyond the mileage aspects," Tomaszeski said.
Because auto manufacturers have had trouble keeping up with consumer demands for hybrid cars, Novartis also has plans to lease more environmentally friendly traditional vehicles, such as Chevy Malibus and Chrysler Sebrings. Both models are lighter in weight and use engines with fewer cylinders than the company's current fleet, which translates into better gas mileage.
The 50 Priuses due to arrive this fall are all spoken for, which is not necessarily surprising, given how attuned sales reps are to their cars.
Reidy recalled his astonishment several years ago when he began working for Eli Lilly and discovered his boss drove the same basic model of company car as he did.
"It's socialist," he said in mock irritation.
More routine was his experience at Pfizer, where salespeople would get vehicle upgrades if they surpassed sales quotas or were assigned to special drug divisions. The status of different cars was a frequent topic of conversation, he said.
"One Pfizer rep went to Glaxo and got a Camry," Reidy said. "People at Pfizer had a complete meltdown - 'Oh, she got a Camry.'"
Thanks Proco ;)
Jeff May - Star-Ledger - August 30, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/06_European_Prius_II.jpg
Prius II saves time by not having to fuel as often.
In a perfect world, the best prescription drugs would sell themselves. But drug companies still rely on hordes of salespeople to move product, and the reps need any advantage they can get to stand out.
One card Novartis salesman Craig Agrusti has to play is his company-supplied car: a silver Toyota Prius, the bulbous, gas-electric hybrid that gets terrific mileage.
Agrusti has been using the Prius for 13 months under an eco-friendly pilot program by the Swiss drug company, which has 4,300 employees in New Jersey. He says the car is a conversation starter, and Agrusti has even convinced one Passaic County doctor he calls on to ditch his Jaguar for a Prius.
"It's no Corvette, but it's a heck of a car," said Agrusti, 33, of Montville.
Novartis has 20,000 vehicles in its global sales fleet, and plans to switch over a substantial percentage to hybrid cars as part of its adherence to the Kyoto Protocol, a commitment by some industrialized nations to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions and forestall global warming. The United States does not support the Kyoto Protocol, so American companies are not required to follow the guidelines.
Roche, which began testing 20 green cars in 2004, is even farther ahead - about 10 percent of its sales force currently drives hybrid vehicles, according to spokeswoman Kim Cayz.
The shift makes sense because of the surging cost of gasoline, but the drug companies say they will realize little immediate savings. One reason for the change is the industry's underlying commitment to human health - and it also doesn't hurt efforts to burnish the image of drugmakers.
"The pharmaceutical industry gets such a bad rap in so many areas," said Jamie Reidy, author of "Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman," a humorous account of his days as a former Pfizer sales rep. Driving an eco-friendly car can help deflect some of the criticism, he said.
Any change in company-supplied vehicles would be hotly debated by pharma sales representatives, who tend to be obsessive about cars because they spend so much time in them, Reidy said.
Agrusti - one of five Novartis employees issued Priuses in the pilot program - drives roughly 85 miles a day, principally in Bergen and Hudson counties. He sells Zelnorm, a treatment for chronic constipation, and Enablex, a medication for overactive bladders.
The Novartis rep says the Prius has less trunk space than traditional cars, but enough room to store drug samples for doctors. Its performance is surprisingly peppy on the Garden State's highways and byways.
"I'm in my car 10-plus hours a day," Agrusti said. "It's a very, very comfortable car. That was a huge selling point for me. And not going to the gas station as much, you're saving time."
At Novartis, Chevy Impalas and Chrysler Town & Country minivans currently make up the bulk of the 7,000-vehicle U.S. sales fleet. The drugmaker is adding 50 Priuses to the fleet in November, and also plans to lease Saturn Green Vues, Volkswagen Jettas that use cleaner-burning diesel fuel and four-wheel drive hybrids, such as Ford Escapes or Toyota Highlanders, for sales locations that get a lot of snow.
"What we're looking to do is dramatically increase the mileage-per-gallon of our current fleet," said Paul Tomaszeski, executive director of business support services for Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
In tests so far, the Prius is getting twice the gas mileage of non-hybrid cars. Each Novartis sales representative is issued a company gas card that requires an odometer reading to be punched in during fill-up. That data is collected and used to crunch average mileage figures, Tomaszeski said.
The Chevy Impalas have averaged 23 miles per gallon, and the Chrysler minivans about 19.6 mpg, he said. The five Priuses - three in Los Angeles, two in the New York-New Jersey area - have averaged 44 miles per gallon.
"That makes for a very nice bar chart," Tomaszeski said.
There are less tangible advantages, too. Sales reps can use their company cars on weekends but have to pay for their own gas when they are off-duty, so the hybrids offer an unexpected perk, Tomaszeski said. In Santa Monica, Calif., owners of hybrid cars don't have to feed parking meters, and in some parts of the country, lone drivers of green vehicles are allowed to use high-occupancy vehicle lanes.
"There are some benefits out there beyond the mileage aspects," Tomaszeski said.
Because auto manufacturers have had trouble keeping up with consumer demands for hybrid cars, Novartis also has plans to lease more environmentally friendly traditional vehicles, such as Chevy Malibus and Chrysler Sebrings. Both models are lighter in weight and use engines with fewer cylinders than the company's current fleet, which translates into better gas mileage.
The 50 Priuses due to arrive this fall are all spoken for, which is not necessarily surprising, given how attuned sales reps are to their cars.
Reidy recalled his astonishment several years ago when he began working for Eli Lilly and discovered his boss drove the same basic model of company car as he did.
"It's socialist," he said in mock irritation.
More routine was his experience at Pfizer, where salespeople would get vehicle upgrades if they surpassed sales quotas or were assigned to special drug divisions. The status of different cars was a frequent topic of conversation, he said.
"One Pfizer rep went to Glaxo and got a Camry," Reidy said. "People at Pfizer had a complete meltdown - 'Oh, she got a Camry.'"
Thanks Proco ;)