Section 1: Personal Goals and Objectives 3
Imagine your goals 3
Define your success criteria 3
Identify success criteria for the clinical development team 4
Get everything on the table 4
Seize your opportunities 5

Section 2: Analysing the Market and Devising a Strategy 7
Design a winning strategy 7
Get to know your market 7
Identify and study your target groups 8
Apply the Pareto Principle 8
Find out what doctors want 9
Use evidence to shape perception 9
Which image do you want to create? 10

Section 3: Developing Your Content 11
Study the scientific results 11
Interpret the data 11
Develop your message 12
Avoid irrelevant messages 13
Look for competitive advantages 13
Work the angles considering all data 14
Ask the right questions 14
Seek insights from the investigators 14
Set the right focus 15
Beware of questions about the 'class effect' 15
Keep tight-lipped about theories 16
Learn the power of language 16
Think positive 17
Capture the spirit 17
Create a convincing message 18
Keep it simple 18
Check for clarity 19
Avoid pitfalls when developing content 19
Be concise 20
Move from features to benefits 20
Solve customers' problems 20
Offer solutions 21
Follow the solution imperative 21
Understand the real needs 22
Pin down your solution 22
Communicate explicit benefits 23
The COMET case study 24
The ACTION case study 25
The 4'S' case study 26
The Examplex case study 26
Sell the product, not the study 29
Know and respect statutory limits 29
Handle 'negative data' appropriately 30
Choose your words with care 30
Beware careless emails 30

Section 4: Winning Attention 31
Give impact 31
Capture attention 31
Apply proven eye-catchers in your documents 32
Emphasize uniqueness 32
Add attractive adjectives when appropriate 34
Use precise numbers 34
Be culturally sensitive 35
Offer practical tips to the reader 35

Section 5: Making Best Use of Language 37
Develop the complete package to convey your message 37
Find the right vocabulary 37
Be clear and convincing 38
Tailor your headlines 38
Evoke an emotional response 39
Evoke imagination if the evidence supports it 39
Capture the imagination 40
Learn the 'magic' words 40
Establish a trial vocabulary 41
Check your brand vocabulary 41
Build a vocabulary for the press 42
Avoid loaded words 42
Beware of arrogance 43
Avoid clichés 43
Beware of jargon 44
Plan an inner logic in your texts 44
Remember Zarathustra 46
Beware of hidden connotations 46
Use positive language 47
Accentuate the positive and keep a fair balance 47
Be affirmative 50
Always choose concision 50
Emphasize the benefits 51
Find alternatives to 'prove' 51
Replace 'difference' 52
Use the active voice 52
Edit your scientific texts 53
Convert 'blind' headlines 53
Insert pertinent subheadings 54
Post your vocabulary 54

Section 6: Design: Choosing Style 55
Make use of bullets 55
Try lists of three 55
Choose suitable symbols 56
Use notes to annotate 56
Pay attention to typography 57
Opt for narrow columns 59
Choose reader-friendly line spacing 59
Contrast text and background 59
Use initial capitals 60
Use direct quotations 60

Section 7: Design: Layout 61
The importance of layout 61
Use the white space 61
How to combine pictures and text 62
Put key elements in key spots 62
Use captions with care 63
Stretch your headlines 63
Work and rework your layout 64
Make use of a Johnson box 64

Section 8: Designing Diagrams and Charts 65
Follow your reader's eyes 65
Use your fonts to reinforce your message 66
Introduce a dynamic 66
Be precise 67
Use the brand name 67
Strengthen your brand 68
Make your diagrams clear 68
Use your brand colour 69
Use contrasting colours 69
Beware of the design pitfalls 70
Think 'black and white' 70
Label columns directly 71
Test your colour illustrations 71
Work on your design skills 72

Section 9: Devising Direct Mail That Gets Good Responses 73
Open a dialogue with your customers 73
Target the recipient 73
Find credible gatekeepers 74
Use suggestive design 74
Trade on familiarity 75
Personalize your letters 75
Disclose your first name 76
Avoid ostentatious signatures 76
Enclose your business card 77
Show the incentive 77
Create a sense of urgency 78
Test and test again 78
Always measure the response to your activities 79

Section 10: Using Images and Illustrations 81
Know the advantage of visual information 81
Use visual information 81
Choose the right symbol 82
Visualize your message 82
Make use of all your image sources 84
Employ colour for images 84
'Humanize' your pieces 85
Prefer photographs to illustrations 85
Pay for professional photography 86
Show the package 86

Section 11: Creating Emotional Impact 87
Distinguish between the value and impact of data 87
Build an emotional bond 87
Tell a captivating human interest story 88
Use evidence-based arguments 88
Combine facts and feelings 89

Section 12: Improving Your Branding Skills 91
Remember the hallmarks of successful brands 91
Build a 'lighthouse' identity 91
Align your marketing activities 92
Use your brand identity 92
Build brand equity 93
Brand all your material 93
Brand your emails 93
Exploit the mathematics of emails 94
Learn from branding failures and successes 94
Remember: change is bad news 95
Ensure branding consistency 95

Section 13: Adapting to a Professional Role 97
Train your voice 97
Sharpen your presentation skills 98
Become a top performer 98
Consider the company as your theatre 99
Learn to connect with your audience 99
Cultivate your sense of humour 100

Section 14: Becoming More Resourceful 101
Communicate your project 101
Ensure sufficient resources 102
Seek out support from key persons 102
Play the numbers game 103
Leverage the investment in clinical development 103
Spell out your assumptions 104
Develop comparative scenarios 104
Highlight the project's commercial value 105
Ask for the budget 105
Use your budget 106

Section 15: Marketing Internally 107
Develop an internal marketing programme 107
Focus on overt and implicit messages 108
Enlarge your network of supporters 108
Sell the project inside your company first 109
Involve decision makers 109
Enlist support from senior management 109
Give frequent presentations 110
Place articles in internal newsletters 110
Initiate internal interviews 111
Ask the right questions 111
Exploit the hierarchy 112
Develop your intranet site 112
Use the intranet to save time 113
Write emails with hyperlinks 113
Build a complete communication platform 114
Try 'questions-and-answers' 114
Produce electronic and hard copy versions 115
Educate the sales representatives 115
Check the incentives scheme 116
Think global, act local 116
Get all of your stakeholders on board 117
Enlist your boss's help 117
Think 'seamless communication' 118
Weave a web of supporters 118
Become a networker 119
Update your stakeholders 119
Use the telephone 120
Set up 'good news' emails 120
Start your emails with the most important words 121
Coordinate internal marketing activities 121

Section 16: Communicating Externally 123
Develop an external communication campaign 123
Analyse the essentials 123
Plan pre-marketing 124
Choose the most appropriate pre-marketing alternative 124
Acknowledge a medical need 125
Address a research question 125
Create an umbrella concept 126
Develop a publication strategy 126
Fine-tune the wording 127
Be generous with reprints 127
Mail out your reprints 128
Draft the cover letter 128
Emphasize key sentences 129
Stimulate follow-up articles 129
Encourage your authors 130
Develop an appropriate fee structure 130
Transform your events 131
Use your imagination 131
Get the most out of your events 132
Time your invitations 132
Print a road map 133
Create an event checklist 133
Organize satellite symposia 134
Get the most from your booth 134
Establish the sequence of opinion leaders 135
Seek endorsements 135
Connect with people 136
Locate future thought leaders 136
Set up an effective liaison 137
Use credible quotations 137
Appreciate the forgotten heroes 138
Set up VIP micro meetings 138
Make the most of VIP micro meetings 139
Establish an expert panel 139
Organize lecture tours 140
Use the web 140
Consider a webcast 141
Learn the statutory limitations for new media 141
Identify the most appropriate web option 142
Set up a patient information website 142
Create a website for healthcare professionals 143
Support a study group's web presence 145
Consider a website for the US market 144
Select the appropriate web page format 144
Choose your type of public relations activities 145
Evaluate your public relations plans before you start 145
Manage the journalists 146
Plan your direct-to-consumer marketing 146
Steer your public relations to professionals 147
Insist on effective advertising 148
Evaluate proposed advertisements 148
Make best use of the sales force 149
Develop a concise message for sales representatives 149
Interact intensely with your sales force 150
Get feedback from the market 150
Establish the right sequence 151

Section 17: Maximizing Your Impact 153
Create a control room 153
Be persistent 154
Stick to your guns 154
Resist the sales representatives' call for change 156
Use the best mix of channels 156
Remember the power of personal presentation 157
Encourage a dialogue 157
Repeat, repeat, repeat 158

Section 18: Mobilizing External Support 159
Find the right agency 159
Prepare your people for the pitch 160
Identify an expert guide 160
Get the most from your agency 161
Make your objectives clear 161
Beware the 'full service offer' 162

Section 19: Developing the Project Strategy 163
Manage the project phases 163
Define your own project parameters 164
Modify the project to suit the needs 164
Think about your personal image 165
Shape your project profile 165
Take the initiative 166
Stretch your comfort zones 166
Try new things 167
Plan the submarine phase 167
Identify the crew 168
Manage confidentiality 168
Prevent leaks of information 169
Keep the process going forward 169
Test your drafts 170
Seek confidential feedback 170
Be a silent witness to focus groups 171
Beware the three reasons for not testing 171
Look at your company culture 172
Move to the flagship phase 172
Kick-start the roll-out 173
Move into selling mode 173
Plan your exit strategy 174
Celebrate your teams achievements 175
Depart with style 175

Section 20: Implementing the Project 177
Make a difference 177
Develop your storyboard 178
Keep timelines 178
Make the right things happen at the right time 179
Start with the action plan 179
Communicate your deadlines 180
Update your action plan 180
Keep the project moving forward 181
Conduct regular review meetings 181
Find a project coordinator 182
Hold people accountable 182
Make sure everything is on time 183
Avoid missing opportunities 183

Section 21: Becoming a Project Leader 185
Remember the key success factor 185
Build a winning team 186
Make your project appealing 186
Foster a great team culture 187
Become the 'de facto' project leader 187
Engender trust and credibility 188
Exude optimism 188
Offer benefits to your team 189
Train your team 189
Provide a professional experience 190
Motivate your team 190
Demand performance 191
Take time to praise people 191
Build self-confidence in your team members 192
Offer empathy 192
Keep your people 193

Section 22: Action 195
Be awake 195
Live up to your potential 195