Laurs & Bridz: Sales Targets and Antiviral Drug Launch

In October 2020, the managing director of Laurs & Bridz Pharmaceuticals Private Limited was considering changing the company’s sales strategy to reflect the challenges that India’s pharmaceutical industry was facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company was also considering launching a new antiviral drug. The COVID-19 pandemic had disrupted many routine sales practices, such as in-person meetings with customers, and had also affected drug distribution. Consequently, the sales team had managed to achieve only 87.4 per cent of its sales targets in the first three quarters, with a mere 9.3 per cent growth over the previous year against a targeted growth rate of 25.1 per cent. The managing director had to consider all factors affecting his company’s sales performance during the COVID-19 crisis. What strategies could he devise to motivate sales managers and representatives facing uneven growth across different zones? Should he revise sales targets this late in the year? What were the pros and cons of launching a new product during these times of market uncertainty?