Correspondence: Beth Rogers, Department of Human Resource and Marketing Management Portsmouth Business School Richmond Building Portland Street Portsmouth PO1 3DE, UK. Tel: +44 (0)2392 844017; Fax: +44 (0) 2392 844037; e-mail: Beth.Rogers@port.ac.uk

¹is Programme Manager for the MA in Sales Management at Portsmouth Business School, Chair of the UK National Sales Board and Research Director of the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management. Her book "Rethinking sales management: a strategic guide for practitioners" was published by John Wiley & Son in June 2007. Her career has encompassed many years experience in the IT industry, consultancy and teaching.

Received 1 August 2007; Revised 1 August 2007.

Abstract

Contract sales organisations have a number of advantages for pharmaceutical companies large and small, and they manage a growing proportion of the sales in the sector. (The CSO market in pharma was $2.5bn in 2006 and forecasted to exceed $5bn by 2011.) Their use can, however, still be a very confidential matter. There is relatively little academic exploration of the relationship between pharmaceutical companies, their CSOs and health professionals as their mutual customers, so this paper draws on trade sources of information, news and comment, in order to offer a view of the developing business model. This is an exploratory paper, intended to give readers an overview of the history of outsourcing and the changing role of CSOs. It concludes that while CSOs have a history of providing tactical services, their flexibility and speed can also help clients to achieve strategic change in difficult market conditions. Strategic partnering is emerging as their future.