Page 33 - Demo

6 MINUTES WITH ... 31
According to your website you represent industry-leading brands in pharmacies across Australia. What sort of brands do you represent and how do you decide to represent
a brand?
I make sure the products we represent have a complete point of difference and there’s a reason to use [them]. I really want to make sure that [the brands we partner with and represent] fill a gap that I see within pharmacy. [As an example,] we have Soodox Vytal Hand Sanitisers, which is one of the few hand sanitisers that is made and owned in Sydney. They also have Soodox Pain, which is made of 100 per cent natural active ingredients. The popular Direct 2 Pharmacy (D2P) company [has] been on my books for about nine years. D2P owns the renowned Hemp Worx Body Care, which is hemp seed oil and I’m very impressed with its portfolio. Products like hemp are very on trend. That’s the sort of thing I look for: something that stands out. Australian [made and owned] and 100 per cent vegan is very important to me and to the customers we deal with. That was a very big factor as to why D2P partnered up with Powerhouse Pharmacy Brands.
What are you seeing in terms of trends within the pharmacy industry? What are the must-have products that pharmacies should be stocking?
Today’s consumer is looking for Australian made and owned
at a competitive price point, along with natural products with points of difference around the benefits and efficacy of the products. They are also time poor so convenience is a standout – for example, pack sizes that are suitable for a gym bag and Mum’s handbag are a must.
What are consumers looking for when it comes to healthcare, wellness and beauty trends?
Consumers are becoming increasingly knowledgeable and concerned about what’s in the product. They’re very big on Australian owned and made; where [the product] comes from. I’m finding consumers are a lot more educated than they’ve ever been, so pharmacy assistants really need to know their products and what’s in them. We, at Powerhouse Pharmacy Brands, make sure we provide them with the educational
and point of sale material they need to make their pharmacy a success. We also provide staff with products to try, and samples for them to give to their customers. We really make sure every single part of the customer experience is covered, from when customers walk through the door.
As a brand representative, you’ll have a lot of experience
in relationship building. Why is it important for pharmacy assistants to have good people skills?
It really boils down to passion and loving your job. Most of the pharmacy [assistants] we talk to absolutely love what they do to look after their local community and they’re hungry
for information. We get very excited when they know they can come to us and we provide them that support, so they become skilled and even better at exceptional customer service. It’s about knowing your product, because when you know about it and use it yourself, you’re then partial to selling or recommending it. So, if you love it, you will sell it.
How can pharmacy assistants ensure they create/maintain a standout front of shop in their pharmacies?
We provide [pharmacies] with enough posters and leaflets
and product to display [so the front of shop] looks amazing when a customer walks in. We also reward the [staff] in the pharmacy for their efforts of dressing up a gondola end display or a window display and we reward them with free product. We also do competitions to incentivise pharmacy staff, as well as helping them to spoil their customers.
It’s about maintaining the displays, and we make sure we give pharmacy staff everything they could possibly need, plus more to do that well.
How can pharmacy assistants stay on top of the latest trends in pharmacy? What should they be doing to upskill? They can do so by making sure they stay in touch with us.
I have a dedicated sales representative per state, so they have that one-on-one relationship with my team. And I’m easy going and easy to contact as well. Powerhouse Pharmacy Brands is all about building long-term relationships with the staff that we work with and we’re here to support them in their roles within retail pharmacy.
As a woman in a leadership position, what’s your advice
to pharmacy assistants who may have big career goals
and aspirations?
I have learnt everything from the ground up and there’s no fast track. There’s no such thing as an overnight success. It’s sheer hard work and you truly need to be passionate about it.
What’s next for Powerhouse Pharmacy Brands? What are your business goals for the rest of 2020 and beyond?
We’re working on Christmas now, making sure everyone’s locking in their orders, believe it or not (laughs), across all my brands. Hemp Worx is doing a sensational Christmas gift pack; BIOSILK professional hair has also just launched a stunning travel gift set; Dale Group International also has a famous baby munch mitt. It’s a teething mitt, which is a great seller. We’ve also just partnered up with a CRM system, Perenso ...
[it offers] automated sales tools that we’re now going to start using to capture everything in one hub, which is going to be a fantastic thing to get my business to the next level.
For more information or to get in touch with Helen, visit: powerhousepharmacybrands.com.au/
RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • JUL 2020