News from the TrenchesA weekly article from Mats Fogelqvist on access, engagement and account work in pharma.https://crossfell.se/Did we miss the opportunity?https://crossfell.se/news/did-we-miss-the-opportunity/https://crossfell.se/news/did-we-miss-the-opportunity/Last week I read that Novo Nordisk has now cut 13,000 jobs, 4,000 more than it announced a year ago. It took me back to 2008, and an opportunity I think we never took.Fri, 02 Oct 2026 10:00:00 GMTWho decides what is relevant?https://crossfell.se/news/who-decides-what-is-relevant/https://crossfell.se/news/who-decides-what-is-relevant/In my last Notes from the trenches I wrote about why so many pharma executives worry about not being relevant to healthcare stakeholders, and what being relevant actually means.Wed, 23 Sep 2026 09:51:00 GMTWe have been telling our teams to be more relevant. We never told them how.https://crossfell.se/news/we-have-been-telling-our-teams-to-be-more-relevant/https://crossfell.se/news/we-have-been-telling-our-teams-to-be-more-relevant/The other week I had a meeting with a senior executive at one of the large pharmaceutical companies. My job was to brief him on a workshop I will run for his team in a few weeks.Thu, 10 Sep 2026 07:25:00 GMTLet's talk about key performance indicatorshttps://crossfell.se/news/lets-talk-about-key-performance-indicators/https://crossfell.se/news/lets-talk-about-key-performance-indicators/Yes, I have been writing about this before, and with the current rate of adoption of more appropriate KPIs I will continue to do so.Tue, 01 Sep 2026 09:21:00 GMTLet's talk about account planshttps://crossfell.se/news/lets-talk-about-account-plans/https://crossfell.se/news/lets-talk-about-account-plans/I’ve seen my fair share of them, and they come in all different flavours and sizes.Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:37:00 GMTI got the right prescription. Then nobody called me back.https://crossfell.se/news/i-got-the-right-prescription-then-nobody-called-me-back/https://crossfell.se/news/i-got-the-right-prescription-then-nobody-called-me-back/About three years ago I noticed something. A high-pitched sound in my ears that never went away. Is this tinnitus, I wondered? And why have I got tinnitus all of a sudden?Fri, 21 Aug 2026 09:26:00 GMTWill AI come for your job?https://crossfell.se/news/will-ai-come-for-your-job/https://crossfell.se/news/will-ai-come-for-your-job/What can I possibly say that will motivate a very senior, training-fatigued audience to care about why we are here? Why should they pay attention?Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:28:00 GMTNobody posts a picture of the “stau”https://crossfell.se/news/nobody-posts-a-picture-of-the-stau/https://crossfell.se/news/nobody-posts-a-picture-of-the-stau/Our trip through Europe is coming to an end. My wife, our two energetic staffies and me, sharing a very small camper across a lot of countries and a lot of road. Tonight is our last night in Germany.Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:12:00 GMTThe best sales training is watching your waiterhttps://crossfell.se/news/the-best-sales-training-is-watching-your-waiter/https://crossfell.se/news/the-best-sales-training-is-watching-your-waiter/Yes, I am on vacation. Travelling through Europe with my wife and two dogs, all four of us sharing a small camper.Thu, 23 Jul 2026 08:09:00 GMTThe metal thingy and the oldest advice in the worldhttps://crossfell.se/news/the-metal-thingy-and-the-oldest-advice-in-the-world/https://crossfell.se/news/the-metal-thingy-and-the-oldest-advice-in-the-world/It is summer, and it is vacation time. For me, like a million other house owners, that means the roof job I have postponed for years is finally being addressed.Mon, 13 Jul 2026 16:28:00 GMTA thought experiment for the beachhttps://crossfell.se/news/a-thought-experiment-for-the-beach/https://crossfell.se/news/a-thought-experiment-for-the-beach/It is July. If you are reading this the way most of my audience is right now, you are horizontal, warm, and somewhere between the second and third umbrella drink of the afternoon.Thu, 09 Jul 2026 11:13:00 GMTThe machine that asked better questionshttps://crossfell.se/news/the-machine-that-asked-better-questions/https://crossfell.se/news/the-machine-that-asked-better-questions/I was researching different ways to structure a database that would improve on how well it generated answers to query’s when I stumbled into something that resonated strongly with the what I do all the time: train cross-functional pharma teams on how to get access to and engage healthcare stakeholders.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 15:02:00 GMTWe should all listen to Richard Feynmanhttps://crossfell.se/news/we-should-all-listen-to-richard-feynman/https://crossfell.se/news/we-should-all-listen-to-richard-feynman/I was watching an old clip on YouTube, it was Richard Feynman at a blackboard at Cornell in 1964, a year before he won the Nobel Prize, explaining in under a minute what science actually is.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 14:26:00 GMTThe meeting is the experimenthttps://crossfell.se/news/the-meeting-is-the-experiment/https://crossfell.se/news/the-meeting-is-the-experiment/We had read everything we could get our hands on.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 08:32:00 GMTCurrent pharma layoffs and the push for AI automationhttps://crossfell.se/news/current-pharma-layoffs-and-the-push-for-ai-automation/https://crossfell.se/news/current-pharma-layoffs-and-the-push-for-ai-automation/I’ve seen the demo like everyone else, and for a few minutes it was hard not to be impressed.Wed, 17 Jun 2026 12:43:00 GMTThe selling apehttps://crossfell.se/news/the-selling-ape/https://crossfell.se/news/the-selling-ape/We have all witnessed a person whose meetings with senior healthcare stakeholders just go differently.Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:11:00 GMTThe skill no one will teach youhttps://crossfell.se/news/the-skill-no-one-will-teach-you/https://crossfell.se/news/the-skill-no-one-will-teach-you/One of the best sales reps I have ever watched in action did nothing the Challenger model, or any other model, would tell you to do.Tue, 02 Jun 2026 07:30:00 GMTThe new pharma role you should start training forhttps://crossfell.se/news/the-new-pharma-role-you-should-start-training-for/https://crossfell.se/news/the-new-pharma-role-you-should-start-training-for/European launch team, minus nine months from launch.Thu, 28 May 2026 11:51:00 GMTAn industry built on evidence. Trained on a model that has none.https://crossfell.se/news/an-industry-built-on-evidence/https://crossfell.se/news/an-industry-built-on-evidence/"This is good. But our KAMs are using Challenger. How do we fit your model inside that?Thu, 21 May 2026 08:53:00 GMTThe (mis) use of manufactured emotionshttps://crossfell.se/news/the-misuse-of-manufactured-emotions/https://crossfell.se/news/the-misuse-of-manufactured-emotions/I had just outlined the core pieces of my insight-driven KAM approach when the sales director interrupted me.Thu, 14 May 2026 08:54:00 GMTStop trying to convince themhttps://crossfell.se/news/stop-trying-to-convince-them/https://crossfell.se/news/stop-trying-to-convince-them/A study, published in Science in 2016, showed that a 10-minute conversation produced attitude change that lasted three months.Thu, 07 May 2026 09:04:00 GMTThe pod just got its deadline.https://crossfell.se/news/the-pod-just-got-its-deadline/https://crossfell.se/news/the-pod-just-got-its-deadline/On April 2, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order imposing up to 100% tariffs on patented pharmaceutical products entering the United States.Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:12:00 GMTThe rep is dead. Long live the pod.https://crossfell.se/news/the-rep-is-dead-long-live-the-pod/https://crossfell.se/news/the-rep-is-dead-long-live-the-pod/Fewer than half of US physicians still accept an in-person visit from a pharmaceutical representative.Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:30:00 GMT