In the fast-moving world of biotech, where scientific innovation meets complex healthcare markets, Sales Operations plays a critical — yet often behind-the-scenes — role in driving commercial success. While the scientists develop groundbreaking therapies and the sales team engages with healthcare providers, Sales Operations ensures that every part of the commercial engine runs smoothly, efficiently, and strategically.
So what exactly does Sales Operations do at a biotech company? Let’s break it down.
1. Data-Driven Decision Support
Biotech sales aren’t simple. You're not just selling a product — you’re helping clinicians navigate complex treatment pathways, reimbursement models, and patient outcomes.
Sales Operations equips the commercial team with accurate, real-time insights by:
- Aggregating and analyzing data from CRMs, market access systems, and third-party data providers (like IQVIA or Symphony).
- Building dashboards to track key performance indicators (KPIs) like market share, territory coverage, and call frequency.
- Providing actionable intelligence to guide strategic decisions — from targeting high-value accounts to optimizing resource allocation.
2. Territory and Incentive Management
In biotech, territory design isn’t just geography — it’s about matching the right reps to the right accounts based on provider specialty, prescribing behavior, and patient populations.
Sales Ops is responsible for:
- Designing fair, data-driven sales territories.
- Managing and optimizing incentive compensation plans to motivate the field force while staying compliant with industry regulations.
- Ensuring timely and accurate payout of commissions and bonuses.
3. Sales Enablement & Training Support
Sales Operations works closely with Sales Enablement and Medical Affairs to ensure that reps are prepared to have high-impact conversations in the field.
This includes:
- Supporting the rollout of training materials, product updates, and CRM tools.
- Coordinating onboarding logistics for new hires.
- Ensuring consistent messaging by integrating marketing, regulatory, and legal inputs into field tools.
4. CRM and Tech Stack Management
Sales teams in biotech rely on a complex ecosystem of tools — CRMs like Veeva or Salesforce, data visualization platforms like Tableau, and call-planning tools, to name a few.
Sales Operations acts as the system administrator and architect, responsible for:
- Managing user access, workflows, and integrations across platforms.
- Ensuring data cleanliness and consistency.
- Troubleshooting technical issues and serving as the liaison with IT and external vendors.
5. Cross-Functional Collaboration
Sales Ops serves as a hub between sales, marketing, finance, medical, and compliance. In biotech, alignment between these teams is crucial — especially when it comes to:
- New product launches.
- Forecasting and demand planning.
- Customer segmentation and targeting.
- Ensuring all field activity remains compliant with healthcare regulations (like the Sunshine Act or PhRMA Code).
6. Launch Planning & Execution
When launching a new therapy — especially one targeting a rare or complex disease — Sales Operations is instrumental in:
- Building launch KPIs and reporting infrastructure.
- Setting up the CRM and account universe.
- Coordinating sample logistics and sales materials.
- Monitoring early field activity and market response.
Final Thoughts
In a biotech company, Sales Operations is much more than a support function. It’s the strategic backbone of the commercial organization — enabling reps to focus on what they do best: delivering life-changing therapies to the patients who need them.
As biotech companies grow and launch more complex treatments, the role of Sales Operations becomes increasingly vital. Behind every successful sales call, there’s a well-oiled system — and Sales Ops is the team keeping it running.
Want to Learn More?
If you're building or scaling a Sales Operations team in biotech, feel free to connect. I’d be happy to share best practices or templates that can help. Feel to reach me at greg@biotechbusinessjobs.com