LAUNCH EXCELLENCe

The Second 90 Days of a Pharma Launch Need a Coaching Plan

by Performance Development Group, Launch Excellence Practice team

Most pharma launches are decided by month six. McKinsey research found that for 85% of launches, the sales trajectory set in the first six months is the trajectory the product keeps. Most launch coaching plans run for 90 days. The launch meeting, certification, scheduled manager ride-alongs, weekly team debriefs, and home office trainers in the field are all built for the first three months. After that, trainers move to the next project, managers return to the full portfolio, and the weekly launch debrief becomes a monthly report.

That leaves months four, five, and six, the second half of the window that decides the launch, without a coaching plan. This article covers what typically goes wrong in the field during those months, the three rep behaviors that decide whether the launch hits its month-six numbers, and how to keep first-line managers coaching those behaviors until the trajectory is set.

What goes wrong between month three and month six

Launch training prepares reps for the objections, messages, and coverage situations the brand team expected. By month four, reps are running into the ones it did not. Across the launches PDG supports, three problems come up in nearly every one.

1. HCPs raise objections the launch team did not anticipate, and reps have no approved response.
2. The core message that tested well before launch gets a weaker reaction in the actual sales call, and reps start changing it on their own.
3. Insurance coverage is harder than the access plan projected, and reps do not know what to do when an HCP’s first patient is denied.

The launch plan cannot prepare reps for these problems, because no one knows what they will be until the drug is in the market. What the plan can do is assign someone to catch them and coach through them as they show up. When no one is assigned to coach through them, reps solve the problem by avoiding it. They call on the HCPs who already prescribe for them and lead with the products they already know how to sell. The new drug loses momentum in month four, and the month-six numbers show it.

The three numbers that predict a launch, and the behavior behind each one

A 2026 ZS analysis of 18 launches found three prescribing measures at month six that predicted success. Launches that hit all three were nine times more likely to succeed. Breadth: 30% of the HCPs on the target list have prescribed the drug at least once. Return writing: 50% of those HCPs have prescribed it a second time. Depth: 30% of those HCPs have prescribed it for more than one patient.

These are results. Each one comes from a specific rep behavior, and each behavior is something a manager can watch on a field ride and coach.

Breadth comes from working the target list. An HCP prescribes for the first time because a rep kept calling on them. Reps who gravitate to the HCPs they already know stop adding first-time prescribers. On a field ride, the manager compares the rep’s call activity against the target list and coaches the rep on who to see next and what to say.

Return writing comes from follow-up. An HCP prescribes a second time when the first patient did well, or when the rep came back, heard what went wrong, and answered it. On a field ride, the manager reviews the rep’s follow-up plan for every HCP who has prescribed once and practices the objections those HCPs are raising now.

Depth comes from patient identification. An HCP who has prescribed once needs help seeing which other patients in the practice fit the drug. On a field ride, the manager coaches the rep on how to describe the right patient in clinical terms and how to bring in the reimbursement support that keeps second and third patients on therapy.

These three behaviors replace the launch message as the focus of the field ride after day 90. The first 90 days coached reps to deliver the message. Months four through six coach them to build breadth, return writing, and depth.

How to keep managers coaching through month six

PDG’s post-launch playbook lays out a 12-week rhythm: a manager field ride with every rep every four weeks using a discussion guide, weekly or biweekly team debriefs, short practice sessions on the objections reps are hearing, and a dashboard that tracks behaviors alongside prescriptions. Run that rhythm a second time for days 91 through 180, with three changes.

First, change what the field ride covers. The discussion guide for months four through six focuses on the three behaviors above: target list activity, follow-up with first-time prescribers, and the patient identification conversation.

Second, use the team debriefs to update the coaching. The objections and coverage problems reps report in month four become the practice scenarios in month five, so managers coach to what the field is hearing now.

Third, name an owner. First-line managers run the rides and debriefs. One home office lead is accountable for the cadence holding through month six. The reason coaching stops at day 90 in most launches is that no one was assigned to continue it.

At month six, leadership reviews the three ZS measures. If breadth is short, managers coach target list activity harder. If return writing is short, they fix follow-up. If depth is short, they work on the patient conversation. If all three are on track, the trajectory is set and resources can move on.

Launch coaching plans need to run three months longer than they do now. Most launches are decided by month six, and most coaching plans end at day 90. Extend the field rides, the debriefs, and the ownership through month six, and the numbers leadership reviews in November will show three more months of coaching behind them.

The Launch Excellence Practice at Performance Development Group designs launch and post-launch coaching programs for life sciences commercial teams.