Company: SFBC International - Florida
Company Description: SFBC International, Inc. is a global leader in providing early and late stage drug development services with one of the highest quality service offerings to support the growing drug development needs of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and generic drug industries. The company has more than 30 offices located in North America, South America, Europe, India, and Australia.
Nomination Category: Organization Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Sales Organization

Nomination Title: “SFBC International’s Dynamic Sales Team Delivers Dynamic Growth”

1. Tell the story about what this nominated functional organization achieved in 2004 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

SFBC International was founded in Miami in 1984 as a scientific research unit
providing services for only a small phase of the drug development cycle, which is
typically 12 – 15 years long. Today, the Company is a global leader in providing
early and late stage drug development services with one of the broadest and
highest quality service offerings to support the growing drug development needs of
the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and generic drug industries
around the world. SFBC works with some of the most prestigious names in the
drug industry to ensure that each FDA-approved drug has been put through a
rigorous testing protocol and is safe and effective to be taken as prescribed.

Researchers are not often well known for their sales skills but SFBC has been
dedicated to building a team of salespeople that are as capable at having an in-
depth dialogue with scientists at the world’s leading drug companies as they are
at presenting the company’s capabilities to attendees at an industry trade show.

The results of the sales team’s efforts are well documented and are paying off.
Below are a few 2004 highlights that show the results of SFBC’s sales team:

  • Accelerated growth: For the first nine months of 2004, revenue increased more
than 57% to $110.3 million compared to the same period in 2003.
  • Stronger customer relationships: SFBC has a high level of repeat business
  • Greater customer penetration: SFBC’s average contract size grew
approximately 50% in 2004
  • Broadened customer reach: New clients accounted for more than 30% of
revenue in 2004
  • A number of accolades that are based primarily on sales growth during 2004
from Forbes, R&D Directions, Miami Herald and Business Week.

The sales team has grown “smartly” while SFBC has completed an average of two
acquisitions per year since 2000. With each new acquisition, the sales team has
been strengthened by its ability to offer more services as well as gaining depth of
expertise within many sub-sectors of the industry by integrating the acquisition’s
existing sales team into SFBC’s team.

The strength of the company’s significant organic and acquisition related growth
since 2000 presented several key challenges for the sales and marketing group
including integrating the teams within the organization, educating every person to
ensure a consistent selling proposition, and expanding the team to take advantage
of the additional opportunities being presented to the company due to its
expanded geographic presence and service offerings.  

Previously many of the service offerings had isolated salespeople that were not
directed to offer SFBC’s full array of services. In 2004, Dr. Gregory B. Holmes
charged the sales team with a core objective: to continuously look for
opportunities to sell a comprehensive service package that draws on the strengths
of the company’s multiple acquisitions.

All of this could not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of
SFBC’s sales team, including the 28 “veterans” and the 5 sales team members
who joined throughout 2004.

2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: List each link on a separate line, begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.website.com]:

News Release - SFBC International Reports Record Results for Third Quarter 2004
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/cnn-storydisplay.cgi?story=/www/bw/webbox/bw.102704/243016050.htm&textcolor=%23000000&bgcolor=%23FFFFFF&linkcolor=%23666666&vlinkcolor=%23666666&alinkcolor=%23666666&target=_blank&pre=0&strip=1&nohrule=1¬imestamp=1&noeditor=0
&nocontact=0&nobackground=0&story_textcolor=%23000000&headlinecolor=%
23000000&header=%2Fwww%2Fbw%2Fsfbc%2Fsfbc_storyheader.shtml

Forbes (10/04) lists SFBC as #18 on its “200 Best Small Companies”
http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/23/2004/LIR.jhtml?passListId=23&passYear=2004&passListType=Company&uniqueId=LEEF&datatype=Company

R&D Directions, leading trade publication (09/04), names SFBC as the fastest-
growing public contract research organization
http://www.sfbci.com/sfbc/upload/sfbc/Generateur/16698_eprint2.pdf

Miami Herald (07/04) names SFBC as #34 on “The Herald Select”
http://www2.kricar.com/miami/select.htm

Business Week (06/04), lists SFBC listed as #51 out of 100 “Hot Growth
Companies”
http://www.sfbci.com/sfbc/SFBC/client/en/Newsletter/Clients.asp?id=25

3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of this nominated functional organization:

Gregory B. Holmes, Pharm.D., ABCP, FCP
Executive Vice President
Dr. Gregory B. Holmes, one of the founders of SFBC International, has been
Executive Vice President of SFBC International since February 1999. Dr. Holmes
leads SFBC International in its sales and marketing activities. In addition, he is
responsible for SFBC International's acquisition program and oversees operations
of each of its subsidiaries. Dr. Holmes has spent the last 22 years in the
pharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining SFBC International, he was President of
Phoenix International Life Sciences, and Pharmaco. Dr. Holmes received a
Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy and
is board certified in pharmacology. He is a member and fellow of the American
College of Clinical Pharmacology.