Business Issue
A healthcare nutrition provider had already developed formal sales skills and processes for its global sales teams. However, their salespeople continued to simply take sales orders to meet the pressures of their revenue requirements. Without a consultative selling approach in place, solution-based selling wasn’t taking off.
Meanwhile, the company focused on developing a sales toolkit to help improve its sales results. This kit was designed to create and maintain a highly motivated, skilled, and efficient medical salesforce that was also better aligned with marketing.
However, the company discovered that its salespeople were using a standard selling approach, without any consideration of each health care provider’s unique Social Style. This approach was unsuccessful in differentiating the company.
Solution
The company recognized the need to help its sales managers and their teams be more effective when interacting with health care professionals. To help develop the selling skills and behaviors needed, the company partnered with Wilson Learning, a global sales and leadership development company.
Building upon extensive industry research, Wilson Learning developed a framework for teaching the company’s sales teams to become “medical delegates,” not simply order takers. Wilson Learning’s program provided the salesforce with the skills needed for the company to be seen as a valuable provider to its health care customers while becoming more competitive in the market.
To help medical delegates achieve higher levels of detailing performance, Wilson Learning integrated the nutrition company’s medical selling program with its own program The Versatile Salesperson™.
The Versatile Salesperson is a highly effective program designed to help sales professionals develop the versatility skills they need to sell the way customers like to buy. The program teaches interpersonal versatility, which enables salespeople to act as consultants and foster trusting relationships.
To prepare for the global rollout, three pilot programs were conducted in the U.S. and Portugal to establish a baseline for areas of growth. During this time, train-the-trainer certification prepared company individuals to deliver the curriculum.
Post-program measurement included:
- Participant Survey: Participant surveys three months post-program determined participants’ use of new versatility skills and the impact on critical business outcomes.
- Business Metrics: Analysis of business records both pre- and post-workshop determined the impact of applying versatility skills through objective business measures.
Outcome
Results showed that salespeople who participated in the training achieved a sales performance increase of 22% over those who did not participate. Sales teams calling on hospital and health care professionals now bring new problem-exploration skills to every selling scenario, helping them sell more effectively to higher-level decision makers.
Wilson Learning’s program The Versatile Salesperson, combined with the company’s experience, insights, and enthusiasm, delivered a powerful new selling language and process to grow its market share. Specifically, the three regions that have had versatility training are the three top-performing regions YTD.
When participants were asked how versatile detailing skills helped them improve work performance, they shared:
- “Recognizing Social Styles and adapting my own style has been instrumental in helping me achieve conversions and trials.”
- “Having more comfortable relationships and interactions allows me to ask for the business or go to the next step more readily.”