7 Ways to Increase Productivity of Pharma Sales Reps

With access to HCPs becoming a daunting task for the medical reps, organizations are finding newer ways to prepare medical reps to become more effective. Here are 7 modern ways of equipping the medical reps with the right enablement and learning tools to become trusted advisors to the HCPs.

1.   Information at fingertips – reps never have to say “let me check and get back”

Medical reps get an average of 1-3 minutes with the HCPs, that too, if they are lucky. In this short time, they have to present their brand and make it stand out amongst the competition. In this conversation, if the HCP asks a question and the rep is unable to answer that, it not only takes a hit on the rep’s reputation but also impacts engagement in future visits.

Sales Enablement platforms help reps have all the product information, benefits, side effects and answers to frequently asked questions at their fingertips. The platform also enables them to give the right information on the spot and also share the snapshot with the HCP.

2.   Byte-sized interactive learning modules with gamification – make learning fun for the reps

Getting the MRs to sit through long training sessions is tough. In addition to this, classroom training poses challenges of logistics and retaining the learning. More so after the pandemic induced restrictions. Virtual learning sessions are an improvement over traditional learning methods. However, engaging reps over video calls is an altogether different challenge.

Sales Learning platforms now offer an interactive experience with byte-sized learning “packets” which are engaging and easier to digest. These also provide the option of re-taking the course if required. Managers also get insights on the course completion rates, assessment scores and training gaps of their teams.

3.   AI powered practice role plays – master the product pitch and handle objections effectively

Pharma is a unique industry where the customers (HCPs) are likely more informed and subject experts than the reps who are pitching to them. This makes it important to have the reps practice both the pitch and the responses to common objections thoroughly to make a good impression and be able to promote the brand.

AI powered practice role plays can help the reps practice their pitching skills by recording their videos and getting instant feedback from the engine. Feedback could be on the basis of their confidence, speed of the speech or on excessive usage of filler words like “doctor” or “sir”. This can help the reps improve their skills independently at their own pace.

4.   Enabling the average rep in tier 2 or tier 3 city – content and training in the regional language

A lot of the sales training programs, marketing collateral and communications are designed keeping the top performing reps from a top tier city in mind. Although counter-intuitive, the reps in smaller cities need the maximum help, which they are not able to benefit with the initiatives taken in head offices.

The need of the hour is to have the training programs, collateral and communication designed for the average medical rep in a tier 2 or tier 3 city to adopt. This may require use of regional language for training and collateral, intuitive UI/UX and simpler processes. Modern Sales Enablement and Learning platforms are built for this purpose- to help the average rep reach the expertise of a top-performer.

5.   Facilitating peer-to-peer learning for the reps – give them a competitive nudge and improve themselves

Either formally or informally, peer learning is one of the largest sources for learning for the reps. However, this form of learning has reduced with the world becoming more digital and work from home set-ups. Although these changes have been induced by the pandemic, we can expect them to stay for much longer.

With gamified leaderboards highlighting the top performers on the platforms, earning more points becomes a big motivator for completing suggested tasks. The platforms also showcase the best pitches for the products or best responses for objections posed by the HCPs, which are open for all reps to learn from.

6.   Capture business intelligence while helping the reps do their job, not by adding more tasks

Making the reps fill their activities in a CRM is time consuming and the reps usually don’t like it. What if there were ways to capture these activities without the reps having to spend additional time on it?

Modern Sales Enablement and Learning platforms are able to collect information on user activity while the users are using the platform. For example, when a rep prepares a presentation for a paracetamol and shares it with Dr. James, the activity can be captured as a record. This method does not create any friction and helps managers get timely insights and course corrections before it is too late.

7.   Providing a single platform for Sales, Marketing, Medical and HR communication with the reps

The medical sales reps are at the center of all the effort put in by sales support, marketing, medical, learning and development, and other HR teams. With multiple initiatives driven by each team, it is possible that reps are pulled in multiple directions and look at them as discrete initiatives.

The Sales Enablement and Learning platforms become one-stop-shops for all the teams to communicate with the reps. The platforms can be used for onboarding, product training, sales skills training, hosting latest brand-approved collateral, tracking performance, managing rewards and recognition, new product launches etc.

sharpsell equips sales reps with personalized content to engage with customers and customized presentations to share with customers as per their needs. All the content is accessible through a single source – the sharpsell platform. Companies using sharpsell have seen an increase in sales productivity with higher number of products sold, higher ticket size, increased visibility on prospecting, reduced content creation cost, reduced time to first sale, reduced costs of training, and uncovering insights on product feedback. To know more, visit sharpsell.ai