Client Situation:

Our pharmaceutical company CEO client wanted a unique way to accurately measure existing sales force performance and identify key intervention points that would maximise their ROI.  Validation events offered an opportunity to undertake a single assessment but required costly time off road for entire sales force and would need to be repeated to measure the success of any intervention.

Our Solution:

We developed a bespoke integrated Advance™ system reflecting their corporate livery; sales model; coaching model; products; and sales force structure.  Advance™ measured and developed the observational skills of not only their First Line Sales Managers (FLSMs), but any internal or external assessor based on their assessment of recorded sales interactions between their sales representatives, calling on their own existing customers.  Monthly assessments addressed the issue of sustainability.  Once the observational skills of the internal assessor team is calibrated to agreed standards they can collect accurate In Call Quality (ICQ) data which can be interrogated to produce individually, team and regionally targeted coaching and training development plans – improving ICQ and product sales performance.

The system benefits relate not only to the sales function within organisations but also:  Human resources (with tangible inputs to FLSM incentive schemes and PDRs; motivation of high performers through measurement and acknowledgement); Business Information (cross check/validation of call rate and field visit rate data); Learning and Development (performance analysis and reporting elements provide real-time training Needs analysis in place of snapshot audits); Marketing (performance analysis and reporting provides real-time marketing campaign audit in place of costly snapshots); Medical (provides a communication and training channel for ABPI issues and an audit trail of Code compliance).  Thereby maximising ROI.

Results

In the first year following implementation there has been a consistent trend of significant improvement in the ability of FLSM and other internal assessors to accurately assess what is happening in sales calls between their representatives and health care professional customers.  There is standardisation and agreement on what ‘good/best practice’ looks like.  System reports have provided objective and constructive input to performance development discussions for both Representatives and FLSMs.  The shared, consistent measures and openness and transparency in communication of the system reporting have supported the development of a trusting and motivating, coaching culture.