Transforming a Consumer Healthcare Sales Force to Achieve Differentiation in a Crowded Market
Project Overview
With entrants coming from FMCG and Pharma, the consumer healthcare sector is highly competitive. Suppliers face an ever-present need to maximise their spend with customers while optimising promotions and in-store execution. Retailers under cost pressure are looking to their suppliers to maintain profitability and support them in increasing sell-out.
To differentiate themselves in a highly competitive market and add more value to their customers, our client undertook a pan-European programme to transform their sales team and shift them up the value chain from being order takers to becoming business partners with their pharmacy customers – providing valuable commercial insights to customers to grow their businesses and, in turn, our clients’.
Our Solution
Using our combination of change management expertise and sales-process experience we:
- developed and implemented the change approach for a new sales force automation platform, supplied on iPad to sales teams in 5 European countries, with training delivered to over 200 sales people in engaging training environments with ‘real-play’;
- co-created a programme of behaviour change to move sales teams from order takers to business partners by helping the country teams to create their own, personal case for change;
- produced and then implemented in-house coaching frameworks to develop sales managers into change champions in order to support the capability development of their teams
The Differences We Made
- High user adoption and process adherence from sales teams significantly reduced the order lead-time for Pharmacy customers.
- New behaviours embedded by over 200 sales reps across 5 European markets, driving sales growth in target outlets after 6 months of go-live and truly partnering with their Pharmacy customers.
- The coaching framework, training model and materials that we developed for EMEA sales teams were subsequently rolled-out to APAC due to the success and engagement from sales management.
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