The selling skills required of every industry are unique—including the life sciences industry. With unique skills and requirements come unique challenges. Here are 3 obstacles life sciences sales professionals must face and overcome:
Matrix selling
The coordination of a cross-functional team can be challenging. Healthcare industry sales have evolved into complex sales that involve not only convincing the provider to prescribe the product, but also getting patient access and patient support. In addition, Medical can play a role in this coordinated effort.
Development of an account plan where all the key players on the matrix team accept responsibility and accountability for their role is key to an effective matrix selling approach. The plan needs to include an agreed-upon objective that drives planning and coordination across the team.
Access to decision makers
Before COVID, access to decision makers was shrinking, but that accelerated even more during the pandemic. Now decision makers and providers are even more difficult to access, with many using the pandemic to avoid meeting in person, requesting only webinar meetings, if that. As the healthcare market becomes more integrated, breaking down barriers to key decision makers will become more challenging.
Ensuring that your message and support to the provider bring real value is still one of the best ways to gain access. You need to convince decision makers and providers that the time they give you will translate into better patient care.
Stale sales approach
An effective sales presentation is engaging. You’re more likely to make sales when your meetings are interactive. This ensures you meet the customer’s specific needs, thereby helping them retain the information. Using a dynamic, engaging account-based approach that ensures the right message is communicated to the right provider or account person by the right matrix team member is key to driving sales. The engagement has to focus on patient care and how the whole company, not just the product, will support the patient in their treatment.
Interested in developing your selling skills? At Romar Learning Solutions, we offer supportive coaching that allows our clients to develop an effective sales model, develop their skills, and implement these new skills for improved sales processes. Contact us to learn more!
