Sales Performance Management for a Pharmaceutical Affiliate

Issue

The US affiliate of a major pharmaceutical company faced stiff competition and lagging sales for one of its flagship products. Customers expressed increasing frustration with the salespeople. Market research revealed that no company in the industry stood out in terms of providing the level of service and true customization required to effectively meet the needs of physicians and patients.

Results

ZS helped the executive management team design and rollout an entirely new sales training program that successfully differentiated this company’s salespeople from all competitors in the eyes of their key customers, and significantly increased market share. The new training program was rolled out to all levels of the sales organization from VPs down to front-line sales representatives.

Approach

ZS interviewed salespeople and their customers to formulate the framework that would underpin the new training program. Armed with evidence from that research, a new training program was designed and developed. Coaching tools for managers were also created to ensure ongoing reinforcement of the new selling approach. To monitor impact on customer satisfaction, a survey was conducted annually to evaluate perception of the company’s salespeople relative to their competitors.