Gotta Tell You… When creating training for Bayer’s new global selling approach, we piloted uncut versions with the training team. They provided feedback to make it more “real world” and have a flow that made sense to the learners. Saved time and money and resulted in better training!
Vicki Colman, Associate Director, Sales Training, Bayer Healthcare
Gotta Tell You… Every field ride observation, where we were looking at the most successful sales reps, or every stakeholder interview we did, this surfaced: What makes the difference between your average or poor performer and your exceptional performers? It’s the ability to listen, have empathy for the customer and get to the real concerns or perceived barriers that the customer has.
Candice Lenkowsky, Head of Worldwide Training Design & Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Gotta Tell You… Having a strategic, well-thought-out communication plan targeted at your stakeholders will help pull through mission and vision and communication metrics/outcomes, and reinforce your learning and development brand.
Carrie Schaal, Director, CL&D US Specialty Care, MedImmune/AstraZeneca
Gotta Tell You… Always keep it fresh! Seek feedback and suggestions from your learners to improve on content delivery and application … increase the “stickiness factor.”
Kathleen Spelman, Associate Director, Sales Learning & Development, Grifols, S.A
Gotta Tell You… How to roll out a coaching model. I have some very strong feelings around this as I have seen it done poorly and I have seen it done well. The key elements from my perspective are as follows:
• Identify the culture and climate to ensure the correct coaching model represents both.
• Design and develop the model. It needs to be simple for managers to learn, recall and utilize it. It needs to not only have a coaching model, but also a counseling model for the need to move to the next level if coaching doesn’t work.
• Ensure buy-in along the way during design and development with senior sales management, who will use these models and support use with their management.
• Ensure buy-n along the way with HR,so it maps to performance management standards and easily fits into their process.
• Use a DM Advisory council to get user input to also help buy-in with the sales managers when rolling out.
• Integrate it into the field coaching report.
• Laminate the models for roll out and user retention.
• Hold a separate DM workshop to roll it out. Don’t merge it with something else that takes away from the priority of this.
• Do frequent reinforcement to ensure adoption, understanding, feedback-best practice sharing, every time managers are together to reinforce it.
• Hold trimester DM training workshops (or whatever your frequency is) where you integrate simulations so as to practice the models.
• Integrate the models into new DM training as well as management development process for future leaders, and for field district trainers to ensure you cover all users.
• Finally, link the models to the selling model so role-playing for managers includes a specific component of the selling model followed by simulations using the coaching and counseling models to pull through the selling model. This has given us a common language also amongst the field management and training team.
Glen Drummond, Senior Director, Commercial Learning & Development, Depomed, Inc.
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