A sales enablement program and system benefits virtually every kind of company, improving their sales processes and conversion rates. Firms in the medical and healthcare industry, perhaps more than any other, benefit the most.
Here are six unique things a sales enablement process and system can do for healthcare-related businesses.
1. Keeps firms compliant.
Healthcare companies, including pharmaceutical firms and medical device makers, are heavily regulated. Sales support and other client-facing materials, along with training, are updated constantly to:
- Fix errors
- Respond to regulatory complaints and other issues
- Explain new enhancements and advancements
- Keep up with changing regulations.
A sales enablement system makes it easy to upload new and revised materials and eliminate old ones. This will help prevent non-compliant content from being shared with clients and keep out-of-date training from being accessed by members of your sales team. You can rest assured knowing your reps are using compliant materials while delivering approved messages.
2. Makes content and training available to everyone.
A good sales enablement system benefits all parts of a company, not just the sales and marketing departments. It can be a central repository and distribution point for all your company’s content, including training, spec sheets, plans and other documents.
It streamlines and optimizes content management if you use the same system across your organization. It makes it less likely that there will be disconnects between departments and breakdowns in your planning, research, development, production, review, testing, marketing and sales processes.
3. Facilitates mergers and acquisitions.
Companies in the healthcare industry are bought, sold and merged all the time. There are no signs this trend will slow down in the future.
As beneficial as a merger or acquisition can be to the bottom line of a business, it’s a cumbersome process to go through. However, firms involved in these transactions with a sales enablement process and system in place find it easier. That’s because they have a clear understanding of their content, training materials and overall sales process. This makes them well-positioned when it comes time to combine their processes and assets with those of another firm.
Once the transition is happening, a solid sales enablement system will help keep it organized and better position the new organization for success.
4. Improves engagement between medical professionals and patients.
More and more these days, people are taking responsibility for their own healthcare. They want medical professionals to thoroughly explain the pros and cons of the solutions they recommend. This helps them feel confident about deciding to take medications, have procedures done or use devices.
Because of this, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals are more likely to recommend things that they can explain to their patients in a clear and understandable way. Companies that provide the tools to do this have a competitive edge.
A sales enablement system makes it more likely the people on your sales team will distribute training materials to the healthcare workers who will use them with patients. It can also “train the trainer”, teaching reps how to educate medical professionals on how to use the pieces with patients.
5. Adapts to the changing marketplace.
New medical products are introduced all the time. Not just by you, but by your competitors, as well.
Healthcare firms have to be nimble in how they respond to new advances. Your sales messaging and materials could change on a dime. A solid sales enablement process and system will give your team the messages, materials and training they need to optimize their new product rollouts and respond to those of your competitors.
6. Leverages data to identify trends.
Healthcare issues and trends can be highly regionalized. Having a good sales enablement system will help you identify opportunities you can leverage to get ahead of the competition. If you’re enjoying high conversions in a territory, it could be time to max it out. If you’re offerings are performing poorly in another area, you may want to come up with an alternative approach to marketing there, or redeploy assets to where they could be more effective.
What’s next?
A sales enablement system is a good investment for most sales and marketing organizations. The pay-off is even bigger for those in the healthcare industry. You owe it to yourself to check out Mobile Locker, a highly flexible and scalable system that can be customized to meet the needs of virtually any healthcare company.
