Many of us can remember our trip to a great seminar, or a multi-day trip to an important convention, with memories of the positive atmosphere and how we were able to become totally enthused by what we were to learn, our motivational engines firing on all cylinders. The originators and producers of these events had worked their magic and had provided us with just the right amount of excitement and motivation to push us into the market and get us to sell the services or products without any delay. We can often see this kind of broad motivation originating from pharmaceutical sales training sessions and they are important scheduled events for any sales force. With all that said and done, don’t forget the importance of effective implementation, as all this first-class motivation tends to disseminate into the atmosphere somewhat, when the salesperson actually hits the road, running.

Here lies the main point, the problem that has faced the motivational speaker or corporate trainer for years, now. It may be relatively easy to propel a salesperson to make a plan and to thereby establish a relative goal, but the execution is often the challenge. Theory in the classroom is one thing, the practice is another, with the important goal being to make the salesperson actively aware of real-world challenges and threats and positioning them so that they can cope when the pressure is on. So many divergent factors are in play when the salesperson is talking one-on-one with the prospect and, little understood but probably the biggest hurdle of all, is the problem standing in between the sales person and the contract – the subconscious activity going on in the mind of the salesperson him or herself.

It is very important that pharmaceutical sales training does not set up subconscious, relatively impossible and/or psychologically negative barriers, potentially compromising effective implementation. Corporate goals may suggest that a 100% result is required and that the salesperson should have only one true goal in mind. Often, however, the salesperson must be able to use individual initiative and to understand that opportunities come in many different shapes and forms. Sometimes, a relatively high percentage result is better than 100% of nothing.

The salesperson must always be coached to understand that persistence when facing adversity is critical. This is not to say that the person should push forward under all circumstances, as it is equally as important to understand that certain parameters may have made any kind of sale unattainable. This all calls for flexibility, the ability to adapt and change, while calling on that internal motivation to cover those extra few yards to the goal line.

To create a solid foundation, the organisation must provide absolute commitment in terms of training, resource availability and a strong product, to support the sales force from the beginning. When key account management training is under the microscope, the “point” person will not be able to service accordingly and implement effectively unless specific and unequivocal parameters have been set by senior management at the outset.

Alan Gillies is the Director of L2L Consulting, an elite pharmaceutical consultancy firm which specialises in Strategy Development and Implementation Excellence for prestigious multi-national organisations.