The Onboarding Process and Its Link to Retention

Employee retention is a major concern for companies in all industries, but the specialized knowledge required for healthcare sales roles makes turnover a particularly salient concern in the pharmaceutical industry. After putting significant amounts of time and resources into finding and training the best candidates, you want that talent to stay with you for many years.

Building a robust new hire onboarding training program is one of the best ways to build employee loyalty. A warm and purposeful welcome addresses many of the common concerns employees have when starting a new job and helps them overcome many productivity roadblocks that keep them from performing at their best. This generates high employee retention and produces results that delight both parties.

The Emotional Stakes of a New Job

When an employee starts a new job, emotions are always running high. New employees are eager to make a good impression, feel the expectations of their new environment, and settle into their new roles. They are unaware of any pre-existing team dynamics and company culture pressures, but most are conscious of this weakness and will happily work to remedy it.

This early period is a crucial time in the employee’s tenure with your company. Their experiences at this stage frame their expectations for the job overall. If they do not receive the support and resources they need to thrive, many will assume that thriving is not possible in their role. From their perspective, this leaves them with no choice but to resign and move on. 

Delivering on Your Promises

Emotional fulfillment is not the only benefit of a well-executed onboarding period. Many companies claim that all employees are valued, integral members of the team. This is an effective mindset that promotes greater team cohesion and individual empowerment, but it means nothing without concrete action to support it.

Team members who are hired and given little to no orientation often do not feel valued. In some cases, they may not even be sure how to contribute to the team. They lack the context they need to apply their efforts to larger organizational goals and end up feeling abandoned and adrift.

This disconnected team environment is not conducive to high productivity. Even when employees decide to remain with the company, they cannot use their skills effectively for your benefit. They also have no insight into their team’s strengths or weaknesses and cannot even attempt to fill the group’s needs.

Smoothing the Transition with Onboarding

To assuage new employees' fears and help them better integrate into your organization, consider increasing your investment in onboarding training.

Onboarding training establishes an initial framework that helps both employers and employees get what they need. It helps new team members become accustomed to your company culture and expectations through a formal channel with clear and consistent messaging. When paired with a relational component like a buddy program or mentor system, a good onboarding training course can give new employees the sense of direction they crave in those critical early days. This has been shown to improve retention by up to 50%.

Onboarding training does not have to be done on a set schedule. Virtual onboarding training courses allow new employees to learn at a pace that suits their needs. If they have a large chunk of free time one afternoon, they can spend it working through the module. If other matters must be prioritized, the module can be put on hold for a while. Learning how to complete training initiatives at a self-guided pace also sets employees up for success with future training initiatives, such as account management training courses and other continuing education. 

Receive Quality Custom Onboarding Training from The Brooks Group

A well-crafted onboarding training program can mean the difference between a stable team and a revolving door of constant new hires. As a leading biotech market research and healthcare management consulting firm, The Brooks Group has developed custom onboarding training programs for countless healthcare leaders. Contact us today to discuss your organization’s training needs and get your employees off to a better start.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2022/04/onboarding-process-and-its-link-to-retention/

Retaining Top Talent During the Great Resignation

2021’s employment landscape was one of the most tumultuous environments companies have faced in recent years. The high levels of turnover that have characterized the post-pandemic job market so far are expected to continue into 2022, leaving employers to grapple with the Great Resignation for another year. The following five strategies will help your organization prepare for this challenge by increasing retention among top performers in the healthcare industry.  

1. Prioritize Career Progression 

High-achieving employees are highly motivated by career progression. If they do not think they can realize their full potential within your organization, they will look elsewhere instead.

Employees who receive additional training and opportunities to upgrade their skills are more likely to feel like valued members of the team. They will also be better candidates for internal promotions, which further reinforces company loyalty. It is important for companies to keep investing in leadership development and training programs that would enhance the potential of their executives. Quality onboarding programs that give the new hires a clear picture of their potential roadmap within the organization are also helpful in retention.

2. Develop a Policy for Remote Work 

Now that most white-collar workers have had a taste of remote work, few are eager to return to the office. If your top talent cannot work from home at least some of the time, they may decide to leave your team for another position that does allow them this flexibility. 

To keep these employees from moving on, you will need to clarify your organization's stance on remote work. Outline a policy that dictates which roles have the option to work from home and how often they will be permitted to do it. This will give you and your workers a good starting point for discussions around this issue, but be prepared to make additional concessions occasionally.  

3. Take Precautions Against Burnout 

The past few years have been extremely stressful for many people, forcing them to confront social, political, economic, and health-related anxieties all at once.

To keep your workers at the top of their game, prioritize work-life balance within your organization. Keep workloads realistic and be sure to check in regularly with each employee to measure their progress and ask if they need additional supports. Encourage time off and make sure that employees are able to fully disconnect outside of work hours. Showing your workers how much you value their wellness will go a long way toward improving their loyalty to your company. 

4. Re-Evaluate Your Compensation Structure 

In such a competitive market, top-tier workers know that they have the ability to command higher wages – and with record levels of inflation eating away at salaries, they have more reason to than ever before. 

If your organization has the financial leeway to do so, consider offering your best workers a larger raise this year. This will remove a significant incentive for them to consider switching jobs. Increasing compensation may hurt in the short term, but it will secure your organization’s talent pool and help propel future growth.  

5. Consult Your Team Members 

If you really want to retain your best employees as long as possible, ask them what they need. Turn the exit interview on its head and conduct a series of ‘stay interviews with key employees in your organization. 

Ask them not only what it would take to keep them with your company, but also what types of offers might tempt them to leave. Combine this information with additional sources like online employer reviews and anonymized internal surveys to figure out what your top talent wants and find a way to give it to them.  

Retain, Don’t Replace 

Without your strongest team members still on board, your organization's future could be in jeopardy. Investing in retention now is the best way to keep as many top performers in your ranks as possible, and it can also help you prepare these key workers to take on greater responsibilities within the company.

The Brooks Group is here to help you sharpen your employees’ skills and give them the tools they need to feel confident in the work they do. Some of our areas of expertise include instructional design, account management training, and healthcare management consulting. Contact us today to inquire about our training services and how they can make a positive impact on workers’ motivation, company loyalty, and professional ability.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2021/12/retaining-top-talent-during-the-great-resignation/

Using Voice of the Customer Research to Evaluate Your Account Managers

With all the tasks on a typical account manager's plate, it is easy to forget that account management is a customer service position at its core.

Voice of the Customer (VOC) market research by The Brooks Group is a customer-driven feedback process that enables account managers to be evaluated on a customized set of metrics approved by the Organization’s leadership team relative to their competitors. The Brooks Group routinely conducts this research as part of our healthcare management consulting offerings. Our findings have revealed healthcare organizations’ priorities with regards to the account managers who serve them and underscored the importance of giving weight to the customer feedback during the AM evaluation process.  

Why Consult the Customer? 

Every account manager has room for improvement in some areas. However, many struggle to identify their weaknesses without additional insight from external observers. Feedback is essential for this purpose, and customer feedback is especially useful. 

Account Managers' ultimate responsibility is to their customers. To maintain and grow their accounts, they must first satisfy those customers' needs. A customer's evaluation of an AM not only reflects how well that AM is doing now, but also outlines some ways they could secure more business from that account or improve their services when targeting similar accounts in the future. Consistent feedback can even prompt changes on an organizational level by shedding light on what customers really want from their account managers.  

Top Customer Priorities 

Our 2021 VOC surveys revealed some of the most valued measures of account manager success according to representatives of real healthcare organizations. Respondents are typically asked to rank AMs or other field-facing employees on a custom set of metrics approved by leadership. Some of these measures can include:

1. Acts with the highest standards of ethics and integrity (you trust him/her to do the right thing). 

2. Responds quickly to your requests or concerns. 

3. Demonstrates that he/she is a true advocate for your patients' needs. 

All of these measures were cited as areas that deserved significant investment to help AMs improve.  

Some other general areas of focus in the rest of the listed measures included: 

• Knowledge of new developments and trends within the industry. 

• Proactive services that anticipate customers' needs before they are brought up. 

• The ability to provide targeted suggestions based on customers' goals and patients' needs. 

How to Learn from Your Customers 

Your customers likely have a lot to say about your account managers’ services, but they may not be ready or willing to divulge their feedback face-to-face. Many people find it difficult to give a meaningful answer while on the spot, especially if what they want to say is not entirely positive.  

Instead, it is often more useful to have an independent third party distribute a survey that allows them to provide that feedback in written form. This allows your customers to take their time crafting a thorough response. It also gives them the added benefit of anonymity due to response aggregation. In short, it is the best way to ensure that the feedback you get is detailed, truthful, and applicable to your organization's goals. 

Get the Ultimate Customer Insight with the Brooks Group 

VOC research adds an invaluable dimension to your account manager evaluation process. By finding out what your customers really think about each of your account managers' services, you can evaluate their performance from a new perspective and discover new pathways to improving customer satisfaction.  It also helps companies in planning the right account management training for AM's that will help close the identified skill gap.

The Brooks Group is a leading provider of healthcare executive services including healthcare market research, onboarding training for new employees, and healthcare executive leadership training. Our VOC surveys have given many healthcare firms unparalleled insight into their account management teams' performance using custom metrics approved by the highest-ranking executives.

Contact us today to learn more about our VOC research and how we can help you better align your organization’s account management programs with the needs of real-world customers.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/using-voice-of-the-customer-research-to-evaluate-your-account-managers/

Effective Employee Onboarding Process for New Hires in the Post-Pandemic World

The dawn of remote work was just one of the many key workforce changes prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that hybrid work arrangements seem destined to become the norm, it is time for companies to adapt their new hire onboarding training to suit this new reality. The five tips below will help you to better welcome and integrate new hires working primarily in virtual spaces.

1. Foster Relationships Within Your Team

Relationship building is a key part of forming a cohesive team, but it can be difficult for people to bond organically when they are not in the same physical space. 

Start by scheduling a quick team meeting on your new hire’s first day and ask everyone present to introduce themselves. Then, follow it up with a series of one-on-one meetings between each of those people and the new hire. Breaking the ice in this way helps your new hire become better integrated into the group. 

2. Use a Mentor System

One of the most challenging things for new hires is understanding team processes and hierarchies. Some new hires hold back on asking questions they desperately want answers to because they do not want to bother a superior with trivial matters.

Knowing who to approach with a question like this can help new recruits feel significantly more comfortable in their new working environment. Help your new hire out by assigning them a patient and more experienced team member to answer the questions that will inevitably crop up.

3. Provide Regular Feedback

New employees also sometimes struggle with understanding what is expected of them in their new role, creating significant performance-based anxiety.

To combat this problem, schedule regular opportunities to give your new hire feedback on their performance. At first, you might do this every week or so. After the employee becomes more confident in their role, you can begin to scale this schedule back.

4. Offer Information on Your Company Culture

In a typical office environment, everything from daily schedules to team dynamics is often learned through osmosis. When a new hire is not exposed to this environment, these contextual elements do not reach them either.

To help remote hires adjust, prepare a written document that explicitly outlines these aspects of the job. Include information such as dress codes for video conferencing, the best times to contact others for meetings or collaboration, and how people on your team generally prefer to communicate. 

5. Highlight the Importance of the New Hire’s Role

Ultimately, new recruits are brought on board to fulfill a function within your team. You know how important that function is, but does your new hire?

This is a common problem for in-person hires as well, but it is even more difficult for those who work remotely. Limited contact with the rest of the team can make it seem like their work has no relation to the bigger picture, making it difficult for them to remain engaged.

Make sure your remote hire knows that what they are doing matters and how it contributes to your organization’s larger goals. Underline the fact that you and their colleagues value their input and expertise. These efforts will instill a sense of pride and confidence in your new employee that will drive them to perform even more effectively at work.

Break Down Barriers for Better Teams

Remote work is not going away anytime soon, and neither are your remote team members. It is worth your time and money to invest in creating new strategies to help these workers find their place in your organization. 

Healthcare consulting firms like The Brooks Group offer educational services such as account management training, healthcare management consulting, biotech market research, and even new hire onboarding training. Contact us today to learn how we can help you refine your onboarding processes to better match the demands of today's workforce.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2021/10/effective-employee-onboarding-process-for-new-hires-in-the-post-pandemic-world/

The Dominance of Oncology in Pharma: What Account Managers Need to Know

Despite significant disruptions in healthcare as a whole, oncology remains the dominant field in pharma, accounting for approximately $200 billion in healthcare spending at present. New reports suggest that this amount may rise to $273 billion by 2025. 

As oncology’s dominance continues in the pharmacological market, it will have several important implications for healthcare account management in the coming years. Account managers may be able to capitalize on this concentration of spending by acquiring in-depth knowledge of the oncology market and the factors which drive it. 

Oncology in Pharma: Projections for 2025 

According to a recent report from the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, here are some projections for the near future related to oncologic drugs and spending:  

• By 2025, oncology’s share of pharma spending is expected to experience a compound annual growth rate between 9 and 12%.  

• Over 100 new oncology drugs are projected to make it to market in this time frame. 

• Many of these new drugs are expected to be biomarker-driven therapies. These types of drugs produce excellent results, but are only useful for select groups of patients. 

Implications for Account Management 

With such rapid development occurring in the world of oncology treatments, pharma account managers who do not make a concerted effort to catch up with the trends, risk being left behind. AMs must be able to apply their knowledge of market trends & market dynamics in order to proactively bring solutions to their customers and facilitate internal decision-making. This level of service cannot be delivered without intimate knowledge of both the product market and its drivers.  

In-depth knowledge of current oncology research and drug development can help account managers identify the types of therapies that their clients are most likely to be interested in and benefit from. Customer-focused sales models like this not only provide ample opportunities for upselling and revenue growth, but also foster better relationships between account managers and the organizations they serve. 

Serving Oncology Customers Better with The Brooks Group 

Healthcare consulting companies like The Brooks Group can help account managers bridge the gaps in their knowledge of oncology pharmaceuticals. Our incisive healthcare market research reveals the pain points of key decision-makers in hospital systems, physician groups, and healthcare provider networks. Armed with this information, pharmaceutical AMs can upgrade the services they offer to customers with oncology-related needs. In doing so, they bring innovative solutions to patients in need while also capturing revenue for the drug manufacturers they represent.  

The Brooks Group recognizes the unique importance of incorporating oncology pharma knowledge in account management training workshops, for effective account management in 2021 and beyond. Our upcoming workshop covers topics such as oncology market trends and drivers, how customers are responding to these market drivers, and how to engage those customers with a value proposition that meets their needs. Enroll today and take the first steps toward becoming a better account manager for customers in this critical high-value sector. 

Review our calendar of events for other healthcare executive training programs here.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2021/09/the-dominance-of-oncology-in-pharma-what-account-managers-need-to-know/

Refresher Training Enhances Retention by 35%. Do you need one?

 

Workers in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry are required to possess extensive specialized knowledge, and compliance is paramount in every role. Healthcare executives and account managers are expected to cultivate a deep understanding of their company's products, their customers' pain points, new shifts in the healthcare market, and much more.

With so much to remember, it is no surprise that some of the specifics, especially new information that is not attached to years of experience begins to fizzle out after the training courses. Healthcare consulting companies often recommend refresher training to help with knowledge retention. Providing refresher training to your staff may boost retention rates by up to 35%.  

What is Refresher Training?

Rather than teaching new skills and concepts, refresher training is used to review information the learner has already been through. It may also be used to update learners on new developments in topics they have already covered or to clarify certain company-specific concepts during an employee onboarding training program.

Benefits of Refresher Training

Aside from increased retention, some of the improvements you can expect to see following a round of refresher training include:

•    Increased efficiency.
•    Higher compliance.
•    More confident employees.
•    Better awareness of new products and industry trends.
•    An improved ability to identify gaps in skills and knowledge among the team.

When is Refresher Training in Order?

The following five situations are some of the most common instances in which your organization may benefit from refresher training.

1. When Repeated Mistakes are Being Made

Everyone makes the occasional mistake, but when the same mistakes surface over and over again, there may be some confusion over what is expected for certain tasks. Refresher training helps to clarify these expectations, ensure that standard procedures are being followed, and create a consistent experience for your customers.

2. When New Information Must Be Disseminated

The world of pharmaceuticals and biotech is fast-paced and unforgiving. Healthcare executive training teaches the information that is relevant at the moment, but what is cutting-edge today may become obsolete tomorrow. Without regular refresher training, employees may struggle to keep up with changes in internal policy or new developments in the field.

3. When Tech is Being Underutilized

Technology is becoming an increasingly prominent part of the healthcare industry, even for executives. If your company has implemented new tools (such as a new CRM system or an appointment scheduling tool) that are not being fully leveraged, refresher training that reminds employees how to use these solutions may help to boost their adoption rate.

4. When Productivity is Declining  

When employees are unsure of how to properly do their jobs, their performance often begins to slip. If you've noticed declining revenue, lower customer retention rates, or rising turnover among your employees, some refresher training may be able to correct the problem.

5. Customer Relationships Are Suffering

Maintaining strong links with current customers is key to the stability of a business. If your customers are expressing dissatisfaction with the way their accounts are being handled, a fresh round of account management training can help to remind your staff of how they can meet those customers' needs.

Refresher training may be delivered in a variety of formats, including in-person and online. Companies can develop customized refresher training courses by using The Brooks Group's instructional design services to translate their content into lessons, quizzes, and other educational resources.

Building Employee Confidence for Future Success

Your organization cannot thrive without confident staff who are sure of their abilities and their role. Solidifying key concepts with refresher training is an investment in both the satisfaction of your current customers and your organization’s future. Contact The Brooks Group today to build refresher training programs for your company.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2021/06/refresher-training-enhances-retention-by-35-do-you-need-one/

Solidifying Knowledge Retention From a Training Event

 

Offering workshops, conferences, and various learning assets are an ideal way to ensure that your team is equipped with the right tools and skillsets to improve workflow, client relations, and overall company growth. But while these events are informative and a great way to create an interactive learning environment, what additional steps are you taking to ensure that information is retained beyond the moment?

Research shows that leveraging the power of pre- and post-event educational outreach can aid in improving content retention. And whether you’re organizing new hire onboarding training sessions or skills-building support for existing talent, that translates to an event that improves your company's financial and professional goals.

Laying the Groundwork Before Your Event

Getting attendees engaged in your educational events before they occur not only improves attendance but can aid in preparing them for the immersive learning environment they’re about to experience. Along with general reminder emails, consider adding other features to your account management training outreach campaign such as a pre-event questionnaire or a networking feature.

The Benefit of a Pre-event Questionnaire

While responses might not be mandatory, these questionnaires can help event organizers better understand specific pain points that attendees would like to have addressed as well as develop a targeted topic list for breakout sessions or roundtables that support deeper, more meaningful discussions. Likewise, by taking the time to understand an attendee’s mind frame before the event, organizers can create lesson plans that are relevant and cohesive.

Leveraging the Power of Networking

The benefit of pre-event networking is obvious for general industry events with attendees from multiple organizations. But even for internal executive coaching events geared towards current employees, it’s important to encourage attendees to build rapport with each other.

Along with helping your team to build deeper relationships across departments, they can also better understand the unique challenges each unit faces. This tactic not only fosters better engagement during the event but ensures that teams work more cohesively after the event.

Solidifying Knowledge Retention After the Event

While pre-event outreach helps to mentally prepare attendees for the information being presented, post-event outreach is also critical to ensure retention. Multiple options are available to encourage continuing education opportunities long after the event has ended. Consider a Mobile-Text Challenge, where learners are sent custom questions after a learning event and can compete against their peers.

Material Availability Post-event

One of the smartest actions event organizers can take is to provide online access to learning materials after the event. Along with providing a point of reference, this tactic acknowledges that every individual learns differently and allows for attendees to control learning at a pace that complements not just their learning style but makes allowances for event distractions that might otherwise make in-person learning difficult.

Multiple Contact Touchpoints

It’s understandable that after an educational event, questions may arise about the material covered during the course. Rather than leaving attendees adrift to figure things out independently, offer them an option to get in touch with event organizers or speakers.

Again, this option not only opens a pathway for communication but reduces any barriers to learning. Event organizers can encourage interaction either by including a QR code with access to contact information or leverage the power of email or SMS outreach to connect directly with attendees.

Building an Event That Educates and Fosters Results

For busy professionals, the time investment associated with attending virtual or in-person events is substantial. This is why The Brooks Group creates programs that build opportunities for continued education while also developing an environment that’s conducive to building relationships.

Along with a robust training program portfolio, we are also a top healthcare consulting firm and pharmaceutical market research company helping healthcare organizations develop strategies for market growth and opportunities.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2021/05/solidifying-knowledge-retention-from-a-training-event/

PEST Analysis in Healthcare Market Research

 

There are countless reasons why a healthcare organization would want to perform quantitative market research. Top catalysts include a desire to pivot to expand market share or to review current performance and determine potential areas for improvement. In both scenarios, The Brooks Group is a top healthcare consulting firm that performs PEST analysis on a client’s behalf to aid in creating a roadmap with a holistic review of external factors that directly impact efficacy.

Utilizing PEST Analysis to Synthesize Information

Healthcare organizations don’t work in a vacuum. They’re often influenced by and have consequential influence over the communities they serve. Decisions made at the executive level not only determine employee performance but can also affect health outcomes in their communities.

PEST analysis strives to review the multiple external components that influence an organization’s future course of action. Key stakeholders can confidently draft strategies that are not only informed but beneficial both for the organization and the surrounding community, by breaking down the market research into the following four core pillars:

- Political factors

- Economic factors

- Sociocultural factors

- Technological factors

Understanding Each Component of PEST Analysis

Crafting a healthcare strategy that balances the needs of a community with those of an organization is a critical skill. The Brooks Group frequently performs PEST analysis that provides key insights into those individual factors most likely to impact business goals and operational constraints.

Political Factors

Political factors can vary by location but usually include government healthcare subsidies, employment regulations, and consumer protections. Understanding whether subsidies are growing or shrinking, or that a new employee tax classification is coming, can help pharmaceutical market research companies understand how payroll requirements will impact labor costs or general revenue in the coming years.

Economic Factors

Economic factors typically refer to internal costs that a healthcare organization must manage. Anything from benefits, to interest rates from a redevelopment loan, can influence long-term goals and spending strategies. However, external scenarios also exist. For example, massive layoffs in a nearby town might see patient behaviors shift from prioritizing preventative or in-patient care and instead divert to urgent care facilities.

Sociocultural Factors

As communities across the nation continue to diversify, understanding how to properly engage with them and effectively convey healthcare messaging is a priority. Engaging in a PEST analysis can aid healthcare organizations in better identifying communication gaps — whether referencing language barriers or cultural value shifts — to ensure that the community trusts your organization and has adequate access to care.

Technological Factors

The healthcare industry continues to make strides with cutting-edge technologies that can improve patient care, communications, and interoperability between healthcare networks. And as more patients are demanding direct access to not just healthcare workers, but to their medical records, organizations need to determine how best to integrate these features without violating privacy policies or reducing the quality of care.

Building for the Future

Creating a 21st-century healthcare firm that’s adaptive and responsive to the community it serves is what’s going to set successful organizations apart as leaders in their respective fields. PEST analysis is critical because it provides a comprehensive macro approach that ensures your organization can make informed decisions that continue to move your business forward. The Brooks Group provides holistic support for healthcare organizations that includes support for new hire onboard training and account management training to build a stronger workforce.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2021/05/pest-analysis-in-healthcare-market-research/

3 Signs that Your Account Managers Need Training

According to data from Gartner, 80% of future profits come from just 20% of your existing customers. When your pharmaceutical or biotech account managers don’t understand how to work with customers effectively, you'll lose customers and, along with them, potential profits. As a healthcare market research firm, The Brooks Group has collected a lot of data on metrics and KPIs that track the performance of account managers in these organizations. 

To maintain business profitability, here are the telltale signs that your managers are due for account management training courses.

1. Low Customer Retention

Effective account management is all about customer retention. If your account managers do their jobs well, customers will continue doing business. Track the following key performance indicators (KPIs) to determine customer retention success:

• Customer Churn Rate – the percentage of customers who cancel or fail to renew their contracts. High churn rates could indicate your account managers are handling customer accounts poorly, causing them to do business elsewhere.

• Support Requests – a high number of support requests indicate your account managers aren’t providing customers with the answers they need. Track website, phone, and email support requests.

With 80% of your future profits at stake, ensure your account managers understand best customer retention practices.

2. Failing Revenue Streams

Account Managers are a key liaison with your existing customers. If they are competent and manage these relationships well, they will be able to uncover opportunities for upsells, cross-sells, and execute a high rate of contract extensions. So if your organization as a whole or a particular manager is failing to develop these opportunities as a steady source and a high percentage of total revenue, then it is time to train your account managers and improve their skills.

3. Poor Client Relationships

Negative customer relationships will cause clients to abandon your products/services. To ensure your managers are maintaining positive client relationships and demonstrating their value, track these key indicators:

• Strategic Communications – the number of strategic emails and calls between managers and customers. If your customers aren’t contacting their account managers for strategic advice, your managers aren’t proving their value.

• Referrals – when customers enjoy the product/service they get from a business, they’re more likely to refer their colleagues. A lack of referrals could indicate your account managers aren’t offering the quality service customers need.

• Outreach Engagement – how often do customers respond to calls and emails? If you have trouble reaching customers, it could mean they don’t have a positive relationship with your business.

Account managers are entirely responsible for building positive customer relationships. When customers avoid communicating, it’s likely they don’t trust you or see the value of your business.

Get Your Account Managers the Training They Need

Worsening KPIs are a strong indication that your account managers are in dire need of training. As customer retention, revenue, and client relationships decrease, reach out to a skilled healthcare consulting firm for advice and training to strengthen your team.

The Brooks Group offers an Excellence in Account Management training course that’s designed to teach account managers proper customer relationship and retention practices. If you’re interested in learning more about this, or our other training programs for healthcare executives and our employee onboarding solutions, contact us for additional information.

Registration for courses is available on The Brooks Group website (view schedule). Custom courses with your team or organization are also available upon request.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2020/12/3-signs-that-your-account-managers-need-training/

MANAGED CARE 101: A MUST FOR SALES AND ACCOUNT MANAGERS IN PHARMA

Managed care is a process that gives patients an option to receive care at a reduced cost through their healthcare plans that have specialized contracts with healthcare providers. Managed care’s primary focus is on wellness and prevention, though it also supports better utilization of healthcare services, better healthcare quality, and lower costs.

In other words, managed care can benefit both patients and providers through a coordinated approach; patients get access to lower-cost benefits while providers gain access to an efficient process for acquiring new patients and managing receivables.

Managed care plans come in a variety of options, including Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), Point Of Service (POS) Plans, And Medicaid Managed Care. Population survey data shows that over 70 million Americans have been enrolled in HMOs, and nearly 90 million have been involved with PPOs. It is fair to say that managed markets are a focal point of modern healthcare – and pharmaceutical personnel need to understand how the interplay of various participants in managed care affect their sales and operations.

The Role of Pharmaceutical Sales and Account Managers in Managed Care

Pharmaceutical sales reps bear a heavy burden. As product specialists and provider liaisons, sales reps have more to do than simply memorize spec sheets. Succeeding in managed care requires an understanding of the general market environment, the economics of managed markets, and how to match their products and solutions to the potential buyers based on the critical business issues faced by the key decision makers.

Sales reps need a deeper understanding of influencing factors such as regulations in product pricing, prescribing restrictions, authorizations, copay management, and more. Account Managers on the other hand need to be able to have tremendous insights into the concerns and challenges of the Key Decision Makers, and based on that build and deliver a unique value proposition that speaks undeniable value and long-term engagement.

This is why, in addition to the standard account management training, most pharmaceutical companies require their sales and account reps to go through managed care training seminars to gain a deep understanding of the system.

Managed Care Training Offers a Competitive Edge

In order to be able to deliver the above-mentioned value, pharma sales and account managers must be well versed in the intricacies of the managed market.

This involves-

• Understanding managed healthcare & the different components
• Identifying the providers & how they impact managed healthcare
• Defining quality & identifying quality initiatives in addition to the leading quality organizations
• Understanding the U.S. healthcare market framework

Pharma managers and sales reps are most effective when they are coached by those familiar with the specialized needs of managed markets. As a leading healthcare consulting firm, The Brooks Group has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience in this field.

The Brooks Group offers a dedicated course called “Managed Care 101” – a training course specifically designed for account managers, field sales reps, and senior level sales professionals looking for insight into the various strategies and techniques used to support managed care markets. Registration is available through open-enrollment sessions at The Brooks Group or by a custom course with your team/organization.

If you’re interested in learning more about our managed care training curriculum or about our healthcare executive training programs, contact us today for more information.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2020/11/managed-care-101-a-must-for-sales-and-account-managers-in-pharma/