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/

Amplify Your Sales Team's Effectiveness in Managed Markets

Managed care is the process of delivering health services based on agreements made between an insurance company and a network of healthcare providers. Under this agreement, insured patients receive care at a lower cost than they would if they were treated by a provider outside of this network.

This type of care has become extremely popular in the US market, particularly in the context of employer-sponsored plans. As of 2017, more than 70 million Americans rely on this type of coverage for at least some of their healthcare needs.

This high market penetration signals the need for healthcare providers to satisfy the demands of managed care providers in order to receive payment for their services. This has significant implications for how account managers should approach sales proposals when managed care plans are a factor in their clients' decision-making processes.

How Managed Care Changes Sales Dynamics

In addition to a thorough understanding of the pharmaceutical market in general, a specialized approach is required when working with accounts that depend on managed care billing. These accounts have unique concerns that influence their purchasing decisions. If they purchase a drug that is not adopted by many managed care plans, they risk being unable to generate a profit from that purchase.

Which types of drugs are favored by managed care plans? Budget is often a major factor in this decision. Managed care plans emphasize affordability and must stretch a relatively small pool of funds to cover all the drugs and treatments they will offer.

Managed care insurers are also much more likely to be interested in drugs that can be prescribed to a wider patient base. Niche solutions are rarely appealing to this type of payer. On the other hand, drugs that can be used to treat a wide variety of conditions may be more attractive.

Why Managed Care Training Matters

Developing a deeper understanding of what drives this market is critical to successfully pitching products to providers who operate within it. Account managers and pharmaceutical sales representatives must demonstrate that they are familiar with the decision-making process within managed care contexts to gain providers’ trust and match them with profitable solutions.

In recognition of this knowledge gap, healthcare management consulting firms have begun offering specialized training to help account managers adjust their approach to better suit the needs of this segment of the market. For instance, our upcoming Managed Care 101 training course offers an overview of managed care markets and the information needed to make a convincing proposal that will secure new business. Topics covered include:

• Who pays for healthcare products and services in the US market

• How pharmacy benefit management and integrated delivery networks work

• How to use evidence-based criteria and player guidelines to determine appropriate product suggestions

• How to establish a pull-through relationship with clients to promote the use of your products in the context of managed care

Perfect Your Managed Care Sales Tactics

Managed care market dynamics will only become more important in pharmaceutical sales in the coming years. Deepening your sales team's knowledge of managed care now is key to maintaining your competitive advantage.

The Brooks Group offers a full catalog of account management training courses designed to help sales representatives hone their skills, as well as instructional design services for creating custom training content. Contact us today to sign your team members up for our Managed Care 101 training course (currently scheduled for May 30) or any of our other industry-leading courses for account management professionals.

This blog was originally posted in https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2022/03/amplify-your-sales-teams-effectiveness-in-managed-markets/

It's Time to Embrace Branding as a Necessity

Many healthcare companies feel that branding efforts are a waste of their time and resources. This mindset is a holdover from past markets, and it is problematic in today’s market conditions.

In the past, healthcare markets were much smaller, and there may have been only one or two products available to treat any given condition. Now, there might be dozens of different options to choose from.

Building a stronger brand is one of the best things you can do to ensure that your company can thrive in this crowded environment. The following five benefits are just some of the many reasons to establish and nurture your healthcare brand.

1. Crystallize Your Competitive Edge 

What makes your healthcare company different from all the others in your niche? You know the answer well, but your prospective customers may not. Strong branding highlights your company’s unique value propositions and allows you to prove your worth to patients and healthcare providers alike. It gives customers a sense of what to expect when buying from you, and this may be enough to cement their decision to choose you over your competition.  

2. Build Trust in Your Company 

New drugs, technologies, and equipment often represent million-dollar investments for healthcare providers; choosing which ones to purchase is no easy decision. Products that are backed by an established brand are seen as less risky than those that are not. Branding makes the products feel like more of a known quantity than what competitors are offering, making it easier to justify the decision to buy from you. We speak from experience on this matter: as one of the country’s top healthcare consulting firms, we have taken care to ensure that our own brand is synonymous with integrity and reliability. 

3. Drive Patient Empowerment 

Good brands resonate with patients as well as healthcare providers. They cultivate patient trust by keeping a close eye on their needs through market research and patient advocacy, then implementing key insights from their findings to better reflect patient needs. They also build a reputation for transparency and trustworthiness, providing patients with all of the information they need to confidently direct the course of their treatment.

4. Contribute to Financial Security 

Even the biggest healthcare companies may see sales numbers dip from time to time. However, a strong brand has staying power that outlasts small roadblocks. People will always gravitate to brands they know and trust, even when budgets are tight. This means that products from strong brands are often some of the last line items to be cut in times of crisis. 

5. Confer Power During Mergers and Acquisitions 

Effective branding can also be an excellent asset during mergers and acquisitions. A company with an established brand has significantly more negotiating power in these propositions. If you are interested in an acquisition, you can command a higher price for the sale. You can also count on the strength of your brand to deter low-quality offers that are not in the best interest of your company; bigger brands are perceived as more difficult targets, even when the company behind them is relatively small. 

Build Your Brand with Quality Training Initiatives 

A strong brand starts with an exceptional team. You can home your staff’s sales, strategy, and interpersonal abilities with advanced professional courses from The Brooks Group. 

Here are some popular training courses we conduct for healthcare executives - 

Executive Level Presence - https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/training-programs/healthcare-executive-training-program/

Excellence in Account Management - https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/training-programs/large-account-management-training/

Get into Pharmaceutical Sales - https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/training-programs/get-into-pharmaceutical-sales/

Managed Care 101 - https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/training-programs/managed-care-101-training-seminars/

Contact us and let us help your team upgrade your company branding today.

This blog was originally posted in https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2022/03/its-time-to-embrace-branding-as-a-necessity/

5 Reasons Your Company Needs to Invest in Key Account Management

Acquiring new customers is the most obvious way for healthcare organizations to drive growth, but it is not the only way. More and more healthcare consulting firms are offering key account management training, an innovative new approach to account management that teaches professionals to focus their efforts on a few key accounts in their portfolio. Here are a few of the benefits of investing in this type of training for your firm’s account managers.

1. Retain Existing Customers  

Keeping the customers you have is always easier than finding new ones. Existing customers know what you have to offer and have found your services satisfactory over the months or years they have been working with you. 

Key account management training can help you build on that existing trust to forge iron-clad relationships that benefit both parties. When customers know that you will go above and beyond for them, you can win their loyalty for a lifetime.  

2. Grow Existing Accounts 

It is easy to think that the goal of customer retention is to maintain consistent income from that account over time. This is not true. Your existing customers may actually have much more interest in purchasing additional solutions from you than either of you realizes.  

A well-trained account manager understands that key accounts in their roster have untapped potential. They should always be looking for opportunities to show their clients some new product or service your organization offers that will meet their clients’ needs, even before those needs have been expressed. Doing this will allow them to capture more revenue from these accounts and easily achieve sustainable growth. 

3. Develop Your Understanding of Your Target Customers 

When you know your current customers like the back of your hand, you also gain knowledge about what future customers will respond to. Products or services that are popular with several accounts will probably be appreciated by similar organizations and may merit greater investment from your firm.  

Key account management training teaches your staff to observe trends in their customers’ needs and apply them to later sales opportunities. This tactic is especially effective when excellent account management skills are paired with additional information from pharmaceutical market research companies and other sources of real-world customer data.  

4. Secure Long-Term Revenue 

No firm can rely on project-to-project income forever. Every organization must build long-term sources of revenue to continue to grow and expand.  

Key account management training gives your staff the tools they need to deliver outstanding service on a consistent basis. This keeps customers satisfied and happy to keep giving you their business for many years to come.  

5. Drive Word-of-Mouth Marketing 

When your customers know they can depend on your organization for innovative solutions and excellent service, they will happily recommend you to other organizations in the industry. This allows you to build momentum based on your past successes and organically grow your customer base. 

Key account management training helps your staff further develop their skillsets to meet the needs of even the most discerning customers. With this knowledge to guide them, they will have no trouble delivering the high-quality service that will get you those coveted recommendations.  

Get Key Account Management Training from a Top Training Organization 

Healthcare is a highly competitive field, and your firm needs every advantage it can get to stay on top. Key account management training can help your staff master the advanced customer service skills they need to make your biggest accounts even more lucrative.

The Brooks Group provides a full curriculum of training programs for account managers in the healthcare industry, including employee onboarding training and strategic account management training. Contact us today to learn more about how you can enroll your workforce in these programs and set your company up for success. 

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2022/02/5-reasons-to-invest-in-key-account-management/

Account Managers: Conduct Winning Meetings Starting Today!

Account managers regularly conduct meetings with some of the busiest professionals in the healthcare industry. These meetings offer a critical opportunity to exchange thoughts with clients, receive feedback, and explore new pathways to grow the account. However, it is just as easy for these events to go awry.  

As an account manager, you owe your clients the courtesy of proper preparation. Here are five easy steps you can follow to plan winning meetings that will deepen your client relationships and secure new business for your firm.  

1. Take Time to Prepare 

Every successful meeting begins with thorough preparation.  

First, decide who will attend. Keep meetings as small as possible. If possible, find out how many people the client is bringing and make sure to include relevant people from your own organization.

If you do not know some of the people in your client's party, be sure to check their LinkedIn page to learn more about them before you meet them in person.

Make sure that everyone who is set to attend the meeting knows when and where it will take place. If the meeting is online, make sure that everyone has access to the right software and has received any links or account access they need to participate.  

Finally, figure out how long it will take you to get to the venue on the day of the meeting, then add an extra half-hour or so to account for detours, delays, and last-minute preparations. This ensures that you will have more than enough time to arrive before the client and set up the room.

2. Sort Out Your Logistics 

Once you know how you want your meeting to go, think about what you will need to have ready to make things go smoothly.  

Do you have backups of all the files you need for your presentation? Is the conference room's equipment working properly? If there is an online component to the meeting, is the office's internet connection stable? Are there enough chairs for everyone? If you will be serving coffee and snacks, how will you get them to the conference room? Will someone be taking notes, and if so, who? 

Planning for all of these factors minimizes the number of interruptions you will experience during your meeting and makes you and your company look like consummate professionals.

3. Establish a Framework 

Before the meeting begins, ensure that everyone is on the same page by quickly reviewing your goals for the day and how much time you have allotted for the event. It may also be helpful for you to use your strategic account management training to create a brief elevator pitch for any products or services you are planning to bring to the client’s attention.

Laying these details out in advance gives your meeting some direction and a clear endpoint that respects everyone's time. Setting these guidelines in advance reassures your clients of your professionalism and makes it easy for you to keep the meeting focused and productive. 

4. Account for Different Communication Styles 

The way you present information in a meeting can have a significant impact on that meeting's outcomes. Some people enjoy some social chitchat up-front to break the ice, while others prefer to get straight to business matters. Know your audience’s communication style and adapt your presentation style to suit them. This will keep your clients engaged and reinforce their confidence in your skills.

However, remember what you learned about your company culture during your employee onboarding training; many organizations frown on taking too casual an approach, and your communications choices should remain consistent with internal expectations. 

5. Listen

Account managers typically come to the meetings with a lot of reports, presentations, and information that they want to share with the client. In their eagerness to offload all that information, sometimes they forget to allow time to listen and let the client share their most pressing concerns or ideas. Sometimes the reports you want to share are not as important as the new ideas the client might be thinking about, as it might uncover new opportunities for your growth together. So, make sure to ask the clients some open-ended questions and then listen!

6. Follow Up Afterwards 

Good follow-up after a meeting is critical for reinforcing the customer experience. 

Thank each attendee for their time and include a short summary of the key points covered during your time together. Doing this demonstrates that you are committed to understanding your customers' needs and are making the most of every learning opportunity. It also shows the kind of initiative and leadership That are hallmarks of good customer service.

Master Meetings for Account Management Success 

When your next meeting comes up, put these tips into action and witness the difference they make. With the right approach, you and your clients will all leave feeling focused and confident that you are on the right track.

Interested in further development? The Brooks Group is a leader among America's pharmaceutical market research companies and healthcare consulting firms. We provide training programs that help account managers sharpen the skills they need to succeed. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help you develop your sales skills, market knowledge, and customer relationships.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2022/02/conduct-winning-meetings-starting-today/

Cut Costs and Save Time on New Employee Onboarding With A Smart Investment

Effective onboarding training does much more than merely ease a new employee into their role, it also imparts a sense of purpose and belonging. With the right approach, it can serve as a powerful tool for increasing productivity and retention in your ranks. 

A quality digital employee onboarding training program can save your organization significant amounts of time and money without losing any of the benefits of in-person instruction.  

  

Increase Employee Retention When It Matters Most  

Today’s workers are more mobile than ever before. All types of organizations are having difficulty attracting and retaining the talent they need to thrive – and the more highly skilled a role is, the harder it is to find a replacement.  

Providing in-depth, engaging onboarding training is one way your organization can combat this problem. Onboarding training helps your employees better understand their new work environment and their place within it. This forges a sense of loyalty among your team and has been shown to generate a 50% increase in employee retention.  

  

Choose Digital Training to Save Time and Improve Productivity  

New employees need time and instruction to rise to the same level of performance as your existing workforce. Delivering this instruction manually, however, slows the process down considerably. Not only do some staff members have to take time out of their day for training duties, but new employees may find themselves waiting idly for someone to fit the training into their busy schedule.  

With self-guided digital onboarding training, new hires can quickly get themselves up to speed on your company culture, relevant rules and regulations, and what is expected of them in their new role. Digital training programs also ensure consistency, making sure that all new hires receive the same vital information. Your new hires can get to work more quickly and your existing workers can stay on task. 

  

Create Custom Content for Your Present and Future Workforce 

Even with strong retention initiatives in place, your workforce is sure to shift and expand as the company grows. All new future hires will need onboarding training, and some employees who are promoted to higher roles may benefit from an additional round of training to help them settle into their new position.  

In contrast to the ever-mounting costs of traditional onboarding, investing in custom digital onboarding training modules is a one-time expense. These training tools are extremely scalable and can be used to instruct as many new hires as needed in the coming years. They can also be easily updated to reflect any needed changes in the curriculum.

Avalability of digital tools also allows you to generate more engagement among the trainees by utilizing 3D modeling and simulations, video content, gamification etc. This kind of learning experience based onboarding improves knowledge retention while shortening learning spans.

Streamline Your Onboarding Training Today 

Building a digital onboarding training program for your organization will help you trim your expenses and your staff's workload. The Brooks Group provides customized employee training programs for healthcare executives, including strategic account management training, and onboarding training. Contact us today to discuss your digital training needs and let us help you establish a more efficient and consistent onboarding process for both you and your workforce.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2022/01/cut-costs-and-save-time-on-new-employee-onboarding-with-a-smart-investment/

Do Your Account Managers Have the Pulse of Your Customers?

One of the most important goals of strategic account management training is to help your account managers forge a better understanding of your customers' current and evolving needs. If your account managers become too complacent, you risk losing some of your valuable accounts.  

Fortunately, you have ready access to the best source of information on customer needs: your customers themselves. Have your account managers ask them the following five questions to get a better idea of what they need now and what they would like to see from your organization going forward. 

5 Questions to Ask Your Customers  

1. How can we better serve your needs? 

Even the best healthcare organizations and their account managers have areas in which they could improve. Ask your customers about what you could be doing better, as well as which products or services they would like to see you provide in the future.  

Answers to this question can help you develop a framework for future improvements within your organization. If you chart your growth according to stated customer preferences, you should have no difficulty retaining the customers you have and adding new ones to your account managers’ rosters.  

2. How satisfied are you with our services? 

Your customers might not be outwardly complaining about your services, but that does not necessarily mean they are fully satisfied with them. Ask them directly to confirm that your services are meeting their expectations.  

An even better way to do this is to ask them whether they would readily recommend your services to another organization. If they would not or are not sure, ask them what would need to happen for them to change their mind. These questions demonstrate how much your organization values customer success and give you some concrete steps to take to solidify your relationship with your client base.  

3. What aspects of our services do you find most valuable?  

There are a multitude of different ways to approach account management in the healthcare industry. Ask your customers which parts of your approach they value the most to find out what it is you do best.

Perhaps your account managers always make a point of presenting the data that supports the solutions they represent. Maybe they are exceptionally compassionate and good at making those they work with feel comfortable around them. Maybe they always seem to know what the customer will need before that need is ever expressed. Whatever the strengths of your workforce may be, you will want to emphasize and capitalize on those attributes. 

4. What are your biggest challenges? 

Your account managers’ role is to help your customers achieve their goals, so it is important to know exactly what those goals are. Asking your customers about the challenges they are facing allows your account managers to translate those challenges into meaningful service improvements. 

For instance, a customer whose patients consistently request the latest treatments might appreciate being shown some of the newest drugs on the market. Matching your account managers' services to your customers' expressed needs will win your organization a lot of goodwill from existing accounts and the market as a whole. 

5. Why did you choose us over our competitors? 

Both you and your customers know that there are many other healthcare companies with similar solutions to those your organization provides. Asking them why they ultimately chose you (or why they stayed with you instead of switching) will help you determine what your customers see as your organization's main selling point.  

Their responses might highlight the things you intentionally emphasize in your services, but they may also surprise you with new useful insights. For instance, you may think of your firm as a provider of established healthcare solutions, but perhaps your customers are more excited to access the small roster of cutting-edge solutions you have recently invested in.  

Get a Better Grasp of Your Customers 

You can acquire more valuable customer insights like these with help from The Brooks Group. In addition to our healthcare market research services, we deliver healthcare executive coaching and new employee onboarding training programs to biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical companies, and other healthcare organizations. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you better understand the needs of your most discerning customers.

This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2022/01/do-your-account-managers-have-the-pulse-of-your-customers/