Transforming Sales Reps Into Experience Managers

In the December 2015 Innovators issue of PM360 I talked about how traditional feature/benefit messaging simply doesn't work anymore.  Traditional sales reps are dead (sorry).  The industry has to adopt new models of delivering value.  So...we were honored when PM360 highlighted us in the issue, recognizing our Customer-centric Experiential Marketing Transformation model as a top strategy many pharma clients are adopting to surpass their competitors.

If you don't have access to the issue, here's a recap...

Creating Experience Managers

Traditional feature/benefit messaging doesn’t have the impact it once did, so PulseCX developed an innovative strategic framework to lead companies through the required transformation from a product-focused approach to a customer-centric experiential marketing model that is particularly applicable to face-to-face selling in the pharma industry.

This new sales model transforms “sales reps” into “Experience Managers.” It converts traditional feature/benefit sales calls (focused on efficacy, clinical study data and product benefits) into highly-personalized experiences that focus on the unmet emotional and functional needs of the HCPs. Instead of beginning with the core product claims, it starts with open-ended questions to generate dialogue about what’s most important to the HCPs. It then empowers the Experience Managers to deliver value against the interests that are unique to each HCP.

During each sales call, this new model empowers these Experience Managers with interactive visual aids that encourage HCPs to touch and take control of the device through meaningful interactions—to pull them in, educate them and delight them (the direct opposite of traditional selling practices). And, it focuses on empowering the rep to deliver the experience the HCP wants, versus what they prefer to get through other channels.

4 Key Elements of Customer Experience (CX) Transformational Change

To make this transformational change, companies must focus on four key elements:

1. Build cross-functional teams that are focused on delivering excellent customer experiences.
2. Gather and leverage data to provide insights into what HCPs and patients want/need.
3. Create integrated marketing plans to deliver excellent experiences across all channels (not just through the sales reps).
4. Establish campaign metrics that focus on customer experience marketing.

The results speak for themselves. In one case, this new model helped a brand move from the number two position to the number one market-leading position in only three months.

Don't believe me?  Shoot me a comment below and let's continue the conversation/experience below.