The European Head Quarter of a pharma-medical giant decides to invest in developing the strategic skills of its sales network. The company intends to go beyond classic training on advanced sales and negotiation techniques to strengthen and enhance the skills of National Sales Managers (NSMs).
The contribution of PRAXI and the London-based company Consalia (in which PRAXI is a shareholder) fits into this scenario.
Project
The project started with a detailed analysis of the strengths and areas for improvement of the corporate network in different European countries. The analysis revealed some interesting aspects:
- the need to work on a homogeneous model – at the European level – of skills development;
- the complexity of managing a development project in countries with different cultures, languages and business performance;
- the need to develop in NSMs both strategic and business skills and coaching skills, such that the NSM becomes a “Coach” to its Product Specialist.
The project was deployed over the course of one year to allow the gradual implementation of the shared tools in the field by NMS.
As part of the three meetings organized by the Company with the entire sales network (one meeting at the European level and two at the national level), the advanced sales tools and skills suggested by the Gap Analysis from the previous phase of the sales performance survey were conveyed in separate training rooms by country.
In the first two Sales Meetings, PRAXI Consultants conducted the training classroom while, in the last one, they conducted shadow coaching, leaving the NSMs in the role of trainers.
Results
The entire project (training, coaching and shadow coaching) was delivered in 11 countries, in the respective national languages: Italy, France, Spain, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Sweden. In countries where the number of people involved exceeded the planned average, more native-speaking consultants were placed on the project in order to ensure consistent timing, methodologies, and customer focus.
Being able to rely on the strengths of the individual NMS, which in turn was able to leverage the strengths of the individual DP, produced a multiplier effect of widespread sharing and accountability that is unmatched by other traditional training methodologies.
