The essential guide to sales enablement for pharmaceutical sales teams

Sales enablement plays a pivotal role in empowering sales teams to achieve commercial success. This tool fosters better department alignment and ensures consistency in messaging, enhancing the customer experience.

By equipping teams with the right resources and information, sales enablement allows organizations to drive revenue growth and achieve their business objectives more effectively.

Why is sales enablement important?

1. Delivers end-to-end revenue support:

   • Ensures that sales teams have the right processes and touchpoints to manage the sales cycle efficiently
   • Fosters inter-department collaboration leading to a more cohesive and customer-centric approach
   • Leverages data analytics to provide valuable insights into customer behaviors, market trends, and competitive landscapes, for informed decision-making

2. Builds customer confidence:

   • Equips sales teams with the knowledge and resources they need to deliver exceptional customer experiences and build trust
   • Empowers sales teams to tailor their pitches and solutions to meet the specific needs and challenges of each customer

3. Enables multi-threaded buying:

   • Today’s buyer journey often involves multiple stakeholders and touchpoints; sales enablement ensures that sales teams are equipped to navigate complexities
   • Provides sales teams with resources and insights to identify opportunities for cross-selling and upselling

4. Leads sales process:

   • Establishes a standardized sales process to ensure consistency and effectiveness
   • By tracking and analyzing sales performance data, sales enablement supports accurate forecasting and sets realistic targets

5. Builds talent development programs:

   • Provides comprehensive onboarding programs for new sales hires and ongoing training to keep existing teams up to date with the latest techniques
   • Offers coaching and mentoring programs to help sales professionals develop their skills and enhance their performance

The top life science sales enablement tactics we recommend to clients

There is a wide range of sales enablement tactics you can utilize within your pharma organization, but where do you begin? 

The first step is understanding the difference between internal and external tools; internal tactics are for your marketing and sales teams, whereas external sales enablement methods are intended for your customers and prospects.

We’ve spoken to our team of experts and have broken down the top-performing tactics they recommend…

Internal sales enablement tactics

Customer analysis and ideal customer profiles (ICPs)

• What is it?

This tactic involves working with the sales team to identify your target market and create an ideal profile(s); the key here is to map out every detail of this ICP to truly understand this person and what their needs are. This data can then be used to identify possible prospects, and also be developed into decision-making units based on how each persona make decisions

• How can it benefit the team?

A key benefit is that it ensures your sales team target the right people and have a clear vision of their challenges, and where your business can help. The data gathered here can also be strategically utilized in paid advertising messaging to ensure your marketing activity is speaking to the right people with the right message at the right time.

Sales playbook

• What is it?

A sales playbook is a guide that gives your sales reps information about how to handle different situations based on best practices the company has developed over time. The playbook makes it easier for reps to personalize the call without spending lots of time looking for sales assets and pricing sheets. The playbook can also be split into different journeys depending on which client/prospect you are speaking to, making each 1-2-1 interaction tailored and efficient.

• How can it benefit the team?

It not only saves time internally but provides a consistent experience for customers across the team which will, in turn, increase customer satisfaction.

Monthly market insight sessions

• What is it?

A monthly session where the team can discuss commercial themes and sector news that can impact your target customers. It can be run internally or with an external agency –  the key is to understand the market landscape and how your team should respond.

• How can it benefit the team?

Having dedicated time to review as a team can lead to a better understanding and addressing of customer pain points which can help reposition the business if needed and filter into marketing campaign messaging. It’s also an important way to get ahead of your competitors as identifying white space could lead to the need for internal investment.

External sales enablement tactics

Customer case studies and testimonials

• What is it?

Collating your best client successes into case studies is a great way to demonstrate your expertise to both clients and prospects. They can showcase your approach to projects, key elements of the process clients want to know more about, and ultimately can emphasize why to partner with you. 

• How can it benefit the team?

Case studies can be used as an upselling opportunity and to gain credibility. They can also be promoted across paid channels and drive traffic to your site. The key benefit of this tool is the ability to build trust and credibility with your audience. 

Account-based marketing (ABM)

• What is it?

An ABM strategy targets specific companies with personalized campaigns, as opposed to targeting large groups as a whole. Marketing and sales teams can work together to identify these companies, using specific messaging and content to engage and in the end, convert them into customers. 

• How can it benefit the team?

This tailored approach acknowledges each persona’s individual challenges and opportunities, which can increase the chance of conversion and aid the sales pipeline. It also provides useful insights to the sales and marketing process and typically delivers a higher ROI vs inbound marketing efforts. 

Webinars

• What is it?

Webinars are great sales enablement content because they highlight the effectiveness of your solution, often by emphasizing the expertise of subject matter experts (SMEs) within the company which boosts your organization’s credibility. They can be pre-recorded or run live, offering flexibility for your team and the viewers. 

• How can it benefit the team?

They are a fantastic credibility booster and provide high-value content that can be repurposed into blogs, Q&A articles, and video snippets for social. Live webinars boost engagements and allow prospects to ask questions in real time. 

Sales enablement tools could be the secret to unlocking more revenue

By implementing effective internal and external life science sales enablement tactics, organizations can enhance their sales performance, gain a competitive advantage, and achieve their business objectives more effectively.

From identifying ideal customer profiles and creating sales playbooks to conducting regular market insight sessions, sales enablement strategies provide the tools and support needed to navigate the complex life science sales landscape.

By embracing life science sales enablement tactics, organizations can reveal the full potential of their sales force and open new avenues for growth.

Whether you’re looking for a commercial partner or curious about our business, this could be the start of a beautiful relationship.

Let’s formulate something remarkable, together.