The Who, What, How and Why of Sales Enablement for Life Sciences Companies

The Series

In today’s environment of strict regulation and reduction in spending for healthcare, life sciences companies are under pressure to reduce operational costs, increase efficiency and provide greater value to the system—and sales enablement is a crucial component to achieving all of the above.

This series will unpack the elements of sales enablement, and how they can enhance and elevate sales initiatives for life sciences companies. Let’s start with the “what.”

What is Sales Enablement?

Coaching? Training? Content creation? Operations? If you ask experts for an explicit, applied definition of sales enablement, odds are you’ll receive more than one.

In fact, there’s an entire group of practitioners “solely dedicated to the elevation of the sales enablement role and the creation of standards for the profession.” It’s called the Sales Enablement Society, and its mission is to bring clarity, set standards and define best practices for the sales enablement community. But before this group was formed, there was little to no consistency surrounding the definition of sales enablement, its goals or its applications.

It’s apparent that sales enablement is continuously evolving, and its meaning can vary from one organization to the next. But in its broadest scope, Forrester defines sales enablement as:

“…a strategic, ongoing process that equips all client-facing employees with the ability to consistently and systematically have a valuable conversation with the right set of customer stakeholders at each stage of the customer’s problem-solving life cycle to optimize the return of investment of the selling system.”

So, what does that mean? Let’s break this down a bit.

…a strategic, ongoing process…

Think proactive versus reactive. The complexities of the selling environment are endless—and it takes more than a singular technological solution to solve them. The role of sales enablement is honed in on the perpetual process of actively identifying the most efficient ways for sales reps to successfully sell. Keep in mind that sales enablement involves strategy, not just tactics. This means that sales enablement ≠training; it goes further than just checking the box after onboarding an employee, and can’t be confined to a single event or timeframe.

For a life sciences company, the tactics leveraged within a properly-executed sales enablement strategy would look like:

1. Developing a clinical case study


2. Providing guidelines to reps for how to use the case study


3. Delivering the case study in a way that reps want to receive it


4. Tracking usage and gaining visibility into the performance of the case study


5. Modifying the case study based on those metrics


6. Refine and repeat

…equips all client-facing employees…

More often than not, sales reps have the most customer-facing role in an organization. They’re tasked with being an expert in their field and supplying a wide assortment of segments with insightful, educational information. The role of sales enablement ensures that those who work directly with customers are equipped with relevant content, clearly defined goals and a consistent, compelling message.

For a life sciences company, that means a sales rep heading into a call or meeting is armed with:

• Subject matter specific to the physician specialty, hospital or lab


• Custom, FDA-compliant collateral


• Content that promptly positions the device, drug or tool they are selling

…to have a valuable conversation…

Gone are the days that sales reps can have a “one size fits all” customer call. The discussion can go in so many directions, but sales enablement provides reps with the ability to keep the conversation relevant and personal.

For a life sciences company, the following scenario often occurs:

After weeks of reaching out, a sales rep finally locks down 10 minutes with a target physician, hospital administrator or lab associate—in the next hour. Lucky for them, sales enablement initiatives allow for the rapid accessibility of:

• Specific insight into the physician, hospital or lab’s history with the company


• The current problems their office, hospital or lab might be facing


• How the rep’s drug, device or tool can help alleviate those problems

With this information, the rep can get the most value out of that 10-minute window.

…with the right set of customer stakeholders at each stage of the customer’s problem-solving life cycle…

This revolves around a company’s ability to understand what customers need, and when they need it. Sales enablement helps sales reps identify their customers’ needs, pain points and goals at various stages of the buyer’s journey. It also gives reps the confidence they need knowing they will always have access to impactful, relevant content for all customer stakeholders involved in the purchase process.

A sales enablement strategy not only helps reps recognize the right customers, but also ensures they understand the differences between the various stages in the buyer’s journey. Even further, it equips reps with the resources and support necessary to have that valuable customer conversation discussed above.

For a life sciences company, this calls for:

• Implementing a system for managing interactions with current, potential and future accounts (typically a CRM)


• Analyzing data gathered from that system to better understand what stage those accounts are seated at


• Mapping all sales content and collateral to the various stages to help move those accounts along in their decision-making process

…to optimize the return of investment of the selling system.

Sales reps are the primary revenue generators of any organization. Considerable budget dollars are invested in sales each year, because the selling system is directly linked to revenue generation. Sales enablement ensures that leadership has the strategy, resources and support in place to optimize both the sales force and, subsequently, ROI. By directly aligning with revenue goals, sales enablement efforts becomes less of a cost center and more of a revenue driver.

For a life sciences company, this means:

• Investing more resources on the back end of the sale


• Shortening the amount of time spent on the front end of the sale


• Capitalizing on that shortened sales cycle to strengthen and grow relationships

What’s Next?

Although sales enablement is evolving every day, one thing is certain: it isn’t going anywhere.

The next posts in this series will explore who should be involved, how to get it started and why life sciences companies should be thinking strategically about sales enablement.

Source: B2C