One my client’s was able to hire an energetic, articulate and intelligent woman to help him market his new infusion pharmacy. She was right in every way except that her “sales” experience was in the home health and home care service arena: close to infusion therapy but still different enough to require more training. He wanted to know how we could help her develop her knowledge of infusion therapy and her ability to sell it. I outlined the following five approaches her initial training.
Five Approaches to training your sales person:
1. Clinical Process. Have her observe the patient care process from intake to discharge so that she knows what it is the clinical staff actually does. Have the sales person go out on a few deliveries and home visits to get an idea of what really goes on in the world of infusion patient care.
2. Infusion Therapies. The sales person should learn the various therapies your infusion pharmacy markets and provides. Have her spend some time with the pharmacy and/or nursing director learning about the therapies and what it takes to deliver and administer to the patient. Also, some basic clinical resources such as the NHIA Certificate Program, even though designed for pharmacy staff, can also be valuable as a training resource.
3. Strengths of the Clinical Staff. The sales person should learn what it is the clinical staff does well and be able to promote those strengths to your referral sources. For instance, maybe you have a very experienced dietician on staff that enjoys working with pediatric enteral patients. The sales person can promote that to your pediatricians and gastroenterologists. The sales person should have a list of at least 10 strengths she can share when selling.
4. Know the Payers. This may seem basic but it is important. Not only do you want the phone to ring with new referrals, but you want referrals you can actually take. Have the sales person work with the billing team to learn about the payers and which are preferable.
5. Joint Calls. When the sales person begins making her sales calls, the owner, pharmacist in charge or other key and knowledgeable member of the staff should go along with her, both as a resource and to assist in the tight spots. Laying a foundation of success in the initial few weeks of sales calls will give your new sales person much needed confidence and job satisfaction.
Finally, if you are able, send your sales person to formal training or hire someone to work directly with them in the field. It will be money well spent in almost all cases.