A Clear Success

As one of the world’s largest suppliers of contact lenses, lens care products, pharmaceuticals, and intraocular lenses, Bausch + Lomb needed to equip its sales force with the technical knowledge and skills necessary to sell the new lens solution, PeroxiClear.

The stakes were high and time was tight. Bausch + Lomb engaged Zimmet Group to prepare product training to help reps achieve their sales goals. Zimmet Group tackled the challenge, creating a blended training continuum that did more than prepare reps—it supercharged them.

Pharmaceuticals are highly regulated. Making claims that are not supported by research and vetted by the FDA can translate to the misuse of a product that can be detrimental to patient health. Going “off script” can also lead to costly lawsuits and irreparable damage to a company’s reputation.

Sales reps are required to follow a carefully developed script when speaking with health care providers. To help ensure that everyone is delivering a consistent message and can accurately answer follow-up questions from doctors, pharmaceutical companies often use similar methods to train reps—hours and even days spent slogging through self-study reference materials; hours and even days spent listening to lectures, watching slideware, and performing role-plays; hours and even days spent out of the field, not seeing their customers.

So, how do you educate a sales team on the specifics of a new product, keep them on script, and keep them engaged throughout the process? You bring on Zimmet Group.

First, we established base knowledge through a highly interactive, custom eLearning that aligned product features with customer benefits. Behavioral modeling videos brought the application of skills and knowledge to life by demonstrating exemplary sales call behaviors.

Once sales reps successfully completed the eLearning and passed the corresponding assessment, they qualified to attend a national sales meeting.

At the sales meeting, reps went through an intensive one-day session. No “Jeopardy” game here. After housekeeping was completed, reps faced off against each other in a time-based rapid recall game that tied directly to their pre-work.

Reps spent the majority of the day practicing their sales techniques, using iPads to seamlessly seed ideas (a skill they would use in subsequent conversations with health care providers), sharing best practices and tips with each other, and competing for prizes and bragging rights.

The day culminated with all the reps being assessed on their product fluency and their ability to apply their knowledge in a real-world context.

Using the same assessment tools (developed by Zimmet Group), sales managers continued to evaluate reps’ performance on future ride-alongs, defining sales targets and milestones for those who continued to demonstrate excellence and developing remediation plans for those who needed them.

Each rep was also given a PeroxiClear refresher job aid to keep in their car or travel bag, which they could consult before meeting with a health care provider.