Mastering the Art of Virtual Sales Calls for BioPharma & MedTech

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed how we live, and especially how we work. With a majority of the workforce around the world going remote, the pandemic has revealed the cracks in the processes workers and corporations have been using for so many years. 

It depends on the nature of the job, whether it’s feasible to work remotely or not. So what about those whose job mostly involves taking face to face meetings? We’re talking about sales, especially those in pharmaceuticals and med-tech. 

The pandemic has shifted traditional sales calls that involved traveling and in-person meetings to go entirely virtual. A sales call is already a challenge in its own right; doing it virtually raises the bar even higher. That said, there are ways to improve virtual sales calls and get even more out of them than your conventional sales calls. 

I spoke to Bob Lempke, the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) of Mobile Locker, about mastering the art of visual calls. 

Mobile Locker provides sales solutions that bridge the gap between marketing and sales and allows better content management for sales staff. Its tools allow sales representatives to make better presentations and pitches to potential clients both in-person or virtually. 

Adapting with the Times

Sales is often about how you present yourself and engage with the client. Many salespeople have worked years to perfect their craft. Most of that is based on in-person calls, which has resulted in serious challenges for even the most seasoned sales professionals in pharma and healthcare to get ahead. 

Lempke pointed out that as we move forwards, sales isn’t going to be the same. For starters, we don’t know when the doors to the HCPs will open again. Secondly, even when they do get back to normal, sales calls may not be what they used to be. 

It’s imperative for the sales teams to be ready to pivot their processes and delivery as and when needed. Lempke advises, “Not only do they have to get good at having platforms that allow them to deliver, but they also have to get good at having a platform that is extremely adaptable because on Monday you can be doing one process and then on Wednesday something may happen, and you have to completely shift and pivot to a completely different process.”

It’s clear that sales departments will require appropriate tools to manage their processes and content. With the help of these tools, they can be more flexible with their meetings and sales calls. They can easily jump from one device to another and have access to the content they need to present from anywhere. 

Standing Out Virtually

During our LinkedIn Live session, a follower raised the concern that how do you stand out when delivering a sales pitch virtually. This is a big challenge of virtual sales calls, mainly because you only have limited time to make your case.

You can obviously use many of the same strategies you use in an in-person meeting virtually too. However, Lempke says that sales agents need to realize that HCPs want to be communicated at their own time and convenience. And that’s something a pharma or med-tech salesperson can utilize to their advantage and stand out. 

The very nature of taking a virtual sales call allows the HCP to accommodate the sales representative at the time they can really listen to them. 

Sales reps can use the time before that virtual meeting to strategize and prepare. You can share content, send personalized emails to get the pleasantries out of the way, and set the pace for the eventual virtual meeting. He calls it ‘a multi-pronged approach’ made possible through a versatile sales solution. 

Use Insights to Get Your Pitch Right

In the BioPharma and Med-tech industries, the first sales call isn’t merely a sales call but also an effort to lock in the next sales call. Normally, sales reps watch the body language and listen to the concerns of the HCP and pivot their pitch accordingly. That can be difficult to achieve when you’re doing it online, even if you see their face. 

This is where insights kick in. Sales departments at these companies need to utilize tools that analyze how prospective clients are interacting with their content. They need to measure and analyze how much time they are spending on an email or a PDF they have sent. 

Lempke assures that their tool can provide companies the ability to customize sales calls and improve their delivery, all through insights.

“It all kind of comes back to being relevant, knowing whether you’re relevant or not, and then doing everything you can to make sure that you’re giving timely, highly customized follow up.”

Preparing Future Sales Reps

We also discussed how sales coaches could prepare sales reps for virtual meetings. Again, solutions like Mobile Locker also allow sales coaches or managers, any higher-level executives, to use the data to train their staff. 

It’s clear that sales departments in these industries, or really any industry, will have to adapt to doing things online or remotely that they have been doing differently for many years. More HCPs could likely prefer to do sales meetings fully online. Therefore, the future sales reps need to be provided with the right tools and training to seamlessly deliver a sales call online just as they would walking in an office. 

When asked what advice he would give to a sales professional, Lempke recommended utilizing all the tools and getting good at them. He advises to “use email, use remote zoom type thing, use like whatever tools that your company is giving you access to use them.”

He also mentions giving value to how HCP wants to communicate and carry out the meeting. It’s highly important to be relevant to stand out and grab their attention. 

Even virtually, these HCPs are taking many sales calls, so you need to really up your game by giving them exactly what they want and how they want. That’s how you can really master your next virtual sales call.