Focus Magazine - Summer 2014 - (Page 40)

SELLINGSKILLS The Science of Changing Sales Behavior I By Duncan Lennox Today there is clear recognition 40 S Affordable Care Act; and changing purchasing patterns at hospitals and medical groups These market realities have come together in something of a perfect storm to highlight that the effectiveness of traditional sales training methods as a mechanism for changing behaviors isn't what it used to be. Psychology principles such as the Forgetting Curve have been known for over a century. However it is only in the last 10 years that scientists have begun to understand the chemical processes in the brain that actually result in long-term memory formation and establishing patterns of behavior. Based on rigorous clinical trials, research conducted at Harvard has found that successful pull-through needs to meet a set of criteria: * Convenience - Reinforcement needs to be available to the rep at a time and place that works for them and is flexible. * Motivation - Expectations are much higher in today's world and reps will be quick to opt out of anything that does not capture their attention. * Personalization - Because time is so limited today, a mechanism must exist to ensure the right content at the right time for the right rep. SPEED SCIENCE M OT I VAT I O N * Speed - It needs to be something they can complete in a short space of time or it won't get done. CO N V E N I E N C E P E R S O N A L I ZAT I O N of the need for pull-through in the field. ales training is unique in the learning and development world in that it allows, in theory, a straight line to be drawn from the impact of the training to the organizations' top line. Yet it has often been difficult to get a clear picture of what the field knows and how programs add impact. Today there is clear recognition of the need for "pull-through" in the field, and a willingness by sales leadership to engage with sales training on the topic. A combination of factors have driven this: tectonic shifts in how clinicians access information; regulatory changes that limit how clinician interactions occur; certainly the * Science - Random approaches with no sound basis in science have no place in today's training programs. Neither does "because that's always how we have done it." Successful approaches typically use some form of interval or spaced repetition, where key skills and knowledge are presented multiple times over an extended period to reinforce memories. FOCUS | SUMMER 2014 | www.L-TEN.org http://www.L-TEN.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Focus Magazine - Summer 2014

Focus Magazine
From the President: Clarity, Community & Career
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Guest Editor: Your Network and the Connection Ecomony
Front of the Room: Getting Your Head Right
Neuroscience: Neuroliteracy
Introducing LTEN: The Life Sciences Trainers & Educators Network
Communities of Practice: Learning in Action
Are We Living in a Post-LMS World?
Member Solutions: Measuring the Impact of Training
Selling as a Team Sport
From the Training Room to the Board Room
The Science of Changing Sales Behavior
Personalized Medicine: The Coming Revolution
Virtual How: Trends in Selling Models
Member News
Ad Index
Focus Contacts
5 Questions with Nigel Brooksby

Focus Magazine - Summer 2014