Aligning 900+ commercial leaders and sellers

Client challenge 

A multinational medical device company aiming for rapid growth adopted a new customer-centric strategy, placing patients at the heart of its sales operations. This shift sparked a strong demand from front-line staff for clear guidance on how to integrate customer-centric practices into their daily activities. 

To ensure effective alignment, the company engaged BTS to facilitate the rollout of this strategic shift during their upcoming National Sales Meeting. The objective was to realign the commercial team’s behaviors to support the new patient-focused vision. BTS responded by developing a comprehensive engagement solution, including a simulation specifically designed to involve key stakeholders such as Healthcare Professionals (HCPs). 

BTS solution 

Creating a playbook: “What great looks like” 
BTS worked closely with the client to pinpoint key moments in the customer journey that were crucial for fostering customer-centricity across all commercial functions. This involved evaluating both frontline interactions and the collaboration among internal teams. These pivotal moments formed the basis for a tailored playbook aimed at addressing specific organizational challenges and enhancing customer focus throughout the company. 

Preparing managers for their role in the change
To align and equip managers for effectively coaching the new vision, BTS organized pre-session meetings. These sessions prepared frontline managers not only for on-the-job coaching but also to serve as crucial table coaches during the National Sales Meeting. 

Activating a customer-centric change with employees 
At the National Sales Meeting, BTS introduced a customized, moments-based simulation that replicated key situations from the new customer journey playbook. Over 900 participants engaged in this four-hour immersive experience, which highlighted specific moments from the playbook. The simulation challenged participants to practice new customer-centric behaviors through real-life scenarios, followed by a debriefing of each moment, sharing of success stories, and discussion of real-world challenges. At the session’s conclusion, participants received a copy of the playbook to apply these insights in their daily work. 

Results 

Feedback from the rollout indicated that employees were fully engaged with the new strategy, actively participating in their learning and adapting their behaviors at crucial moments. The combination of the simulation and the introduction of the playbook played a key role in advancing the company’s customer-centric vision. 

The US Commercial Team reported significant gains in understanding their role in customer-centricity, with a 14% increase in clarity by the end of the session. Prior feedback had highlighted a demand for clearer guidance on customer-centric behaviors, which this session effectively addressed: 

• The number of participants who reported an excellent understanding of what it takes to be more customer-centric more than doubled, marking a 138% increase. 
• Those reporting partial, very little, or no clarity decreased by more than half, showing a 66% decrease. 

Additionally, the leader of the sales organization observed a notable increase in the inclusion of customer stories during meetings and planning sessions, which has driven more customer-focused actions across the organization. With these positive outcomes, BTS continues to support the company in scaling customer-centric initiatives and behavioral transformations.