By Marina Hickson, Chief Executive Officer, Vivanti
The pharmaceutical industry is facing a critical challenge: its sales teams are struggling to meet performance targets, impacting not only revenue but potentially the timely delivery of vital treatments.
2024 Salesforce State of Sales Report, surveying over 5,500 sales professionals, reveals a staggering statistic: 84 per cent of sales representatives are failing to meet their sales targets.
This alarming figure highlights a fundamental flaw in current training and enablement methods, signalling an urgent need for transformation.
Key Statistical Insights:
- Quota Attainment Crisis: 84 per cent of sales reps miss their targets. This indicates a profound disconnect between current training and the demands of the market, necessitating immediate improvement.
- Prolonged Onboarding: New sales representatives take an average of 11.2 months to become quota capable. This extended ramp-up period represents a significant drain on resources and a delay in sales effectiveness.
- Managerial Overload: 47 per cent of sales managers dedicate only 30 minutes per week to coaching. This lack of dedicated coaching time leaves a critical support gap, hindering the development of reps.
- Uneven Performance: 20 per cent of reps are high performers, 20 per cent are underperforming, and 60 per cent possess untapped potential. This highlights the need for tailored training to unlock the potential of the majority of sales reps.
- Sales Enablement Priority: The Salesforce report explicitly states that “The top priority for sales leaders is improving sales enablement and training.” This reinforces the industry’s recognition of the urgent need for change.
Financial Underperformance: A Symptom of Deeper Issues
These sales challenges are having an impact with financial underperformance prevalent within the pharmaceutical sector.
PwC’s “Next in pharma 2025: The future is now” report, reveals a concerning trend of lagging behind broader market indices.
- From 2018 to November 2024, pharmaceutical companies delivered a shareholder return of only 7.6 per cent, significantly trailing the S&P 500’s 15 per cent. This gap underscores systemic challenges that extend beyond mere market fluctuations.
- The Average Annual Pharma Return from the provided data is 6.23 per cent, and the average S&P 500 return is 17.99 per cent.
- This underperformance is attributed to factors such as intensified competition, evolving healthcare models, and the increasing demand for personalised patient engagement.
- The PwC report emphasises the need for pharmaceutical companies to adopt agile strategies and embrace digital transformation to remain competitive.
The Need for Transformative Training:
The data demonstrates that pharmaceutical companies must adopt new, effective training strategies. This requires a shift from generalised, one-size-fits-all approaches to personalised, data-driven methods.
Marina Hickson
AI as a Potential Solution:
Training needs vary significantly between new hires and experienced reps, and a “one-size-fits-all” approach is insufficient. Modern AI-driven solutions address this by:
- Personalised Learning: Tailoring training programmes to individual needs, providing foundational support for new reps and advanced simulations for experienced reps.
- Real-time Insights: Continuous assessments offer both reps and managers real-time insights into progress, replacing traditional “box-ticking” evaluations with mastery-focused development.
- Accelerated Ramp-Up Times: Immersive training environments, such as roleplays and simulations, enable reps to gain firsthand experience without real-world risks, minimizing the average ramp-up time.
- Enhanced Managerial Support: AI tools provide detailed analytics on rep performance, enabling managers to focus on specific skill gaps and deliver targeted coaching.
Driving Tangible Outcomes:
Investing in advanced training methodologies leads to measurable improvements:
- Reduced Ramp Time: Equipping new hires faster and more efficiently.
- Higher Quota Attainment: Reducing the 8 per cent failure rate by empowering reps with personalised resources and support.
- Enhanced Managerial Impact: Allowing managers to allocate their time effectively with prioritised interventions.
- Maximised Team Potential: Transforming the 60 per cent of underperforming reps into high achievers.
The Path Forward for Pharma Sales:
As the Salesforce State of Sales Report (2024) emphasises, high-performing sales teams are not born—they are developed. Personalised training, supported by advanced AI, transforms sales enablement into a strategic advantage.
By addressing challenges like managerial bandwidth and inconsistent training, these tools pave the way for future success.
Pharmaceutical companies ready to embrace this change are positioning their teams to excel in an ever-evolving landscape.
The key lies in recognising the importance of tailored enablement strategies and making bold investments in innovative technologies.
Vivanti is a digital marketing innovator in the pharmaceutical sector
