Ever wonder why some customer relationships are so much richer and more rewarding than others? The key is empathy—the ability to understand another person’s experience, even if you haven’t had the same experience yourself.

Having empathy for your customers has never been more critical. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare providers have not only faced threats to their own health and safety but also to their businesses.

Here are some ways you can help ensure your team is prepared to sell with empathy.

Off-the-Shelf Training on Selling with Empathy

Empathy helps your team anticipate a customer’s concerns and offer potential solutions that can cement a productive partnership. It also helps your sales people frame their value proposition in a way that is most likely to resonate with customers.

To train your team on the techniques they need to know now, we offer a new eBrief on “Selling with Empathy.” The eBrief describes practical approaches that your sales team members can use, including empathic listening and finding common ground with customers. The resource illustrates how sales people can come to a deeper understanding of physicians and other customers by asking the right questions and using other real-world, empathy-based selling and value-based selling strategies.

Leading with Empathy

As a leader, empathy is also one of the most important skills you can have. It helps you:

  • Motivate employees toward higher performance
  • Build team loyalty and manage conflicts that can disrupt team dynamics
  • Gain buy-in from others on organizational strategies
  • Boost morale in challenging times 

We recently introduced a new eLearning module, “Leading with Empathy,” to help you and your leaders tap into their empathy to influence and motivate others.

Communicating with Empathy Application eModule

To support leaders and sales people in having more empathetic conversations, we offer a new tool with even more practical tips. The resource outlines some common scenarios and asks learners to reflect on how they would use empathy to influence others.

The scenarios include:

  • Dealing with a difficult customer
  • Coaching an employee to have more empathy
  • Offering solutions to a customer in crisis
  • Rolling out organizational change

The resource is designed to help you and your team prepare for empathetic conversations and improve your communication and leadership skills.

Pharma and Medical Device Sales Training Expertise

We’re here to help. CMR Institute offers an array of pharmaceutical and medical device sales training resources created by experts. We can also customize any of our off-the-shelf training courses to meet your team’s specific needs. 

Reach out to us (800) 328-2615 or at solutions@cmrinstitute.org to learn more about our resources and long history of helping sales teams improve their performance.

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(800) 328-2615
solutions@cmrinstitute.org