Healthcare Sales Training Programmes

The healthcare industry is undergoing significant transformation because of shifting patient expectations, advancements in value-based care models, and a growing focus on patient outcomes. These changes create a more complex environment for sales teams, who must now navigate larger, multi-layered buying teams and demonstrate their products' clinical and economic value in ways that resonate with healthcare professionals (HCPs).

Sales teams face specific challenges across various sectors. Pharmaceutical and MedTech sellers must engage buyers within increasingly large, M&A-driven organisations, where purchasing decisions are more complex and require a clear, patient-focused value proposition. As value-based care expands, sellers must be equipped to communicate how their solutions align with outcome-focused healthcare models. In the face of HCP time constraints and staffing shortages, effective engagement becomes more difficult, often requiring an omnichannel approach to reach HCPs through various touchpoints.

For healthcare sales leaders, this rapidly evolving landscape means equipping their teams with more than product knowledge; success depends on agile selling skills, evidence-based communication, and strategic consensus-building. Healthcare sales training today needs to empower sellers to build trust, manage intricate decision-making processes, and deliver relevant, patient-centric value.

To address these challenges, Richardson’s healthcare sales training programmes enable sellers to:

• Engage large, complex buying teams with a consultative approach that drives consensus and moves deals forward.
• Communicate proven value with evidence-based messaging that resonates with healthcare professionals focused on outcomes.
• Develop multi-channel strategies to reach HCPs effectively, building relationships despite time and access limitations.
• Structure conversations to build trust, convey the solution’s clinical impact, and establish a strong foundation for long-term partnerships.

Sales Training Programmes for Healthcare Sales Teams

At Richardson, we’ve identified 16 key selling capabilities that all sales professionals must master to enhance their commercial selling competitiveness. To support the development of these capabilities, we offer content and strategies to teach sellers these skills and behaviours.

Our healthcare sales training programmes sharpen skills across several capabilities including:

• Navigating Complex Buying Teams: Understand decision-making flows, target key stakeholders, and engage multiple layers of healthcare organisations effectively.
• Articulating Proven Value: Use evidence-based selling techniques to provide clear, concise proof points that demonstrate the clinical efficacy and relevance of solutions.
• Developing Omnichannel Sales Strategies: Build a cohesive, multi-touchpoint approach to engage HCPs across digital, social, and direct channels, creating a unified experience that maximises engagement.
• Presenting Solutions with Clinical Evidence: Anchor conversations around valid, statistically significant data to meet evidence-based standards expected by today’s HCPs.

With a diverse background within the healthcare sector, Richardson has a deep understanding of the unique needs of each discipline and we tailor our training solutions to meet the needs of each sales team we work with. You can work with us to customise a blended-learning solution based on the following programmes:

Sprint Selling Training

As buying teams grow in complexity, healthcare sales professionals need agile selling skills to manage stakeholders and drive consensus effectively. Our Sprint Selling® training offers a structured framework that helps sellers track deal progress, prioritise high-impact conversations, and adapt to shifting decision flows. By enabling sellers to accurately evaluate deal status and engage decision-makers, Sprint Selling® strengthens their ability to convert opportunities in competitive healthcare environments.

Sprint Prospecting Training

Given that HCPs have limited time, reaching them requires an effective omnichannel approach. Our Omnichannel Prospecting training equips sellers to engage HCPs through a combination of traditional and digital channels. Sellers learn how to design prospecting plans with a series of coordinated touchpoints, providing a seamless experience that resonates across multiple platforms, including virtual meetings, social media, and email.

Sprint Negotiations Training

Negotiating with HCPs involves more than discussing terms; it requires building trust and delivering value in every interaction. Our Sprint Negotiations® training helps healthcare sales professionals develop the skills to control negotiations and foster lasting relationships. By focusing on strategic negotiation techniques, sellers learn to manage difficult conversations and reach outcomes that benefit both parties.

Sprint Dialogues Training

With the growing complexity of healthcare buying teams, sellers need advanced skills in navigating stakeholder conversations. Sprint Dialogues training provides sales professionals with frameworks for structuring impactful dialogues, uncovering customer needs, and ensuring that every interaction drives value and builds trust, even with hard-to-reach stakeholders.

The Accelerate Sales Performance System

This system provides a data-driven, personalised approach to learning that meets each seller where they are, helping them develop the skills they need to succeed in healthcare sales. Leaders gain valuable insights into performance metrics, enabling them to measure improvement and scale successful practices organisation-wide.

Healthcare Sales Training Success Story

Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen), a global healthcare distribution company, faced the challenge of driving profitable growth in their Animal Health division. To achieve this, they sought to shift from a traditional “product provider” approach to a customer-focused, consultative sales strategy that resonated with today’s animal caregivers and pet owners.

Recognising the opportunity, Cencora engaged Richardson to develop a customised, multi-stage training programme. Sales professionals across the division began their journey on Richardson’s Accelerate digital learning platform, where they were introduced to the Six Critical Skills and the Consultative Selling Framework. Participants then completed a pre-assessment to establish a baseline for tracking skill improvement throughout the programme.

The heart of the training involved virtual, instructor-led workshops focusing on customer-centric skills such as positioning, gaining access, advanced questioning and listening, overcoming objections, and closing. Given that MWI offers over 35,000 products from 500 vendors, this flexible approach equipped sales teams to meet diverse customer needs with a consultative selling style.

By extending the programme across the entire Animal Health division, including both new and experienced sales professionals, Cencora established a unified sales language and methodology. This cohesive approach enabled MWI to make strategic adjustments to their sales techniques at scale, creating a consistent customer experience.

The Results:

• 116.6% improvement in sales call preparation skills
• 66.6% improvement in engaging customers in needs-based dialogues
• 29.8% improvement across all skills

As a direct result, the Companion Animal group exceeded their fiscal year objectives by a significant margin compared to other teams not yet enrolled in the training programme. This success demonstrates how Richardson’s healthcare sales training solutions can drive measurable impact and profitable growth. Watch the video below to learn about Cencora's experience working with the Richardson team.