Allego

Adjust Your Sales Strategy to Meet Customer Needs

Pat Berges, VP at Medtronic, advocates for adapting sales strategies to prioritize consultative, client-centered approaches that build deeper partnerships by leveraging emotional intelligence, individualized adjustments, and digital training innovations, exemplified by the Ventilator Training Alliance’s success in addressing healthcare professionals’ needs during COVID-19 through consolidated, accessible, and multilingual resources.

“I help the business grow. Everything we do is about growth.”

For Pat Berges, vice president of Global Commercial Capabilities at Medtronic and chairman of the Ventilator Training Alliance, “growth” encompasses growing business, revenue, sales productivity, teams, commercial capabilities, and paving a pathway for further development.

Berges, an expert in world-class training experiences, high-performance teams, and organizational excellence, shared his expertise on adapting sales strategies to meet customer needs, making client-centered decisions, allowing for individualized adjustments even on standardized materials, and redesigning onboarding and training for a digital workforce.

Below are the main takeaways from his conversation on these topics:

1. A Different Climate Calls for a Different Sales Approach

Berges emphasizes the importance of building a more consultative approach, showing up as partners for customers rather than just selling products. As companies move to digital spaces, sales teams must forge deeper relationships with their consumer base, acting as partners, collaborators, and problem solvers.

Key skills for sales teams include:

  • Emotional intelligence and keen awareness to read the room, even virtually
  • Ability to hone in on non-verbal cues
  • Foresight and in-depth preparation to ask the right questions and support customers

2. Focus On Meeting Client Needs, Not Your Company’s

Berges highlights the success of the Ventilator Training Alliance, which was created to address the challenges faced by healthcare professionals operating new and reintroduced ventilator models during the COVID-19 crisis. The initiative focused on the needs of end-users rather than individual company interests.

Key challenges addressed:

  • Consolidating materials for easy access: Avoiding bottlenecks by centralizing learning tools
  • Meeting customer needs offline: Ensuring access regardless of internet quality
  • Translating languages: Providing resources in necessary languages

By focusing on a shared goal, the alliance was able to help those who needed it most and achieve greater success.

3. No Such Thing as a One-Size-Fits-All Model—Even in a Standardized Industry

While standardization of learning content is efficient, Berges advocates for about 20% customization to better meet customer needs. This approach is enhanced by technology and focuses on two types of learning:

  • Experiential learning: People learn by doing, so tools should provide hands-on experience and practice in simulated environments.
  • Peer-to-peer learning: Mutual feedback and idea exchange empower employees to take control of their training.

4. Adapt Onboarding Education to the Virtual World

In a virtual environment, traditional long online training sessions are no longer feasible. Berges and his team implemented a new onboarding approach featuring:

  • Field sales training support: Immediate focus on practical, experiential learning, allowing learners to practice and perfect skills with peers.
  • Trial and error: A hybrid model where conceptual skills are applied in the field and then refined in the classroom.

Some changes may become permanent as they prove effective.

Learn to Adapt to the Future

Berges stresses that adaptability and learning agility are crucial for continued success. The ability to adapt quickly and learn new skills will determine future success. He encourages avoiding self-doubt and being open to new ideas.

Despite his achievements, Berges believes there is always more to learn and encourages others to continue seeking knowledge and improvement.

Learn More

The VTA app is provided at no cost to medical professionals. To download the Ventilator Training Alliance knowledge hub application, visit the Apple App Store or Google Play store, or access the hub from any web browser. You can also learn more about Allego’s partnership with the Alliance.