How McKesson Decreased Deals Lost by 34%

Go-To-Market Silos Limit Effectiveness

McKesson is a large-scale organization with diverse business units. Like many such organizations, it faced cross-functional silos that limited go-to-market effectiveness. “For McKesson, we started with multiple business units that operated in very siloed ways,” explained Steiner. Without a critical infrastructure facilitating cross-functional connections, it was difficult to understand how sellers operated — and how to standardize execution across the organization. 

In particular, inadequate analytics fogged McKesson’s line of sight into key data. “We didn’t have a common environment for content management that integrated with our CRM and also enabled us to get real-time data on how reps interacted with content, consumed it, and shared it with customers,” continued Steiner. To help reps adapt to changing market conditions, the enablement team needed to create programs that met reps where they were. However, this lack of insight into how reps interacted with materials made it challenging to create enablement programs that did so. “Our sellers are challenged to be well-informed, agile, and have excellent consultative techniques,” added Steiner. “Their tools, resources, and support teams have to be able to meet those challenges.” In short: They needed a tool that was just as agile as reps needed to be. 

McKesson found such a tool in Highspot. As it migrated to the platform, McKesson was confident it would enable reps to rise to the challenge, helping them — and the organization at large — operate with strategic alignment and agility.

Unified Platform Introduces New Agility

As McKesson designed its enablement infrastructure, it knew much of the solution lay in analytics. With more robust analytics, its enablement team could measure how their initiatives impacted seller performance. From that data, they could then create programs that effectively address challenges to seller success. “You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” shared Steiner. “If you’re not painfully specific about the problems you’re looking to solve, whether behavioral, tactical, or data-driven, then you’re very seldom going to be able to truly address the problem.” Highspot’s Analytics created a new opportunity for the team. Now, they could take a data-backed approach to an upcoming initiative: constructing training programs that kept reps up to speed with McKesson’s — and the industry’s — current state.

To infuse new agility into their sales force, the team supplied efficient, high-impact training that reps could immediately take to the field. “The best training is quickly consumed and quickly applied,” added Steiner. With essential knowledge located directly in their workflow, McKesson’s reps grew to see the platform as a single source of truth for product information and industry knowledge. As they did, adoption rose to 79%, with the platform becoming the place reps turned for actionable learning they knew would help them deliver. “You have to get people excited about training by making it bite-sized and very clear what’s in it for them,” continued Steiner. “Give folks just enough to be excited and go practice right away, so they have a positive impression of learning continuously and want to keep coming back because it’s working.”

The team’s new training programs built new trust, proving that learning wasn’t just something to be completed — it was something that added tangible value. As its active learner rate rose to 57% — and continues to rise — McKesson finds it easier to keep sellers up to date and executing with agility, no matter how circumstances change.

Early Wins Prime New Collaboration

While McKesson’s journey with Highspot is just beginning, reps are enthusiastic about the platform, with Play adoption rising by 39%. As sellers across the organization increasingly engage with the high-impact learning and guidance they have come to trust, some superusers are already leveraging it to drive incredible outcomes. “A team got very intentional about Highspot last quarter,” enthused Steiner. “In 90 days alone, [they] increased their time in Highspot by 1000%. Deals lost decreased by 34%, and CRM adoption jumped from just under 50% to 80%.” With a unified platform supplying training and resources, McKesson’s sellers are newly equipped to execute effectively, no matter how the industry or the organization evolves.

With a unified platform priming sellers for success, the rest of the organization has taken notice. Teams across McKesson now see the value of the platform and are leaning in to create a shared environment for collectively driving go-to-market initiatives. “We’ve never brought our different business units into a system like this to speak the same platform language in this manner,” concluded Steiner. “I’m really excited about the opportunity to bring this together.”