What Your Top Performers Do Differently in HCP Conversations (And How to Replicate It)
Every sales team has them. The reps who consistently hit quota, build strong HCP relationships, and make it look effortless. Meanwhile, others with the same training, the same products, and the same territories struggle to get traction.
The difference isn't talent. It's what happens in the conversation itself.
The mystery of top performer success
Most sales leaders can identify their top performers. Fewer can explain exactly what makes them successful. When asked, the answers tend to be vague: "They just have a way with people" or "They really know the product."
These explanations aren't wrong, but they're not useful. You can't coach "having a way with people." You can't replicate instinct.
The real differences are specific, observable, and learnable. But you have to know where to look.
What the research actually shows
When you analyse high-performing HCP conversations closely, patterns emerge.
They listen more than they talk. Top performers spend more time in discovery mode. They ask questions that uncover the HCP's real concerns, not just the obvious ones. They let silence do some of the work.
They adapt in real time. Average reps deliver the message they prepared. Top performers adjust based on what they're hearing. If an HCP shows scepticism, they don't push harder. They get curious about the objection.
They handle objections without defensiveness. When an HCP challenges them, top performers don't argue. They acknowledge the concern, ask clarifying questions, and respond with relevant information. The conversation stays collaborative, not adversarial.
They know when to stop. Top performers recognise when they've made their point. They don't oversell. They leave room for the HCP to process and come to their own conclusions.
They stay compliant without sounding scripted. This is perhaps the hardest skill to develop. Top performers deliver compliant messaging in a way that sounds natural and conversational. They've internalised the boundaries so thoroughly that staying within them doesn't require conscious effort.
Why these skills are hard to transfer
If top performer behaviours are observable, why don't more teams replicate them?
The problem is practice. Knowing what good looks like isn't the same as being able to do it under pressure. Reps might understand that they should listen more, but when they're nervous in front of an important HCP, old habits take over.
Traditional training addresses the knowledge gap but not the skill gap. Reps learn what to do in a workshop, then struggle to apply it in the field. Without repeated practice in realistic conditions, the behaviours don't become automatic.
Shadowing top performers helps, but it has limits. Observers see the outcome but not the thinking behind it. And top performers themselves often can't articulate what they do differently. Their expertise has become unconscious.
How to actually replicate top performer behaviours
Closing the gap requires a systematic approach.
Start with observation. Record and analyse conversations from your best performers. Look for specific patterns: how they open, how they respond to objections, how they handle compliance-sensitive topics. Document these as concrete behaviours, not abstract qualities.
Build practice around those behaviours. Design scenarios that let reps rehearse the specific skills you've identified. If top performers excel at handling pricing objections, create practice opportunities focused on exactly that. Generic role-play won't close specific gaps.
Make practice frequent and low-stakes. Reps need repetition to build new habits. This is where AI roleplay tools can help, giving reps a way to practise difficult moments repeatedly without scheduling constraints. But peer practice and manager coaching remain essential for feedback and nuance.
Measure the behaviours, not just the outcomes. Track whether reps are actually demonstrating the skills you've identified. Are they asking more discovery questions? Are they adapting to objections? Outcome metrics like quota attainment are lagging indicators. Behaviour metrics tell you whether the training is working.
Create feedback loops. Connect what happens in practice to what happens in the field. When a rep handles an objection well in a real conversation, link it back to the training. When they struggle, use it as input for what to practise next.
The opportunity
Your top performers have already figured out what works. The challenge isn't discovering the secret. It's making it teachable and scalable.
When you can identify specific behaviours, design practice around them, and give reps enough repetition to make those behaviours automatic, the gap between your best and your average starts to close.
The skills that make top performers successful aren't magic. They're learnable. You just need a system to teach them.
TrainBox helps life science teams practise real conversations so they're ready when it matters.