--- title: How to Diagnose Before You Train description: Alex Kinney of Octapharma shows how L&D teams can use sales discovery to diagnose performance problems before building training. image: https://learning.iorad.com/hubfs/Ep.%2038%20(3).png --- [![iorad](https://learning.iorad.com/hubfs/Iored%20Theme%202021/Images/iorad%20logo%20DONT%20DELETE.png)](https://www.iorad.com/) - Product #### Individual [Tutorial Privacy Control who views your tutorials](https://www.iorad.com/pricing/feature/tutorial-privacy) [Mask Data Control who views your tutorials](https://www.iorad.com/pricing/feature/mask-data) [Basic Audio Text-to-speech & custom voiceovers](https://www.iorad.com/pricing/feature/basic-audio) #### Team [Branding Add custom branding](https://www.iorad.com/pricing/feature/custom-branding) [Premium Audio Neural voiceovers and CC](https://www.iorad.com/pricing/feature/premium-audio) [Collaboration Co-edit and publish tutorials](https://www.iorad.com/pricing/feature/team-collab) [Analytics See tutorial performance](https://www.iorad.com/pricing/feature/analytics) #### Enterprise [Translations Automatic language translation](https://www.iorad.com/pricing/feature/translations) [Team Accounts Allocate separate accounts](https://www.iorad.com/pricing/feature/team-collab) [Encrypt & Anti-Track Strict compliance & additional data protection](https://www.iorad.com/pricing/feature/encrypt-and-anti-track) [All plans & Features →](https://www.iorad.com/features) - Resources #### Support [Help Center](https://www.iorad.com/resources/help-center) [Learning Hub](https://learning.iorad.com) [Schedule Demo](https://www.iorad.com/demo) #### Customers [Testimonials](https://www.iorad.com/testimonials) [Case Studies](https://learning.iorad.com/customer-stories?_ga=2.48225895.1718347252.1788801042-1263284910.1780521832) #### Marketplace [Partnerships](https://www.iorad.com/partner-programs) [Integrations](https://www.iorad.com/connectIntegrations) [Services](https://www.iorad.com/services) #### Company [Privacy Policy](https://www.iorad.com/privacypolicy) [About Us](https://www.iorad.com/meet-the-team) - Use Cases [EDU](https://www.iorad.com/use-cases/education) [Customer Training](https://www.iorad.com/use-cases/customer-training) [Sales Enablement](https://www.iorad.com/use-cases/sales-enablement) [Learning & Development](https://www.iorad.com/use-cases/learning-and-development) [HR](https://www.iorad.com/use-cases/human-resources) [Product Management](https://www.iorad.com/use-cases/product-management) [I.T.](https://www.iorad.com/use-cases/information-technology) [Operations](https://www.iorad.com/use-cases/operations) [All Use Cases →](https://www.iorad.com/use-cases) - [Pricing](https://www.iorad.com/pricing) [Try it Free](https://www.iorad.com/signup) [Sign In](https://www.iorad.com/login) The Adoption Curve # How to Diagnose Before You Train In this week’s episode, Alex Kinney breaks down how he uses sales discovery to diagnose performance problems before building training, and why L&D teams that ask better questions build programs that actually change behavior. [Read](https://learning.iorad.com/the-adoption-curve/how-to-diagnose-before-you-train#read) [Watch](https://learning.iorad.com/the-adoption-curve/how-to-diagnose-before-you-train#watch) [Listen](https://learning.iorad.com/the-adoption-curve/how-to-diagnose-before-you-train#listen) ![Ep. 38](https://learning.iorad.com/hubfs/Ep.%2038.jpg) Featuring ## Alex Kinney Director of Learning & Development, Octapharma [Learning Hub](https://learning.iorad.com/) → [Adoption Curve](https://learning.iorad.com/the-adoption-curve) → How to Diagnose Before You Train ## What you'll learn - Why “I need a training” should start discovery, not end it - How to give SMEs and peers skin in the game - Why measuring the baseline wins budget and buy-in ## Meet our guest Alex Kinney is Director of Learning & Development at Octapharma and an industrial-organizational psychologist by training. Before moving in house, he spent 11 years in SaaS sales, from SDR to AE to sales manager, including time on the early US team at 360Learning and a role as VP of Sales at another edtech company. That path gives him an unusual view of L&D. He has sold to learning leaders and now sits in their seat, and he brings sales discovery into how he diagnoses performance problems before building training. ![Ep. 38](https://learning.iorad.com/hubfs/Ep.%2038.jpg) Featuring ### Alex Kinney Director of Learning & Development, Octapharma [Connect](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-kinney-ma/) ## “I Need a Training” Is Not a Diagnosis Most training requests arrive with the answer already decided. A stakeholder sees a problem, asks L&D for a course, and expects a module back. If L&D builds it without asking why, the problem usually stays put. Alex took a different first step at Octapharma. He spent his first 90 days listening. The company has 42 years of history, so he met with as many people as he could, asked about their gaps, and said as little as possible. He calls it sponging. He opens those conversations by saying he’s there in good faith to understand, not to fix anyone. > “I don’t think you can get anything done as an org without trust and psychological safety, period.” That trust is what lets him push back on a training request without it feeling like a fight. Here’s how he uses it. Ask What the Training Is Supposed to Solve A stakeholder recently told Alex the sales team wasn’t filling out a form after in-services, and asked for a training. His first question was what the training would actually solve. Do the reps truly not know how? Or is it a skill, will, or hill problem? > “Performance issues are not always training issues.” It’s the same move as good sales discovery. When a buyer asks for a feature, you ask what they’re trying to do. Alex asks what the finish line looks like. Faster ticket resolution? More calls with HCPs? Less travel? If nobody can name the metric, the training has no target. The answer might still be training. It might also be a job aid, a walkthrough, a fix to confusing software, or a conversation with managers. As Alex puts it, he’s happy to help. He just wants to give the right cure. Give the Business Skin in the Game Octapharma’s sales reps work across 37 states. Every other Friday, one rep leads a peer-to-peer session on a single topic. They share the exact talk track they use, how customers respond, and how it fits the playbook. Alex helps shape the content, then mostly stays out of the way. The same goes for subject matter experts. Alex isn’t an MD, so he shouldn’t be the one teaching coagulation. A brand owner should be fighting for time with the reps. L&D’s job is to make those experts confident creating content and teaching it. > “That’s L&D’s big role, I think, going into the future, is like a control tower.” There’s a practical upside too. L&D is the easiest team to blame when numbers drop. When the business helps build and deliver the training, everyone owns the result. Measure the Baseline and Make the Pain Obvious Alex’s advice is blunt: measure the current state before you launch anything. Then you can show what changed. He’s also working on A/B cohorts, comparing a group that went through an intervention with one that didn’t. That depends on strong sales managers, since they’re the ones who see the behavior. He’s building goals that ladder up, too. An MSL’s 40 calls with HCPs this month should connect to the people team’s goals, and those to the company’s. He’s candid that it isn’t working perfectly yet, and he’s sticking with it. Then say the hard part out loud. Alex recently told leadership the org wasn’t having effective feedback conversations and asked for budget to fix it. > “The easiest thing to do is nothing. So make it clear that nothing is not an option and don’t be timid about it.” ## Downloadable Resources Workbook ### The L&D Discovery Worksheet Unpack any training request, define the finish line, diagnose the real barrier, and pick the right intervention before you build anything. [Download](https://learning.iorad.com/hubfs/The%20L%26D%20Discovery%20Worksheet.pdf) [![Listen on Spotify](https://learning.iorad.com/hubfs/Spotify-1.png)](https://open.spotify.com/show/4ssYB86WZaCLInE0WKVH9l) [![Listen on Apple Podcasts](https://learning.iorad.com/hubfs/Apple%20Podcast.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-adoption-curve/id1799752791) ## Explore the Adoption Curve Library Access all episodes in our on-demand library. Download customized training content, connect with industry experts, and more! 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