National Sales Meetings should be high-impact. But for most pharma training teams, they start with panic.

How do you certify hundreds of reps with limited trainers and no time to waste?

That was the question Sanofi had to answer ahead of a critical RSV immunization launch. The team had four trainers, more than 500 field reps, and regulatory deadlines that couldn’t shift. 

But instead of cramming certification into a live event, they made a different call. They used an AI simulation to certify their reps.

Here’s what that made possible.

1. Trainer time was protected and put to better use

Sanofi certified their full team using Quantified’s AI Roleplay Platform. No breakout rooms. No spreadsheets. No scramble.

Instead of trying to assess hundreds of reps in person, they created a pre-meeting certification workflow that reps could complete on their own time. Using real-world scenarios built from their internal messaging and training materials, reps practiced independently and were automatically scored on accuracy, communication quality, and alignment with compliance.

The training team tracked completion and performance in real time without having to physically oversee every conversation.

The outcome:

• 100% of reps certified
• 4,000+ simulations completed
• 250+ trainer hours saved
• 4x more efficient than their previous manual approach

And the impact extended beyond logistics. Reps reported that self-paced simulation helped them better absorb and retain the material without the pressure of a live evaluator watching them work through it.

For the training team, it wasn’t just a smoother process. It was an opportunity to step out of the weeds and refocus on coaching.

2. Trainers could finally coach instead of coordinating

When certification happens during a live meeting, coaching is an afterthought. Trainers get stuck in admin mode chasing attendance, checking rubrics, and speed-running feedback.

Sanofi wasn’t stuck chasing attendance. They were coaching performance.

They used real-time dashboards to pinpoint rep gaps before the meeting. They had more time to work with managers on message pull-through. They weren’t solving for coverage; they were focused on impact.

Other pharma teams are seeing this too. Bayer recently used simulation-based certification to manage a certification for 500+ reps. Training leads didn’t just track completions. They used performance data to guide coaching and uncover message gaps across teams.

3. Reps practiced and retained more

In a typical roleplay setup, reps might get one shot. Maybe two. Then it's back to the room.

With an AI simulation environment, reps can practice as many times as they need. In fact, across life sciences customers, the average rep completes 16 simulation sessions before submitting for certification. 

That kind of repetition just isn’t possible with a live format, and it changes how reps show up.

4. Meetings became about nuance, not checkboxes

Once reps are certified, the agenda opens up. Instead of checklists and rubrics, trainers could now focus on high-value activities such as:

• Peer-based objection handling
• Strategic message workshops
• Pull-through coaching from trainers and managers
• Time to reinforce why the message matters, not just what it is

And because simulation scoring is tied to compliance and communication quality, teams don’t have to guess if reps are ready. They’ve already seen the data.

One Fortune 50 company using Quantified reported a 6x increase in practice volume and a significant boost in rep confidence once they removed certification from their live meeting format.

If your NSM still includes live rotations and trainer burnout, you’re behind. There’s a better way, and leading teams are already using it.

Certification isn’t going away. But it doesn’t belong in the middle of your most important sales meeting.

Moving it upstream saves time, protects your team, and helps reps retain more. That’s what Sanofi proved. And that’s what more training leaders are building into their 2026 planning now.

If your NSM still includes live roleplay rotations, back-to-back evaluations, and trainer burnout—you have another option.

Want to see what pre-meeting certification could look like for your team? Book a demo today!