DIGITAL SELLING
Digital Transformation Can Make – or Break – Your Sales Organization
GAL STEINBERG
For many, 2020 was the year of transformation. Many of us weren’t prepared for the change, but we all witnessed that revolution happening. Now, Forrester predicts 2021 is the year of acceleration – meaning companies will need to learn how to double down on the strategies that matter.
If it’s time for us to accelerate, though, where should we focus? For many organizations, this is
where digital transformation enters the grand picture. Apart from being a recent buzzword in the sales and rev- enue landscape, digital transforma- tion is one of the processes currently grabbing the attention of sales orga- nizations. Recent changes in the sales industry have watered down the ef- fectiveness of sales models that were once revered. The world has changed and, to remain relevant and competi- tive, sales orgs need to evolve along- side technological changes. But what does digital transforma- tion mean for the new sales team?
CHANGING PERCEPTIONS AND ACCEPTING REALITY When it comes to digital transfor-
mation, sales leaders often have the general perception that digital transformation will literally transform the way things are done now into the digital format and automatically in- crease productivity as well as revenue generation. Here’s the reality, though – it
doesn’t. Not automatically, at least. Here are main pitfalls that sales
orgs can fall into when going digital that keep companies from boosting their revenue.
Difficulty with Adoption Not every salesperson will be auto- matically excellent at adopting new technologies or adapting to new structures and processes. Reps on your team may need more time than anticipated to understand the new ways of doing things and to unlearn
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existing processes or ways of handling tasks. The time required to adapt to the transformation will most likely af- fect the expected forecast. It’s worth remembering that some of your sales employees will need ad- ditional guidance and support in this new landscape.
Fewer Tasks or More? One of the pain points that digital transformation attempts to address is sales performance. However, digital transformation does not guarantee that your reps will sell better or faster. “Why?” you may wonder. After all, they have less mundane tasks to do and can focus on the one thing that matters – selling. We hate to shrug you out of that fantasy, but this might not happen. Yes, your reps may have fewer admin- istrative tasks to do, like logging data into CRM, but they may also have more tasks to handle as a result of the new technology.
A Problem of Being “Data Driven” You’ve probably heard the term “data driven” thrown around a lot, especial- ly when it comes to new technologies. This is usually the case when you’re adopting new tools to help your sales team collect data. Here’s the twist,
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