VIDEO: MICHAEL HARNEY INTERVIEW


The multi-year transformation effort has three


basic elements. First, reflecting the overall goal, reps must develop


a value-creation mindset – shifting from transaction selling to partnering, consultative, and solution sales. About 85% of surveyed sales leaders believe this will be a core sales capability. This requires strong product knowledge and skills in solution design and account planning. Lifetime value (not short-term pricing) should be the goal. Second, salespeople must become orchestrators


of what Harney calls “omnichannel” contacts with customers – including emails, Websites, phone, in- person, Web chats, and others. Over the past six years, B2B customers have doubled the number of channels they buy through, from five to 10. Artificial intelligence can help reps interpret the significance of the pattern of contacts for shaping offers and closing deals. Third, the entire organization must continually change – becoming more agile and getting value- creating products to customers quickly. Fully 85% of sales leaders believe their companies must adopt agile working methods for success in coming years. Instead of big, complex projects implemented over many months, companies should break projects into smaller sprints of one to two weeks, delivering viable products rapidly. Harney says the first element, changing reps’


mindsets, means reps must see themselves sitting on the same side of the conference table as customers. “You’re not there to sell or negotiate, but to support them – to help jointly find value.” This means looking for mutual opportunities to improve the customer’s manufacturing, its supply chain, or any aspect of value-creating operations. To reinforce that mindset, sales compensation


may have to be changed from the old purely commission-based approach to a new plan that ties rep rewards at least partly to customer success. For this new mindset to be effective, big changes must flow down from the C-suite, both in rhetoric and in practical commitments to align all the company’s divisions with the new sales approach. “You can’t just retrain salespeople,” Harney emphasizes. Engineering, design, manufacturing, and human resources may also be transformed. Key performance indicators for the whole company must be reviewed and adjusted. For sales reps, Harney says the main requirement will be the ability and willingness “to constantly learn and improve 1% each day or week.” Though reps are only one element of the necessary transformation, they remain key in several respects. After all, salespeople may be first to hear of new needs and trends in the market – signaling needed change in their own companies’ goals. 


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