Digitization of sales? True!

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How to Digitalize Your Sales Organization

Companies can reap great benefits from digitalizing their sales organizations—that is, using technology, data, and analytics to improve the sales process. Done well, digitalization increases customer engagement, boosts the skills and performance of salespeople, and supports a more customer-focused business model. But digitalization initiatives are often plagued by slow progress, poor adoption, or low sustained impact. This article discusses why that happens and recommends five actions to increase the odds of success: (1) Put a “boundary spanner”—someone with both sales and technical experience—in charge, and secure an executive sponsor; (2) build in accountability by establishing the business case, setting key performance indicators, and creating a governance framework; (3) deploy a functionally diverse team; (4) implement an agile approach; and (5) foster change in salespeople’s mindsets as well as in the sales process.

Harvard Business ReviewPrabhakant Sinha,

Summary:

Companies can reap great benefits from digitalizing their sales organizations—that is, using technology, data, and analytics to improve the sales process. Done well, digitalization increases customer engagement, boosts the skills and performance of salespeople, and supports a more customer-focused business model. But digitalization initiatives are often plagued by slow progress, poor adoption, or low sustained impact. This article discusses why that happens and recommends five actions to increase the odds of success: (1) Put a “boundary spanner”—someone with both sales and technical experience—in charge, and secure an executive sponsor; (2) build in accountability by establishing the business case, setting key performance indicators, and creating a governance framework; (3) deploy a functionally diverse team; (4) implement an agile approach; and (5) foster change in salespeople’s mindsets as well as in the sales process.

Digitalization is not just affecting digitally native companies like Microsoft. Take the case of John Deere, a 185-year-old firm at the center of a digital transformation in the agriculture industry. Deere’s digitalization starts with its products: Embedded sensors in its machinery capture data that growers can use to optimize their farm output. This technological innovation has far-reaching implications for Deere’s sales and marketing organization and its dealer network. In addition to selling farm equipment, the company now has an opportunity to sell services that turn the sensor-collected data into insights that help growers boost profitability and environmental sustainability.