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Are you ready to supercharge your sales performance by adopting strategies that could position your company with a sustainable competitive advantage in this day and age?

Modern customers today don’t just seek well-informed responses to their enquiries regarding products and services. They expect swift precise solutions tailored to their specific needs and business challenges.

Digital sales transformation isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a game-changer that can skyrocket your customer engagement, improve sales performance, and enhance your business agility.

If you’re keen to transform your sales from good to great, great to glorious, read on to extract ideas as to how to steer your company towards a digital sales transformation business model, by exploring what it is, why it matters, what are the obstacles, and how you can lead your company to success in the digital age.

Sellers today must have the willingness to incorporate technology, data, and AI-driven insights into their sales activity.

Prabhakant Sinha

What is Digital Sales Transformation?

Digital sales transformation is the process of harnessing technology, data, and analytics to overhaul your sales approach.

It involves reimagining how your sales team interacts with customers, the tools they use, and the skills they need to excel.

This transformation is about embracing change, adapting to modern methodologies in the digital age, and staying one step ahead by continuous improvement processes and initiatives to enjoy sustainable sales growth.

The Benefits of Going Digital

Why should you care about digital sales transformation?

Well, for starters, every organisation, be it commercial or nonprofit, has something they want to sell or promote.

Digitalising the sales process from sales lead generation to conversion with your target customers can bring a plethora of benefits to your organisation.

Imagine increasing customer engagement that enable more-flexible and customer-centric culture, optimising salespeople’s performance, lower selling costs, accelerated growth that could give you a distinct edge over your competitors in the same business segment.

Obstacles to Sales Digitalisation

But, as they say, there’s no gain without a little pain.

Embarking on the journey of digital sales transformation is not without its challenges. It requires considerable effort, resolute determination, and unwavering commitment to stay on the digital transformation journey.

Digitalisation affects practically every process that a selling organisation engages in, including interacting with customers, deploying resources, and managing talent.

At its core, digitalisation is about building and supporting a more customer-focused selling model.

Among strategic concepts and use case scenarios from the article, “How to Digitalise Your Sales Organisation” published by HBR, the obstacles in the sales digitalisation journey could be attributed to one or a combination of several factors.

They are:

1. Resistance from salespeople who are used to traditional ways of selling and are reluctant to change their habits and routines. Salespeople tend to stick with what works until they see proof that a new approach is better.

• Lack of alignment and coordination between the sales function and other functions, such as IT, marketing, finance, and others, who have different goals, incentives, and cultures.

• Complexity and uncertainty of the digital transformation process, which involves multiple stakeholders, technologies, and solutions that need to be integrated and aligned.

• Insufficient skills and capabilities of the sales team and the organization to adopt and use new technologies, data, and analytics effectively.

• Inadequate leadership and governance of the digital transformation initiative, which requires clear vision, direction, support, and accountability from the top management.

Another point of contention is when solutions are successful at first failed to evolve into sustainable systems that remain in use and continue to offer value, because digitalising the sales function is complex and can be prone to constant change from both organisational and technological standpoint.

Success in this endeavour isn’t guaranteed, but by following a set of proven strategies, you can significantly increase your chances of a triumphant transformation.

The Five Pillars of Digital Sales Transformation

There’re five crucial actions advocated by the article, serving as the foundation for your digital sales transformation journey:

1. Put a “Boundary Spanner” in Charge

Your transformation team would benefit when a leader who’s an expert on both sales and technology – a boundary spanner. This individual can bridge the gap between the business and IT functions, ensuring seamless coordination and communication.

To top it off, they should have an executive sponsor or advocate from the C-suite who can be an advocate to provide support and necessary resources.

2. Build in Accountability

A successful transformation requires a clear business case.

You’ll need to set key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure your progress.

Moreover, establishing a governance framework is crucial for maintaining alignment and coordination across different functions and units.

Without accountability, even the best-laid plans can get tangled.

3. Deploy a Diverse Team

Don’t go at this alone. Assemble a diverse team that includes experts from various functions such as sales, IT, marketing, finance, and more.

The more diverse your team, the broader the range of perspectives and skills they can bring to the table.

It’s also essential to have representation from different functional roles and regions of the market to ensure your approach is well-rounded.

4. Implement an Agile Approach

Flexibility and adaptability are the name of the game.

An agile approach encourages experimentation, rapid feedback, and learning from mistakes.

Your team should test new ideas and solutions with customers and stakeholders, analyse the results, and make adjustments as necessary.

This iterative process and agility are essential to staying on the cutting edge of the digital sales transformation.

5. Foster Change in Mindsets

A successful digital sales transformation isn’t just about technology – it’s also about people.

Sales teams need to adopt new behaviours and skills, and this requires training, coaching, participation, and recognition.

You need to communicate the vision and the benefits of the transformation to the sales force and the entire organisation to get everyone on board.

Real-Life Success Stories

Looking for inspiration?

The article highlighted the incredible success stories of companies like Microsoft, Cisco, and Philips that have embraced digital sales transformation and reaped the rewards.

Their journeys are nothing short of inspiring, and they showcase what’s possible when you dare to dream big and keep pushing forward.

Let’s explore their success stories and see if there’re any low-hanging fruit ideas that resonates in your situation.

1.    Microsoft:

The company appointed a boundary spanner who had both sales and technical expertise to lead the digital sales transformation.

The boundary spanner secured the support of an executive sponsor who was the chief revenue officer.

The company also created a diverse and agile team that included experts from sales, IT, marketing, finance, and other functions.

The team experimented with different digital solutions, such as a cloud-based platform that enabled salespeople to access customer data and insights, a chatbot that provided automated responses to customer queries, and a gamified dashboard that tracked sales performance and incentives.

The team also provided training and coaching to help salespeople adopt new skills and mindsets for digital selling.

As a result, Microsoft increased its customer satisfaction, revenue growth, and market share.

2.    Cisco:

The company assigned a boundary spanner who had both sales and technical experience to lead the digital sales transformation.

The boundary spanner also had the backing of an executive sponsor who was the chief sales officer.

The company also formed a cross-functional and agile team that included experts from sales, IT, marketing, finance, and other functions.

The team tested various digital solutions, such as a data-driven platform that provided personalized recommendations to customers, a virtual reality tool that allowed customers to experience Cisco’s products and services, and a social media strategy that enhanced customer engagement and advocacy.

The team also offered training and coaching to help salespeople develop new skills and mindsets for digital selling.

As a result, Cisco improved its customer loyalty, cost efficiency, and competitive advantage.

3.    Philips:

The company appointed a boundary spanner who had both sales and technical knowledge to lead the digital sales transformation.

The boundary spanner also had the support of an executive sponsor who was the chief commercial officer.

The company also established a multi-disciplinary and agile team that included experts from sales, IT, marketing, finance, and other functions.

The team experimented with different digital solutions, such as a web-based platform that enabled customers to compare and purchase Philips’ products online, an artificial intelligence tool that provided customized solutions to customers’ needs, and a video conferencing system that facilitated remote consultations and demonstrations.

The team also provided training and coaching to help salespeople acquire new skills and mindsets for digital selling.

As a result, Philips increased its customer satisfaction, revenue growth, and innovation.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Lao Tzu

Here’s the takeaway.

The future is digital, and it has already begun.

In the fast-evolving landscape of sales, one thing is clear: digital sales transformation isn’t an option; it’s a vital step toward securing your competitive position at the forefront of your industry, or any other industry.

As we wrap up this exploration of the digital sales transformation process, remember that the power to revolutionise your sales, engage your customers like never before, and outperform the competition lies in the application and implementation.

By putting a boundary spanner in charge, building accountability, deploying a diverse team, embracing an agile approach, and fostering a change in mindsets, you’re well on your way towards your organisation’s digital transformation journey.

The digital sales transformation it’s not without its challenges. However, with determination, adaptability, and a commitment to continuous improvement, your path to digital sales transformation can lead to unprecedented growth, customer satisfaction, and have a significant market advantage.