The digitalization of work and work processes, in particular in the sphere of Sales, is without a doubt the phenomenon of the past twenty years. One of the most obvious manifestations of this phenomenon is the availability of enormous masses of data and the possibility to access all this via a multitude of channels or to process information using a multiple devices and formats (social networks, apps, email, web conferences, blogs, and so on). All of these tools allow us companies redesign their sales processes and rethink their relationship with the market in different ways, supporting the sales force in improving their performance.
The potential is immense. And in more advanced companies, a tremendous organizational effort is underway to figure out how to exploit this potential to boost efficiency and effectiveness when interacting with the customer or for rationalizing and streamlining internal processes.
Beyond process management for the digital transformation of the company, what strategies, steps and deployment methods should be adopted? How can companies pinpoint the new skills they need to recruit or develop to support change? Are we sure we’re not forgetting anything?
From 2009 to 2015, the Harvard Business Review had already reported on how people were checking their laptops, tablets and cell phones more often. The reason was a fear of missing critical information, or replying to a text message or email too slowly, or being late to comment on a social media post. In light of these findings, HBR flagged the fact that rather than opportunities, automation tools were becoming a source of distraction.
And we are paying the price by losing our ability to focus. This is especially critical in professional contexts such as sales where you need to get directly to the point, to know how to set priorities, and to have clear targets to achieve to measure your performance.
In studies conducted repeatedly over time on the approach to automation tools and multitasking by people of different generations, we find that in the past five years, the habit of doing two things at once is ever more prevalent for everyone, from baby boomers to Generation Z. But the automation tools that have been developed give us only an illusion of efficiency: doing two things at the same time – and doing them well - is only possible when at least one of those activities comes automatically.
A Stanford study reached the same conclusions. Findings demonstrated that people who are bombarded with several sources of information can’t pay adequate attention to them all, or properly discern what’s important from what’s irrelevant, or memorize or manage tasks and activities. And all this directly impacts performance.
In a similar scenario, if we turn to sales professionals, how can they have access to mountains of data, consult this information simultaneously via multiple automation tools, and be constantly contactable through numerous channels – while at the same time being capable of surgical precision in their actions while focusing on customers and results?
This question gives rise to a series of reflections on all the companies that are seriously embracing digitalization in the sales sphere with an eye to shoring up their networks by helping them hit performance targets.
There are four factors to keep in mind: intensity, design, consensus and consistency.
The first factor is a strategic one. Intensity implies clearly understanding that above all, setting a digitalization process in motion, in particular in Sales, means activating a process of change in the organization and in the mindset. Technology in this scenario only represents a means to an end. But the risk is that intensity will be underestimated if the entire digitalization process is delegated to IT, as is often the case. So the first step in undertaking a transformation in a sales context is to revisit the production function of the sales staff, all the customer interaction processes and all the back office processes. More than a revolution, it’s an evolution, a medium-term phenomenon. And the most successful companies have tackled it step by step, over a three to five year period, meticulously monitoring the progress of change and dealing with possible resistance or initial underestimations
The second factor is organizational. Design calls for a fine-grained analysis of the change brought on by digitalization and the resources made available to the sales force to enact it (data, content, technologies) in light of the potential impact of all this on work methods, and the broad set of activities that every salesperson does. Another must is to verify is that these resources serve to meet the needs of the sales force in the field in terms of accessibility and functionality. Here we’re referring to organizational design, which is done by analyzing and revamping work roles and processes:
- Identifying new activities introduced after digitalization is implemented, and activities that are modified in terms of their basic nature (simplicity shifting toward complexity), quantity (ascertain possible overloads) and variety;
- Reflecting on the degree of autonomy in terms of decision-making and the action of the sales force, well aware that this kind of professional autonomy and the possibility to react quickly to unexpected events are not only crucial sources of motivation, but also intrinsic to the job;
- Mapping various work processes throughout all organizational units which are dependent on Sales; channeling input from the sales network to a number of interlocutors to keep in check or reduce the number of requests that Sales is asked to satisfy;
- Verifying the existence and extent of the skills and competences that new activities and new technologies call for, in order to segment the wide range of possible training requirements and to design specific interventions to meet individual needs or clusters.
Having a handle on design is a necessary condition for digitalization to be successful (although unfortunately this factor seems to be the most underestimated). But this is not enough to prevent the risk that change, instead of being a form of support for work and performance, turns into an element of distraction or, worse still, a source of stress.
And we should also remember a third aspect, the social side of change.
One of the ways to properly pace and support an evolutionary process is to get various members of the sales team on board – in a concerted effort - from the outset, when analyzing and formulating the transformation plan. After all, these are the people who will later make the change happen. But here too, this is not enough. Beyond engagement, it’s also necessary to measure in a systematic and structured way the reaction of the sales staff throughout the deployment stages of the plan.
Multilevel engagement of the sales force (seniors, ambassadors, team members), listening to their feedback, celebrating their results and disseminating best practices: all these are critical success factors for digitalization.
By governing these factors, the concept of evolution takes concrete form, compensating for possible errors or underestimations at an organizational level and laying the foundations for learning from change, adapting all the other managerial levers that govern the work of the sales force. This leads us to the final factor: consistency.
To grow business through the digitalization of commercial processes, we can learn from successful companies what needs to be done:
- Ascertaining that digitalization aligns with the go-to-market strategy;
- Modifying the levers of sales management, in keeping with the changes introduced by digital transformation. Specifically, target setting and activity planning along with systems for monitoring and evaluating performance and rewards;
- Putting ‘generals’ in the field so they can support sales personnel, encouraging / modeling an active commitment and ensuring that the whys, whats and hows of digitalization are constantly being reiterated to the network;
- Considering support functions that assist the sales networks, using extreme care to integrate the different internal management systems for these networks (which represent work interfaces), giving people in the field a single instrument.
This is how the organization can show that it is ready to make a change: with concrete actions, and even more importantly, with good intentions.
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