Welcome to Day 4 of X-Factor: 10 Days of Epic Sales Knowledge! Today we have an article from Matt Evans of Salesforce on transformation. We asked Matt to contribute because transformation is something sales leaders talk about achieving but too often fail to engineer effectively. In his assignment as Director of Enterprise Strategy, Innovation, and Transformation Center at Salesforce, Matt Evans is part of a team that helps organizations around the world achieve their most ambitions goals. Matt is an award-winning transformation strategist that has helped Salesforce’s customers make big things happen. He understands the roadblocks that stop transformation from happening, and the discipline required to ensure that it does. Today, Matt and Chase McMillan, Director of Culture and Change at Salesforce, share some of the key levers required to make big things happen in your company.
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mdevans/
Many organizations are embarking on digital transformations to get ahead of the market and better engage with their customers. Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, says “As a company, you need to get to the future first, ahead of your customers, and be ready to greet them when they arrive.” CEOs agree that future growth will come through transformation and that reinvention requires the CEOs to prioritize right digital decisions. Digital transformation is about more than just using technology in new or better ways. Forbes published that 84% of digital transformations are failing. The top six reasons they fail are:
Transformations are failing at an alarming rate because people are not changing the way they work to align with the transformation’s goals. Even though the failure rate is high, companies continue to attempt transformations. The appreciation that customers are the center of any successful business is compelling the majority of corporate transformation programs. Organizations can no longer afford to make decisions based on internal process and data. Customers are more intelligent, more empowered, demand a high-quality experience, and have easier access to alternative options. Organizations now have to make decisions based on the customer experience they are driving toward. Sales teams specifically need to shift to match the connected-customer mindset. “Customers want sales reps who are personal consultants. Seventy-nine percent of business buyers say it is absolutely critical or very important to interact with a salesperson who is a trusted advisor — not just a sales rep — who adds value to their business.” (Salesforce State of Sales Report)
Moving a company through a transformation is like moving an iceberg. There are “above-the-waterline” components that are easily seen and designed and there are “below-the-waterline” components that are more difficult to manage. Leaders mistakenly focus their effort solely on the above-the-waterline strategies—such as designing new operating structures and systems and implementing new processes and technology. They erroneously believe these strategies alone will drive the needed change to execute on their strategic objectives. However, if leaders fail to simultaneously manage the below-the-waterline transformational enablers—such as new cultures, values, assumptions, and behaviors—they’ll fail to make any headway. The entrenched culture of an organization will prevent the progress of even most beautifully crafted transformation initiatives. In other words, transformation is more about new ways of working with technology, not just technology itself.
The above-the-waterline components leaders need to focus on include, but are not limited to; new operating structures, funding models, Agile delivery teams, lean governance, and digital strategies. For these elements to succeed, Sales leaders need to take ownership. Sales leaders who own the technology their sales reps use, as well as the digital capability roadmap, rather than handing it off to IT, get more value from the tools and achieve their goals at a higher rate. Sales reps are less likely to be bogged down by big-brother administrative tasks and the technology can provide immediate value to help sales reps achieve their goals.
From a below-the-waterline perspective, leaders need to drive new ways of working as they develop technology. There are 5 cultural characteristics that organizations are embracing to build a digital culture that enables their transformation efforts:
If sales leaders embrace and build these cultural characteristics, they will improve their customer’s experience, retain top talent, and be more likely to succeed in their digital transformations. Changing the way an organization’s people work with technology is one of the hardest, but most rewarding initiatives upon which a company can embark. Transformation success is required in this new digital era and organizations that focus on both the operational and cultural components of transformation “get to the future first”.
Matt Evans is on Salesforce’s Innovation and Transformation leadership team helping customers achieve their most ambitious goals. Matt is an award-winning, next-generation strategic Salesforce enterprise strategist who is an expert in building integrated and high-performing operating models.
Chase McMillan is a Salesforce Director of Culture and Change partnering with the world’s largest enterprises to create high-impact solutions by focusing on the building digital cultures and managing complex changes through an organization.
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If you want to find out more about changing behavior in your sales teams with Xvoyant Coaching Technology,
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You can get caught up with past day’s articles by clicking on their titles below:
Day 1: Millennials In Sales: What You Need To Know For 2018
Day 2: Annoying Persistence vs. Professional Persistence
Day 3: The Most Important Attribute in Coaching Top Performing Salespeople
Day 5: Designing a Social Sales Blueprint for Sales Leadership in 2018
Day 6: One Haunting Sales Statistic Every Sales Leader Should Know
Day 7: Hiring Kick Ass Salespeople
Day 7 Bonus: It is Time for More Women in Sales
Day 8: The Five Keys to Great Sales Coaching
Day 8 Bonus: 5 Lessons A 2-Year Old Can Teach You About Sales Coaching
Day 9: Why Impact Eats Value for Breakfast
Day 9 Bonus: Top 3 Coaching Mistakes Made by Good Sales Managers