Business-to-business
(B2B) sale organizations started transitioning to digital business models years
ago. A digital business model generates value for customers through the use of
digital technology to drive business operations. This technology provides
extensive, actionable insight that leverages data to drive better decision-making. At the
center of digital transformation is customer relationship management (CRM)
software.
The
proliferation of CRM software today illustrates this point. The value of the
global CRM market grew from $15.4 billion (USD) in 2016 to $40.2 billion in
2019. That’s a dramatic 260% increase in three years. Experts predict that
growth to continue at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.2% between
2020 and 2027.(1)
We’re
now seeing “unified CRM platforms” emerge as early CRM technology evolves.
Unified CRMs incorporate additional business functions, such marketing automation,
into a CRM platform without the need to manually sync sales and marketing data.
This digitalization of previously-manual processes delivers extensive benefits to sales and marketing organizations.
Plus, it’s forcing a shift in how B2B businesses conceptualize and approach
sales.
However,
the internal adoption of digital business technology remains a challenge for
many businesses. In the case of B2B sales, managers, directors, and executives
must champion digital tactics to support this transition. Below, we share five
tips to streamline digital transformation in B2B sales.
5 Tips for B2B sales teams
Digital
business models will inevitably dominate the near future of B2B sales, yet many
businesses find the transformation difficult. Use the tips to minimize the
challenges and successfully transition from analog to digital B2B sales
processes.
1. Identify & adopt emerging technology
Spotting
emerging technology and adopting it early on is key to a successful
transformation. For example, the first companies that adopt unified CRMs almost
certainly outpace their competition today.
It’s
fairly simple to identify high-potential, emerging technology early enough to
get a head start on the competition. But you need to understand existing
technology and its gaps and be open to new ideas or ways of doing business in
order to recognize it when you see it.
Adoption is the difficult part. You can
invest in a software system and implement it in your company, but that’s not
adoption. You achieve adoption across your company once your entire
organization embraces and uses this new technology on a daily basis. And that
takes some work.
Some
employees push back because they’re happy with the way things are done and see
no need to change. Some simply don’t use the new system and stick to their old
ways. Others aren’t as technologically-savvy as you’d like them to be and
challenged by learning new systems. All of this is true for senior management
and executives as well as entry-level employees.
Fortunately,
there are easy ways to surpass these hurdles, most of which are covered in the
steps outlined below. And if you’re struggling with CRM adoption,
there are plenty of tips to increase CRM adoption rates. Once
employees see the benefits digital technology delivers and how it makes their
lives easier, their concerns tend to disappear.
2. Prioritize internal training & onboarding
Because
engaging in a digital transformation requires businesses to invest in new
technologies, training is essential. The most powerful technology in the world
is worthless unless users know how to leverage it properly. That’s why
onboarding sales teams and investing in comprehensive training is essential.
B2B companies shouldn’t undervalue the importance of having an effective success plan for CRMs or any other
technology.
While
initial training and onboarding of new users is critically important, user
education shouldn’t stop there. Continued training on new features and
capabilities ensures your initial investment maximizes your ROI. It also
provides B2B sales teams with digital skills that will continue to benefit them
throughout their careers. In Europe, the data from 2018 informs us that 90% of
all jobs already require some level of digital skills.(2)
3. Educate users about the benefits
It’s
hard to deny the efficiency and productivity gains that digital technology
provides to businesses of all types. B2B companies and their sales teams are no
exception. If B2B companies educate salespeople on the benefits digital
technology can provide to them, they’re more likely to adopt it.
We
can again use CRM software to illustrate this point. Because CRMs automate
manual tasks, salespeople can spend more time on prospect interactions and
building stronger relationships with customers. In a
B2B setting, this equates to more new customer acquisitions and increased
levels of cross-sell and upsell opportunities. Those, in turn, lead to more
deals won and more commission earned by B2B salespeople.
4. Embrace data analysis & digital insights
Trusting
data and its sources is a major roadblock on the journey to a successful
digital transformation. However, the data and insights provided by digital
technology are two of the key benefits of digital transformation.
First,
B2B sales revolves around building trusted, long-term customer relationships.
Building those relationships is easier when sales has access to digital insights around customer
behavior, buying patterns, interests, challenges, etc.
Today’s
CRM solutions capture extensive data that B2B salespeople can use to form
rapport with customers. CRMs with marketing automation capabilities like customer journey mapping let sales reps
maintain insight into where customers are in their decision-making and which
resources they need at each stage of that journey.
Furthermore,
B2B sales leaders and executives can leverage this data to make more informed,
data-driven decisions. This is key because the right data gives decision makers
insight into untapped opportunities for business growth. Indeed, 51% of
companies that engage in digital transformations say identifying growth
opportunities in new markets is the leading motivator behind their decision to
start that transformation.(3)
5. Commit to & enforce digital sales processes
In
order for a digital transformation to be successful, B2B sales managers must
fully commit to supporting the effort. They also have to enforce new sales
practices and consistent use of new technology when interacting with their
teams. This may sound easy, but it can be a challenge.
There
are tactics sales managers can use to smooth the transition to a digital
business model. One of which is to clearly communicate to their teams that it
is a priority for executive leadership. If sales reps realize that not adhering
to new processes and consistently using new technology carries consequences,
they’re more likely to fall in line.
Constant
check-ins when first implementing new technology help sales managers ensure
their teams are adhering to these changes. Plus, digital businesses have access
to technology that can alert them when their reps don’t use the system. A
unified CRM, where sales and marketing data are fully integrated, makes it easy
to identify incomplete processes or data gaps.
Pulling it all together
Ultimately,
B2B sales organizations have more than enough incentives to support digital
transformation. Sales managers who are actively involved in a
digitally-transformed business can attest to this. Survey data indicates that
32% of IT decision makers say that digital transformation has already helped
them to achieve revenue growth. They go on to report that the growth they’ve
experienced represents a 23% increase in annual company revenue, on
average.(4)
Ready
to start your digital transformation? Connect with Insightly for a free needs
assessment and a unified CRM product demo.
Sources:
1.
Customer Relationship Management
Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis, Grand View Research, 2020
2.
The Impact of Technological
Innovation on the Future of Work, European Commission, 2019
3.
The State of Digital Transformation,
Altimeter, 2019
4.
State of Digital Business
Transformation, IDG Communications, 2018
Gabriel
Swain is a content and digital marketing
strategist, avid CRM blogger, and business growth consultant. Having spent
years working with CRM providers, he has a deep understanding of users’ needs,
challenges, and objectives. He uses that knowledge to provide growing
businesses with educational content that allows them to maintain insight into
emerging trends and retain a competitive edge.
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