Each month we go in-depth into topics discussed in one of the Master B2B Boardrooms, our monthly roundtables for B2B ecommerce executives.
What we heard in the Boardrooms:
How do you solve a problem like a salesperson?
In last month’s From the Boardroom Newsletter, we noted how digital transformation projects are actually change management projects. How getting the team aligned behind the new way of working is typically one of the biggest challenges (if not the biggest challenge) to seeing success.
In the boardrooms in November we heard more about this topic, though much of it was focused on how to gain alignment with the sales team so they’ll be supportive of digital initiatives.
We found it interesting that most Board members put the blame for the lack of alignment on senior management, rather than on the salespeople. For better or worse, sales teams are typically motivated by financial incentives, and if senior leadership doesn’t create a compensation plan that drives sales to support digital initiatives, it’s unlikely that they’ll support digital initiatives.
Why that matters:
Digital transformations – specifically, building out online commerce functionality – take years (and an unspeakable amount of patience). You hatch the idea. You make a business plan. You pitch the business plan. You get the budget. You meet with pretty much everybody. You meet vendors. You select vendors. You implement. And on and on. And if you do every piece of that process well, all of it can come crashing down without support from the sales team.
We’ve heard eCommerce execs in our Boardrooms lamenting after a month that their big digital rollout isn’t even close to meeting their expectations.
While we don’t think that most execs underestimate, exactly, the influence the sales team has over the success of their initiatives, there is still a great deal of uncertainty about how to harness the power of the sales team to drive digital revenue. But there seems to be universal agreement among the Boardroom members that the sales team can make or break digital transformation because sales is so intimately tied to the revenue picture. If the sales team opts out of digital, it will likely fail. Conversely, if the sales team opts into digital, it will likely succeed.
What to do about it:
Everyone who discussed this was sympathetic to the plight of the salesperson. As one Boardroom member put it, “I’m sure they’re thinking to themselves, ‘If I’m not taking orders, then literally what am I doing all day?’” The answer: they’ll be focused on closing more complex (and higher value) deals and making more commission.
We heard discussion of a stick approach (do this or you’re fired) and a carrot approach (getting rewarded for making small changes). It’s a rare organization where the stick approach works. Here are some of the carrots that were effective:
1) Don’t worry about whether salespeople are taking orders over the phone or email and then entering them online so they count as digital orders (at least for some period of time early in the process). Yes, this may seem like cheating, but it’s actually a great way for salespeople to learn the online platform and they generally learn that the simple orders are actually best placed online by the customer. And salespeople will tell their counterparts about the benefits of the online platform.
2) Figure out which salespeople are the most influential internally, and then build relationships with them to make sure they’re successful. Take those sales folks to dinner. Provide all the training they could possibly need. Give them reports so they see the increase in commissions they’re getting. If these influential salespeople see how they can be successful in a digital world, they will tell others.
3) Tell sales success stories at internal meetings. As one Boardroom member said, “I publish each division’s digital revenue each month so everyone can see…we use data as the stick.” (I think of that as a “carrot” actually). People love to be called out for good behavior – praise salespeople who embrace the new reality and share their success.
4) Another member said, “In our internal meetings, I always include numbers and success stories…I spend the majority of the time on the slides highlighting salesperson success and customer success. Salespeople love the recognition and time in the spotlight.”
The other universal truth we heard: If the CEO is not 100% aligned with the digital strategy, it will either fail, or be a very long, very frustrating slog. Meet with the CEO on a regular basis, make sure you know what information the CEO wants to know at each meeting, and ensure that if the CEO has any hesitations that they share those concerns with you so you can stay ahead of any organizational objections.
