Sales Transformation in the Digital Era

“Digital Transformation” is the buzz term making the rounds in business circles however, this is not just a passing fad, digital transformation is the way forward for business success. But the term 'Digital Transformation', in our opinion is far too wide a term and instead, needs to be broken down into important areas of a business where concerted digitalisation can be implemented at a more granular level.  Based on this, where better to start than with 'Sales Transformation', after all, sales and revenue is the lifeblood for virtually every business!

A short background on Digital Transformation

Businesses across the world are redesigning their entire customer experience through a variety of digital tactics, from Search Engine Optimisation, content creation and marketing automation to lead generation, data collection, chatbots, customer service portals and back-end business processes. All of these new operations have been designed with the customer in mind. You see, we live in the digital era and because of our access to instant information and communication, the customer has become more empowered than ever before. With this in mind, businesses need to re strategise their processes to ensure customer expectations are met at all times. 

With the above in mind it is easy understand that digital transformation has an effect on marketing and service teams, but how does it translate in a sales environment. Of course, sales representatives can be given new and improved software tools to work with, but they are still managing human interactions and are still tasked with communicating, educating and selling products and services. So, what exactly is digital sales transformation and how can it benefit your business? 

When it comes to digital sales transformation there are a variety of avenues to consider including lead contact profiles, email automation, Customer Relationship Management pipeline tools, account-based-marketing and account-based-sales. However, this is just the tip of the sales transformation iceberg. Below, we take a look at some of the pillars of digital sales transformation and unpack why digital transformation is vital for business success in 2021. 

Pillars for Successful Digital Sales Transformation 

Sales Transformation is designed to create new paths that go beyond the simple integration of new technologies and tools. This is one side of digital sales transformation however, there needs to be a strong strategy behind this implementation and your  strategy needs to consider the following pillars in order to succeed.

Gain greater insight into customer buying behaviour

As stated previously, due to ever-evolving technology and easy access to online information, the customer is more empowered than ever before. And because of this, traditional sales models such as in-person meetings and cold-calling are quickly losing their value. (Not to mention, the outbreak of Covid-19 has also greatly impacted face-to-face communication, sales events and conferences.) These tactics are simply outdated and the customers expectations have completely shifted and their buying behaviour has shifted alongside. It is important that your sales teams understand these changes in order to adjust their strategies to suit the customer needs. 

The modern customer and how sales reps can keep up 

• The Customer is Informed:
  
  Today’s sales representatives need to recognise that prospects have done their research, put effort into understanding what solution they require and have read a variety of online reports and peer reviews before having even considered your business. The customer is able to self-educate and they probably understand their problem and solution more than the sales reps at this point. With this in mind, sales processes need to be backed with the correct buying and lead data in order to understand what a specific customer has already learned, and which products suit their specific needs.
  
  This is done by tracking website visitors and learning about a lead's online behaviour through CRMs such as HubSpot. This means that sales reps need to place each individual buyer into a specific buyer persona - which is based on data collected by the marketing teams and software such as HubSpot. By tracking leads from the research stage through to the sales stage, reps are able to understand each individual prospect more than ever before - and cater their message for the individual as opposed to the collective. 
  
  
• The customer is spending less time with sales representatives:
  
  Today, customers do not have time to set aside for long meetings and they tend to go with what brand message or online content resonates with them when making a purchase decision (as opposed to meeting with a rep).
  
  This is why it is important for marketing and sales teams to work together when putting together campaigns and creating the right message for customers as they make their way through the buying cycle. By having your marketing and sales teams align, sales reps are able to gain greater insight into what the customer actually wants and tailor their message accordingly when the customer makes contact and makes their way to the buying stage. 

Sales reps need to be armed with information about leads and this is done by aligning their efforts with marketing teams. A strong customer relationship management system also provides a single location for sales reps to access lead information which helps them tailor their message according to lead behaviour - helping them identify quality leads and make more sales. 

Aligning Marketing, Sales and Service Teams

The modern sales team has evolved and is now made up of a variety of specialists within the space. These specialists drive qualified leads, close deals and create long lasting relationships. Essentially, sales is now made up of marketing, sales and customer service. All departments are now aligned in reaching the same goal: to increase the bottom line of the business. 

Today, sales reps need to understand (and be a part of) the entire lifecycle of customer engagement, and this is done through departmental alignment. As a result, sales reps need to upskill themselves and learn about marketing processes - and understand that each department helps the other reach their goals. 

The best way to generate lead data between marketing and sales is to integrate your marketing and sales software in one place - this is where digital transformation comes into play. This kind of integration benefits both marketing and sales teams by storing valuable data and lead information in a single location - allowing room for improved results. By connecting both teams through a powerful Customer Relationship Management software such as HubSpot, both teams can view the entire lifecycle of a visitor as they become a customer. 

Everyone benefits from an integrated approach to marketing and sales. By creating an integrated sales and marketing strategy, you are able to understand how your clients interact with your brand and how they get to the purchasing decision, allowing for smarter marketing campaigns, better sales interaction and greater customer service. 

Above, we touched on the fact that there are a variety of software and technologies to help improve your marketing and sales processes. When it comes to sales workflow automation, nothing beats the Customer Relationship Management tool - HubSpot.

Automating Sales Workflows

HubSpot offers a variety of tools and has the capability to understand and cater to every part of the buyer's journey. The tools within the software are divided into what is known as “hubs,” you can purchase these hubs separately, but when they are combined, they work together seamlessly ensuring success across your sales, marketing and customer support teams. Below, we outline how the HubSpot sales hun is designed to improve all sales related processes and drive business growth. 

Introducing HubSpot Sales Hub as a Sales Transformation tool

The HubSpot Sales Hub is made up of tools that allow you to seamlessly manage, communicate with and track your leads. With this platform your sales team has more insight into the sales pipeline, empowering them to interact with potential customers without having to spend time entering data or writing similar emails over and over again. To put it as simply as possible, the Sales Hub is designed to close more deals for your business.

What HubSpot Sales Hub Offers:

• Free Calling
• Email Templates
• Email Sequences
• Pipeline Tracking
• Meeting Scheduling

A powerful CRM offers sales teams a sense of empowerment, automation, organisation and provides them with relevant data to help them prioritize leads and close deals. This is the power of digital sales transformation. 

Key Takeaways

Your sales transformation strategy should:

• Outline the buyer's journey in detail.

• Deliver a strategic brand message at every stage of the buyer's journey through marketing, sales and service alignment.

• Make use of CRM software to better align and track your marketing and sales team efforts.

Today’s modern sales  teams need to invest in technologies that are customer centric and designed to support their customers needs and expectations. The customer needs to be prioritised above all else, and a sales transformation strategy cannot be ignored as we head into 2021.

In order to find success in the sales transformation world, businesses need to invest in systems that allow for team alignment, automation, and data collection so that all teams can monitor their sales success - as a unit.

About Nexa

From implementing the HubSpot CMS and CRM systems to training your teams, we transform organisations with the inbound methodology and we adapt HubSpot to suit your business goals (no matter business size or industry.) Whether your focus is generating leads, accelerating sales or developing a powerful sales strategy to provide a personalised customer experience, we offer the complete range of digital transformation services to meet your needs. 

Together, we build your custom sales transformation solution.

Contact Nexa today for all your digital transformation needs.