Why do some sales executives take action while others stick with the status quo?
That question was on my mind a few weeks ago when I attended the Sales 2.0 Conference in San Francisco. The event drew an international crowd of B2B sales leaders searching for ways to modernize their sales and marketing efforts. The sessions delivered solid, actionable insights for attendees. But I wondered how many of them would actually implement these insights when they returned to the office.
Implementers, as we’ll call them, have three certain characteristics in common.
- They’re aligned with other departments about how they solve top challenges the company faces.
- They have a vetting process for potential solutions worth exploring (technology, strategy, staffing, etc.).
- They have an idea of how much a solution would be worth – in terms of both time and money.
Being an implementer is easier said than done. As a co-founder of Digital Knack, a boutique recruiting firm founded by myself and my incredible mom (shout out: Marcia Needels!), I get to watch implementers on the daily. Our clients tend to be well-established startups competing in the digital ecosystem, which demands agility, differentiators in market and, of course, top talent to be successful. Innovative companies tend to be implementers.
Why True Leaders Challenge the Status Quo
Companies with leaders who challenge the status quo and establish processes and budgets for adopting new technologies are implementers. I learn from my clients every day and, as a result, we too have become implementers. Leveraging technology allows us to assess employment brands and candidates in a proactive and efficient manner. This keeps us relevant in our communications and client partnerships.
In an effort to shed light on what kind of results implementers get in their sales organizations by taking action, I spoke with a few specific sponsors at the event and compiled the case studies below.
Implementer #1: DivTech
Applied Concepts is a phone skills training and development company for the auto industry. They partnered with DivTech, a company driving commerce through technology.
Applied Concepts’ Problem & DivTech’s Solution
Telemarketing sales efforts were not reaching full potential. Outreach efforts were being done without digital insights into their prospect pool. DivTech’s solution modernized their efforts with greater lead intelligence and increased the quality of leads generated. The company also had an internal prospect list with poor data integrity that DivTech was able to improve.
Application of Solution
DivTech’s Web visitor tracking dashboard uncovered new, primed leads by showing prospects who visited Applied Concepts’ website. This shortened the company’s sales cycle and increased sales efficiency. DivTech pushed new prospects to Applied Concepts’ website, further increasing the generation of primed leads. DivTech increased the data integrity of their prospect lists by increasing their contact pool with 20,000 good records that had been social media validated and email validated.
Key to Successful Implementation of DivTech Solution
DivTech’s solutions didn’t disrupt their current sales strategy, which was already working for them; it simply enhanced it. The DivTech software is user friendly and empowers less-tech-centered sales pros to adopt the solution with ease and minimal frustration. The solution’s value was visible and nearly immediate, which made sales adoption of the technology highly motivating.
Implementer #2: Consensus
An enterprise software company that sells practice management solutions into doctor’s offices. They partnered with Consensus, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that automates personalized product demos to accelerate sales.
Software Company’s Problem and Consensus’s Solution
This company struggled to land live demo appointments with all the busy stakeholders involved in the purchase decision (the buying panel). In addition, the company’s traditional one-size-fits-all demos didn’t address the individual purchasing requirements of each buyer, delaying purchase decision times.
Consensus personalized the way prospects experienced the company’s pitch. Their intelligent demo automation platform converted the company’s best live demo into a bank of interactive video modules that automatically adapt to the unique interests of each stakeholder – and that buyers could view at their own convenience. Consensus’s Demolytics™ (demo analytics) revealed the buyers who were involved in the purchase and what was most important to them.
Application of Solution
The company now uses its Consensus demo as the first point of engagement for new prospects – and again as prospects dive deeper into its sales funnel. This two-touch strategy allows the enterprise software company to automatically discover its stakeholders while giving them personalized, relevant pitch experiences. The result is a 44 percent higher close rate and a 68 percent shorter sales cycle.
Key to Successful Implementation of the Consensus Solution
Adoption of Consensus started with the company’s top 10 sales reps because they carry peer clout. The adoption was simple: include demo links in emails, then discover all stakeholders automatically. Consensus enhanced the prospect experience without requiring the company’s sales reps to change their behavior, which helped drive sales and motivate further adoption of Consensus across the sales team.
Key to Successful Implementation of the Consensus Solution
Adoption of Consensus started with the company’s top 10 sales reps because they carry peer clout. The adoption was simple: include demo links in emails, then discover all stakeholders automatically. Consensus enhanced the prospect experience without requiring the company’s sales reps to change their behavior, which helped to drive sales and motivate further adoption of Consensus across the sales team.
Implementer #3: ClearSlide
Comcast Spotlight, a company that delivers multi-screen marketing solutions, partnered with ClearSlide, a sales engagement platform.
Comcast Spotlight’s Problem and ClearSlide’s Solution
Comcast Spotlight lacked visibility in their sales process, managers lacked insight into the activities of the sales force, the marketing team was unaware what collateral was being used, and reps had no visibility of the needs of their prospects. With ClearSlide, Comcast Spotlight could manage sales people, content, and customer needs via a shared, intelligent, and user-friendly platform.
Application of Solution
ClearSlide was applied within sales and marketing. Managers were able to monitor sales activity, analytics provided feedback to the marketing team on what content was being used, and reps better understood the needs of potential customers because insights were now shared cross-functionally and automatically. The sales team could assemble and use materials more quickly and get them to clients more efficiently. As a result, their sales cycle was reduced by 65 percent.
Key to Successful Implementation of the ClearSlide Solution
The platform is designed with a modern sales force in mind. It is cross-platform for ease of use during travel. With a shared platform for marketing and sales, these departments could collaborate more effectively and increase relevancy for prospects as a result.
These were just some of the stories I was able to gather at the event about what happens when companies successfully adopt and implement new solutions to help their salespeople. What are you doing to drive efficiency and effectiveness in your sales organization? Do you have a road map for implementation? Please share your thoughts in the comments section or tweet @Sales20Conf using the hashtag #s20c.
