Guide
Jun 17, 2020
Our business and personal lives have adapted to a virtual world almost overnight. With the drastic change in homelife and remote working, here are three major benefits of digital sales transformation to empower your enterprise to succeed.
In a matter of weeks, remote working became the new normal. Entire industries were forced to reinvent the way they operate. Since then, telehealth has skyrocketed with virtual doctor visits, and education is seeing a complete overhaul with a hybrid of remote and in-person learning.
Many businesses have successfully transitioned to working from home full-time. However, the majority of the workforce is not only dealing with their normal job responsibilities. They are also balancing their home and workspaces with spouses and housemates, and many are also taking on new roles as educators for their children.
On top of that, SWNS Digital reports that individuals are spending 19 hours per day looking at a screen (e.g., computers, phones, tablets, monitors, etc.)—up more than two hours per day since the COVID pandemic began. And it’s all manifesting in increased burnout and a new phenomenon called Zoom Fatigue. A New York Post survey found that 53% of individuals are drained from looking at screens.
Needless to say, it’s taking a toll both physically and mentally on employees. As a result, their time, resources, and attention are spread to the max, and the need for business efficiency and flexibility has never been greater.
The Opportunity for Sales Leaders
So how can you begin addressing these challenges more effectively—especially as our time of uncertainty continues to extend for the foreseeable future?
The first step is to acknowledge that our virtual selling space is likely here to stay. In order to compete and sell effectively, digital sales transformation is not a choice; it’s an imperative. And while that might be daunting at first, it actually presents an opportunity for sales leaders. By embracing and adopting technology, you can reduce the stress on your workforce and encourage leaders to step up across your entire organization.
Digital sales transformation—specifically through Sales Performance Management (SPM) solutions—helps increase efficiency by automating incentive compensation, improving forecasting accuracy, and providing real-time insights to make strategic decisions. There are three main benefits that SPM brings to the table.
1. Continuous Planning and Agility
When we initially transitioned to remote operations, most people assumed it would be a temporary situation. But with all of the market and economic disruptions this year, having a plan in place to sustain remote operations long-term and adapt plans quickly is critical. In fact, McKinsey & Co reports that “Tech-enabled businesses...were able to move at speed” when the initial disruption hit.
Enterprises who have embraced digital sales transformation and Sales Performance Management solutions have deeper visibility and access to real-time insights. This allows them to act agilely and make strategic decisions quickly. For example, Flowserve, an international manufacturing organization, was able to shift strategies with little disruption to their sales team—all because their SPM allowed them to adjust plans in real-time.
2. Model for Every Scenario
In response to the economic uncertainty, many companies froze expenses, and as a result, layoffs occurred. Forrester data shows that 38% of businesses are reducing their sales force, and 41% are paring down their entire workforce. Yet, their sales targets and workloads are still increasing.
If you have to eliminate positions in your organization, how does that impact your forecasting and performance? Because Sales Performance Management operates with real-time visibility, you can model scenarios before taking action to ensure you make the right decisions. And with automated compensation processes, you can trust your data is accurate, allowing you to forecast more precisely.
3. You’re Ready for Any Disruption
According to Gartner, companies need to “learn to conduct operations processes and workflows in new, repeatable, scalable ways.” Companies often get stuck in a cluster of spreadsheets navigating the tactical elements of sales plans, and they make misinformed decisions.
Sales Performance Management technology enables you to focus on strategy, which is critical in times of disruption. The faster you begin amassing and taking advantage of data, the stronger you become. And you’re able to lead the competition instead of falling behind and scrambling to keep up.
The Time for Digital Sales Transformation is Now
This time of year is traditionally the start of sales planning season. This year, however, is quite different. It’s shown us that planning once per year is no longer acceptable. We’ve reached the point where we need to prepare ourselves to operate in a more digital world permanently and adapt plans quickly in the face of change. Disruption comes unexpectedly, and to adapt successfully, we must equip ourselves to make the right decisions at the speed of market change. Continuous sales planning enables that.
Sales Performance Management isn’t a recovery tactic; it’s a growth strategy that allows you to turn data into actionable insights, allowing you to continuously optimize plans and performance. It’s time we armed ourselves with the tools that don’t just help us adapt to disruption but empower us to drive growth through it.
Discover how you can get started today and how Xactly is here to help every step of the way in our, “Why Xactly, Why Now?” white paper.
