The Digital Transformation of Sales Flashcards
What are the 2 key trends in the digital transformation of sales?
1) self-service technologies
2) AI
What is self-service technology being seen to be the death of?
The B2B salesmen -> businesses can just find and buy what they need online, they don’t need someone to come out and make a deal with them anymore
What case study was used for self-service technology?
FastTech
What is the basic information about FastTech?
They are a European distributor of fastening technology
Their competitors are other international distributors and local hardware stores
Their customers are mostly workshops and construction companies
What has been their sales approach and performance?
They have a group of several hundred sales reps across Europe that hunt and form revenue
About 80% of total revenue comes from repeat purchases
What solution did the CDO want to use to increase sales efficiency?
He wanted to set up an online shop as a direct sales channel
What reasons exist that support the set up of the online shop?
Reduces costs as less sales people are needed, makes it easier for repeat customers to make orders
What reasons exist that go against setting up the online shop?
A personal touch is important to attract new customers
How can the behaviour of salespeople be adapted with the existence of the online shop?
They can go to things like tool fairs rather than directly to the customers where they can make people aware of the online shop and how to use it. Can also fire some of them or get them to email prospective clients telling them about the online shop
What is the problem with adapting salespeople in the way that FastTech would have to?
It creates a fear of job loss
The salespeople may not have the skillset to fully understand the website -> they would need to be trained on how to operate it
The company may not have the necessary digital specialists to set up and run the online shop
What problems did the company directly identify themselves and how did they work to overcome them?
1) Misaligned incentives -> salespeople would lose commission so are less motivated -> solution: provide bonuses to people that generate large online revenue
2) Fear -> salespeople were afraid that they would lose their jobs
3) Competition -> competitors will just do the opposite to what you do, still meeting clients to develop strong personal relationships -> solution: have salespeople meet clients to push the online shop
4) Over-obedience -> ‘my clients don’t want to use an online shop’ -> solution: it is key to convince customers of the benefits of an online shop
5) Self-image -> what is the role of the sales rep? Are they there to make deals or to orchestrate across multiple channels -> solution: make the role of salespeople clear to them so they know how best to do their job
What are the 2 different forms of AI?
General and Narrow
What is General AI?
When something has human-like attributes, not distinguishing from a human being -> it is general in its applicability
What is Narrow AI?
It can do one thing very well but nothing else -> has narrow applicability
What has progress been like in the AI industry?
Large development has occurred in narrow AI, but progress in general AI has been limited
