Sales ROI: New ways to measure your success

The matter of digital transformation doesn't have to be repeated. But, as decision-makers, the right digital prioritisations can help empower our people and teams, engage our customers and optimise our operations.

We realise the potential upsides of investing in our tech stacks, but we also know that the investment goes beyond budget and money. It includes the time and people, the implementation, training and coaching, for example, and those factors weigh on our ROI.

With reports of economic headwinds creating uncertainty, deciding to invest in your tech stack is more challenging than ever. But it's also more imperative than ever before. The way of working has changed, and so has the landscape for B2B sales. We now operate in an era of borderless business with hybrid engagement set to default and an expanded buying committee to contend with. 

With buyers exploring new possibilities and enjoying more options, sellers have a real urgency to step up their game. Some B2B companies are already evolving and changing their culture and motions, enabled by technology, with trusted data at the core. They leverage sales intelligence platforms to gain insights to engage the proper accounts, relationships and opportunities at the right time.

In the context of all that's happening, I suggest three other forms of 'returns' to include in your ROI considerations. These are less conventional and yet highly relevant in today's landscape. 

Year after year, I realised that successful B2B companies have a healthy relationship with technology. These companies research before reaching out to their target audience. These successful companies don't use technology to knock on more doors; they use it to knock on the right doors.

Winning in a hybrid business world

Even as the pandemic turns endemic, there are no signs of a total return to in-person selling, and the shift to hybrid selling is not just permanent; it's positive. 

This is because many buying committee members work more than half the time remotely; perhaps more significantly, 68% believe remote work has made buying more accessible. With the consensus that this new way of working is here to stay, sales organisations must ensure that they are set up for the desired long-term success.

Adapting to this emerging preference is an excellent example of how to practice the buyer-first ethos, i.e. the idea of putting ourselves in our buyers' shoes to understand their evolving needs and, in this case, investing in tools and technologies now so that your teams quickly access relevant data to gain deeper insight into their accounts, to identify and engage buyers the way they want to be involved. It's the first step to developing partnerships built on trust. 

Using technology to fuel commercial performance

Year after year, I realised that successful B2 B companies have a healthy relationship with technology. These companies research before reaching out to their target audience. These successful companies don't use technology to knock on more doors; they use it to knock on the right doors. 

There are two factors at play in these companies 

The first is dirty data. Among sellers' the two most significant data challenges need to be completed and accurate market data. Working with a limited data view is dangerous. It may lead to sellers spamming potential customers about products, solutions and services they don't need and annoying them.  

The second is ensuring that tools, software and tech are well integrated with their commercial teams' workflows and that they invest in training to intelligently and effectively wield these tools. 

When reliable, accurate and precise data is handed to sales teams, who are apt at using that data to identify prospects with higher buying propensity, that sets the stage for better performance across your entire sales organisation. 

Preparing for the ongoing change.

The digital natives bring their digital-first expectations into the workplace. So embracing digital transformation by looking at your tech stack now is a move to future-proof your organisation and way of working.

I've said it before, and I'll repeat it: technology is the powerful and essential enabler that shall be deployed to augment human ability. The right tools, software and tech, used in the right way, will supercharge your commercials team to create the results you desire — and that's the ultimate ROI.