Here’s a question for manufacturing professionals: How many times have you worked at a company with artificially intelligent microwaves and solar powered whiteboards but the sales team is still using Excel spreadsheets for everything?
Embracing digital transformation has become an essential part of every business, including (and especially) manufacturers. The same holds true for sales processes, where the adoption of digital technologies can help companies streamline their operations, reduce errors, and create better customer experiences. However, more often than not, those sales processes are left in profoundly immature states, never updated. In other words, they lack “Sales Maturity.” I mean seriously, do they even lift, bro?
What is Sales Maturity?
Sales maturity refers to the level of proficiency and effectiveness your company has achieved in its sales processes and strategies. It encompasses a range of factors, including your company’s ability to:
- Understand customer needs and preferences
- Build and manage relationships with prospects and clients
- Effectively communicate the value prop of your products / services
- Close deals in a timely and efficient manner
What is Digital Sales Maturity?
Digital sales maturity is the measure of your company's ability to effectively leverage technology and digital strategies to drive revenue growth. It involves the cohesion of various digital tools, such as CRM, sales automation, and analytics, to improve sales productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness. In simpler terms, digital sales maturity is about using technology to sell smarter, faster, and better while actively mitigating challenges like revenue leak.
Time to Grow up
The manufacturing industry is undergoing a significant transformation, thanks to the adoption of Industry 4.0 and lean manufacturing principles. However, sales processes are often an afterthought during transformation, with companies relying on outdated methods and systems to manage their sales operations. This is myopic. The role of digital sales maturity is to bridge this gap and help companies stay ahead of the competition in the most fundamental activity: directly driving revenue growth.
Digital sales maturity can help manufacturing companies achieve several benefits, such as:
Increased Efficiency: By automating repetitive tasks and streamlining sales processes, digital tools can help sales teams work more efficiently, allowing them to focus on high-value activities.
Cost Savings: Digital tools can help companies reduce the cost of sales operations by eliminating manual processes, reducing errors, and optimizing sales resources.
Revenue Growth: By providing sales teams with real-time insights and analytics, digital tools can help them identify new opportunities, close deals faster, and increase revenue.
Challenges in Achieving Digital Sales Maturity
While the benefits of digital sales maturity are clear, achieving it is not without challenges. Some of the most common challenges faced by manufacturing companies include:
Lack of Investment: Many companies lack the investment required to adopt new digital technologies and tools, hindering their ability to achieve digital sales maturity.
Resistance to Change: Employees who are accustomed to traditional sales processes may be resistant to change, making it challenging to implement new digital tools and strategies.
Limited Expertise: Some companies may lack the expertise required to effectively implement and manage digital sales tools, making it challenging to achieve digital sales maturity.
How to Achieve Digital Sales Maturity in Manufacturing Sales
Achieving digital sales maturity requires a strategic approach that involves the following steps:
Assess Your Current State: Conduct a thorough assessment of your current sales processes to identify areas for improvement and determine the best digital tools to implement. If you’re doing things the way you did them five years ago, you are not operating at maximum efficiency.
Invest in Digital Tools: Allocate the necessary resources to invest in digital tools that can help you streamline your sales processes, reduce errors, and improve efficiency.
Provide Training: Ensure your employees are trained adequately in using the new digital tools and understand how they fit into the sales process.
Monitor and Measure: Continuously monitor and measure the effectiveness of your digital tools to identify areas for improvement and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Embracing digital sales maturity is crucial for manufacturing companies looking to stay ahead of the competition in today's fast-paced world. By integrating digital tools and strategies into their sales processes, companies can increase efficiency, reduce costs, and drive revenue growth. However, achieving digital sales maturity is not without its challenges, and it requires a strategic approach to succeed. By following the steps outlined above, manufacturing companies can overcome these challenges and achieve digital sales maturity, positioning themselves for success in the future.
If you're interested in seeing how Clari can help your manufacturing company achieve digital sales maturity, be sure to check out our demo. With our suite of revenue intelligence tools, including Align and Wingman, we can help you streamline your sales processes for maximum maturity.
Ready to accelerate your Digital Sales Maturity? See Clari in action.