The Evolution of Transformation
The changing face of change ..
Most change initiatives fail because quite simply people fail to change, someone somewhere has to change their behaviour
The simple, often overlooked fact is that people don’t like change. Behavioural change is not automatic and it’s not easy. But without behavioural change, the organisation doesn’t change, and therefore, the measures that matter do not improve, leaving the organisation with yet another missed opportunity. The subject being sales does not prevent you from needing to apply the right rigour and process around successful change
CHANGE MANAGEMENT IS AN INDUSTRY IN ITSELF!
After many years of leading sales transformation projects my observations on managing change are these;
YOU (EVERYONE) HAVE TO EMBRACE CHANGE
Performance is a live animal
Consider change as an evolution rather than a hard stop and start
Most businesses require continual attention to ‘tweaking the dials’, commercial environments rarely remain static
The old adage of ‘you cannot keep doing what you have always done and expect different results’ is absolutely true
NO CHANGE FOR CHANGES SAKE
Don’t make a change to make your mark
Not everything will have been wrong/broken/not working before you came along
Build on what works and marry that with some development/adaptation, new input
Change is expensive in terms of resource and money and it can unsettle an organisation unneccessarily
Save the change ‘wins’ for the important / critical changes
COMMUNICATION IS KEY
Bring people along
Ensue stakeholders are aligned or at least not opposed
Explain how you get there eg when discussing targets
Talk to everyone, when rolling something out, do as much as possible face to face
‘JUST BECAUSE IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN DONE LIKE THIS …’
Do not allow legacy to prevail if legacy is not optimising the opportunity
If moderate or large scale change is required it may be necessary to ‘launch’ part or all of the ‘new’ environment
To enable the transition to the ‘new’ environment there needs to be clear articulation of what the ‘new’ is
The change needs to be built into the internal brand positioning – this is the (insert your company name) way
It is essential that any work undertaken to create balance in the sales organisation is handled sensitively, in the right sequence and with an eye on the end goal at all times
WILL THEY DO IT?
A part of the change that is critical is the attitudinal aspect. If you find that the sales culture and general attitude and approach to sales isn’t working then you need to address the ‘WILL they do it’ question – this is entirely different from ‘CAN they’ do it
The level of skills and experience is irrelevant if a person does not have the desire or drive to act. A critical element of a sales profile is to have the right attitudinal factor
Given the ‘current’ ..
– Product / service
– Leader
– Market conditions
… ‘WILL they’ do what you need them to
PRINCIPLES OF CHANGE
You need to ensure that if change is needed then it is properly managed and communicated. There are principles of change management that need to be observed to ensure best results. Examples are;
Lead with the culture
Start at the top
Involve every layer of the organisation
Make the rational and emotional case together
Engage engage engage
Lead outside the lines
Leverage formal solutions
Leverage informal solutions
Assess and adapt
YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PLAN
You need a clear roadmap to set out the direction of travel. This roadmap requires regular review to ensure viability.
There also needs to be an exercise to identify what good looks like and then take all steps/decisions/directs towards the ‘good’
But broadly, the point is that there needs to be rigour around the structure and that that structure is communicated and understood
HAVING A PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACH
Even when talking about sales, any change needs to be part of a considered project, it is very difficult for change to happen in isolation. Determine the opportunity for performance improvement, and then engineer a process that follows a systematic path to allow for a 6 sigma DMAIC type approach to improving sales effectiveness. A tried and true sales performance methodology should be used to simplify the approach to assess a sales organisation – to improve it and then to embed that improvement
THE SIMPLE APPROACH WE USE FOR SALES PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS IS AS FOLLOWS;
Ultimately, change in sales needs to be addressed as we do change in any capacity. There will need to be information, support, encouragement and direction. And in between there will be denial, anger, exploration and ultimately acceptance.
Optimise can support your organisation in all of these areas. Feel free to have a no-obligation call to chat about your own challenges, book HERE
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