The tech flex that stretches your sales
Picture this:
It’s the 80s, hair is big, pen and paper for managing sales is bigger.
Fast forward to today and whilst we should be leaving the pen and paper (and maybe the hair) in the past, there are some “fondamentals” we can still apply to managing sales today.
Thrust your sales tech forward
Look, there is nothing quite like the word ‘thrust’, to really make ya sit up and pay attention. That’s what using the right sales tech can do for you with your customers.
One can respect the hustle of the pen and paper approach to managing sales teams. The resilience of it, to stay true, over many years as a tried and tested solution to keeping records, taking notes and planning your day. But much like Lycra and leg warmers, they had their day and it’s time to embrace the now.
Change is scary though, right? But deep breath you got this. Just like your legs have not gotten any colder sans warmers, your sales won’t sans pen and paper.
In fact, by embracing change and new technology, you will now be able to work smarter, not harder. So, whilst you’re selling, you’re also buying yourself time. And we all know time is money.
So, you know “squat” about sales tech
Sure, more time and more money sound great. Love it, big fan. The reality is that the fear of change is also rooted in that of the unknown. We know pens, we know paper, heck, even spreadsheets are a safe space.
However, just as that inspirational mug on your shelf says, “there is a whole new world just beyond your comfort zone”.
Just because one does not know or understand something, does not mean it can’t be the right solution for them. The fact is, whether you‘re fluent in Tik Tok or still not entirely sure what an app actually is, you can learn.
The thing about sales technology and sales apps is that the good ones mimic the processes you already do, in a way that makes them instinctive, so it is easy to learn how to use them. It comes down to still doing what you know how to do, but in an easier and more efficient way.
Why leap when you should lunge
Or, how to update your sales tech without leaving your team behind.
Updating the way you manage your sales, whether from WhatsApp to app or from manual to automated, can feel like a leap. A leap forward is good though, right?
But a lunge forward is better. When adopting new sales technology, a solid change management process is essential. Honestly, had the change management process of lycra leggings been handled better, they may have had more of a lifeline.
We have established that change is scary, that we fear what we don’t know, etc. etc. How we handle this change impacts whether new tech/processes are merely implemented or if they are actually adopted.
Hence, why lunging is better than leaping. When you leap, you leave everything behind in a bid to move forward. Whilst, when you lunge, you are still moving forward but keeping one foot on the ground. The same could be said for tech adoption processes.
If you simply leap forward, “drop your pens, say so long to your spreadsheets”, you firstly exacerbate any sense of change induced fear, and secondly you abandon any efficacies of what was working in your previous process.
As mentioned, good sales tech apps should enable you to do what you currently do but better, and more frequently. It should be lunging forward with what is working for you and only abandoning what doesn’t. It should not be leaping away from your entire sales management approach.
When you’re stretched too far, lean into Skynamo
So, what’s the lesson in this? Between all the fondamentals, here’s what we’re trying to say: If the general aesthetic of 80s workout gear has taught us anything, it’s that change is inevitable. But, our approach to it is a choice. So, choose wisely.
