Leading a digital transformation, but to what?, Tim Hughes

Here at DLA Ignite we help companies digitally transform by using social media.

Classic increase efficiency, and strip out costs, often people see this as "social selling" and while we do that, digital transformation with social in fact covers all departments within a business.

As this article says

"Digital transformation means change, and effective change means that leaders need to paint a specific vision of what the organization needs to do differently. Mindset! Agility! Culture! Innovation!"

What does a modern business look like?

First and foremost, the business has to be on social media.

Ah yes, social selling, you say, marketing do that.

Actually, I'm not talking about social selling, well I could be, it should be the way your sales team sell today. After all we all it's well documented that social sellers out sell non social sellers.

I'm actually talking about the rest of the business other than sales using social.

A digital organisation

Think about this. This is what a digital organisation, so one that uses social media strategically does.

Just think .... closing the distance between clients, remote employees and potential future recruits. Pretty powerful.

Social media is not about cat photos, it's a business tool you should be using.

This digital organization could solve your pipeline and recruitment issues.

But nobody is doing this are they?

Let's look at some digital business examples

Take a look at Cyberhawk have a look at their C-Suite

Chris Fleming is the CEO

Patrick Saracco is the CRO

Check out all of the Cyberhawk C-Suite, this is a business that hasn't just adopted social selling, they have transformed their business with social. They are a digital organisation.

But it's not just social selling.

Can you imagine getting the right people to fly drones is a nightmare, they have solved this with social. They are using social as the means to recruit and retain staff.

Oh of course, they have a happy pipeline.

In fact they have total digital dominance of the drone space, just think how you can lock out your competition, what would that do for your business?

OK that's one example, a "swallow never made a spring" give us another example?

A modern business has its leadership active on social media

This is Andrew Ferrier, he's Managing Director of Display Technology. The same job title, Managing Directors that I'm told time after time don't have time for social media.

Here's his first blog, not written by a marketing agency which you can see a mile off and people ignore, here is a MD of a company finding time and writing authentic content. He has just finished our social selling and influence course, delivered by our partners Crux, I have to, at this point name check Nick and Eric from Crux.

Andrew understands the power of transforming your business to digital, the costs he is stripping out and the revenue he is able to increase his business. Andrew understand that for him to be on social adds a massive competitive advantage and a massive commercial advantage. He sees the clear business case and not to be on social means he leaves that money on the table for his competitors.

It's a great article about how a business today needs to stand out from the sea of sameness and what better than the MD leading from the top.

A modern business knows that understanding social and digital will drive future growth

Andrew knows that for his business to make their number and to get their quota of the talent out there they have to be visible on social media. Not pumping out brochures that all say "buy my product because we are great" he knows that the modern buyer and the modern job candidate is looking for modern companies. Companies that offer insight, that share their culture, share what they stand for. Not in the form of corporate propaganda, we can all see that from a mile away and ignore it.

This isn't about "looking good on social" about "having flowers on your LI profile" it's not about "putting out a few videos" it's not about "going viral" this is about clear business benefit connecting time on social media with revenue or attracting the best talent. Either way there is a clear business benefit.

OK Time But what about sales?

In case you missed it, the Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch have banned cold calling and have moved all their people to social selling. This isn't some trendy tech company that might have decided to do this on a whim, this is a very conservative financial services company that has made a decision based on data.

But surely cold calling has a better ROI than social selling? Not according to Merrill Lynch.

"They will also be encouraged to contact prospects over LinkedIn, which has a higher hit rate than cold calling"

The CRO (chief revenue officer), Richard Eltham of Namos Solutions, of one of clients posted a comment on LinkedIn about social selling. See here.

“Social selling is not an option now it is the way of the world and you either learn and execute it or fear getting left behind”

Kevin Murray who is the Head of Sales at MacArtney Underwater Technology recently posted about his success with social selling here and wrote an article about the transformation that has happened in sales here.

I don't believe you Tim!

If you check out this video of Chris Mason CEO at Oracle reseller Namos, fast forward to 19 minutes 55 seconds. Chris talks about a $2.6 million win from being on social, after completing the DLA Ignite social selling and influence course. This is where the prospect came onto social media looking for the solution to their problem, spotted the Namos sales person, walked towards them and two weeks later the deal was signed.

Social media transformation now usage now has a clear measurable business benefit

For anybody reading this our advice about social media is clear, there are but two measures.

1. How many meetings / leads / conversations are you getting from the activity on social?

2. How much revenue are you getting from the activity on social.

Social media is not about visibility

Plenty of money has been spent and lost by businesses looking for visibility, after all visibility is cheap.

But what about visibility tied to qualified relevance that starts a conversation? After all "visibility" does not pay your bills, but conversations create sales.

Throwing tactics at the problem won't help you

What I have described above is business transformation, it requires your business to adopt a strategy.

In fact, we find that out clients that go down the route of business transformation get 5 benefits

Visibility – recognition in the marketplace
Trusted advisor status
Recruiting and retaining the best talent
Employee engagement & shared sense of purpose
Pipeline, growth & inbound

In terms of business benefit we see a 30% increase in revenue and a 20% reduction in sales cycle. That's the business case you can hang your hat on.

The time for tactics is over

If we have seen anything over the last two years is that the days of tactics and gimmicks; the wasted time and the wasted money is over.

The usual answers companies come up with are just tactics, computer based training, hints & tips, “LinkedIn trainers”, you cannot solve a strategic issue by keep throwing tactics at it. It just wastes your time and money.

Here at DLA Ignite, we are the only company in the world that offers end-to-end transformation with social media, stripping at cost and efficiency while making your business, digital.

From sales, to human resources, to customer services, to procurement, etc, etc, the modern business is on social media and should embraces it.

One client of ours has told us they will IPO quicker and at a larger value by being social, a digital organisation.

Of course, if you are looking for more information, the team from DLA Ignite will be willing to walk you through more case studies, sorry, but we are not able to share details of your competitors.

Other articles you might be interested in ....

Would you buy social selling training course from somebody that doesn't use social selling?

How to create budget and build a business case for your social selling project

Articles for the CEO

What does success in a social selling project look like?

Can I be fired for not social selling?

What's the difference between legacy sales and modern selling?

Is making no change to my sales team an option in the world today?

Can my business speak directly to the modern buyer while retaining control of the message?

What is the secret sauce of social selling?

Can social selling break down the silos between sales and marketing?

Can I turn my LinkedIn time line from a load of rubbish into a load of value?

Why your random acts of social are killing your business

Can I find investors for my business with social selling?

Not understanding social selling is totally fine

Your social selling project isn't a decision of "yes" or "no" , it's when

Are you still measuring digital with an analogue mindset?

Can Social Selling help me navigate the great resignation?

Should my 2022 business planning include social selling?

Can I be data driven with social selling?

How grid selling will transform your pipeline and win rate

Can I use social selling as a small business?

Is your competition transforming to social selling in stealth mode?

We need more campaigns - Really?

Articles for Sales leadership

10 reasons you get social selling all wrong

For fax sake at least know what social selling is before you dismiss it!

What is social selling?

Can I see which salespeople are contributing with social selling?

Can I get a consistent prospecting framework for managers with social selling?

Can I get complete visibility to measure and monitor each reps results with social selling?

Can I get accountability across my sales team for prospecting with social selling

Can I gain an effective prospecting framework with social selling?

Can cold calling and email marketing kill my business?

Can I measure our social selling project?

Can my lack of confidence of social be holding my team back?

Can I get the most from my sales navigator licenses with social selling?

Can I de-risk my pipeline with social selling?

Can my salespeople create content?

Can social selling create value for my clients?

Can I use prospect sequencing with social selling?

Can I build a social selling program or should I buy one?

Can my behaviour on social media be losing me business?

Can I run QBRs with social selling?

Can I increase deal velocity with social selling?

Can social selling help me sell, if everybody is on vacation?

Can social selling help me avoid attrition in sales teams?

Can social selling help with team selling?

Reading blogs won't transform your pipeline

You are the sum of all your digital handshakes

Why social selling isn't just marketing

The difference between LinkedIn training and social selling training

Can programmatic social selling sort my pipeline issues?

Will being part of the conversation on social generate me any revenue?

Can social selling help me with virtual selling?

Social media engagement - None of my sales team have time for it. Really?

Should my salespeople be making time to create social posts? Of course

Can Social posts create pipeline or opportunities? You bet!

There is a clear gap opening in business between those companies that have a pipeline problem and those that don't ...

How are you going to build pipeline and prospect now that all the low hanging fruit has gone?

Articles to support sales people - sales process and sales tips

Why your leadership is wrong when they tell you that to get more pipeline requires you to send more email and make more calls

Can social selling help with my discovery calls?

Is social selling inmailing people on Linkedin?

Can I unblock deals with social selling?

Can I get more meetings with VPs with social selling?

Can I get on more short lists with social selling?

Am I being outsold by my social selling competition?

Can social selling stop prospects from ghosting me?

Can I be a catalyst to change with my prospects with social

Can I influence the buyer's journey with social selling?

Can I optimise my selling time with social selling?

Can I gain a competitive advantage with social selling?

Why automation is a zero sum game

Can I get a predictable prospecting system with social selling?

Can I sell $1 Million deals with social selling?

Can I get headhunted for my next job with social selling?

Can I use prospect sequencing with social selling?

Can I use social selling if I have nothing to say?

Looking for hacks, maybe you shouldn't

How do I make the most of a slow summer sales period?

How do I sell social selling training to my boss?

Can I get invited to more client top table discussions with social selling?

What is the best way to influence my LinkedIn network?

Can I use social selling to sell into a territory?

Can I use social selling to grow pipeline within target accounts?

Can social selling help me if my companies website isn’t good enough?

Can social selling help me if my prospect list is out of date?

Can social selling help me if we are too expensive?

Do my SDRs need to become hybrid?

Can social selling help me if we are not market leader?

Can social selling help me get past gatekeepers?

I don't know you. I've never spoken to you. You've never acknowledged my existence. But you want me to help you!

What should you do if your leadership team is not social

Can my content, create action in my prospects with social selling?

Can social selling work for me as an SDR?

I need to do this Linkedin thing and I need to do it now

Should I do a post or an article on LinkedIn?

How to deal with depression in sales

Why prospecting today is about clicks and likes

Articles to support channel and third party selling

Can social selling help my channel partners sell more?

Our VP of Sales Just got 83 likes on a LinkedIn post, so that means we are social selling? No!

Should you outsource your social media?

Can I get banned from LinkedIn if somebody else manages my profile?

Articles for social procurement

Can I use social media in procurement and supply chain?

How social transformed procurement

Articles for the CFO and Finance

Accelerating digital skills is one of the top priorities for finance leaders

Digital transformation means change, and effective change means that leaders need to paint a specific vision of what the organization needs to do differently. Mindset! Agility! Culture! Innovation! None of that is specific. It is soaring language grounded in [competitor’s] whitepapers, listicles, and management paperbacks. No matter where you are in your transformation, if your people can’t tell you where you’re headed, you need to double down on a clear vision for the future. This takes finesse. Some call it an elevator pitch; some do it with a postcard from the future. Whatever it is, your people should feel an emotional connection to the goal. The organization needs to know why they’re making the change, what they’re changing to and the WIIFM – what’s in it for me?

https://www.cgi.com/us/en-us/blog/digital-value-chain/leading-digital-transformation