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  • 2021
  • Chapter
  • Managing Digital Transformation

Digital Transformation and the Salesforce: Observations, Warnings, and Recommendations

By: Frank V. Cespedes
  • Format:Print
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Abstract

Sales is a crucial test for organizational change, including productive use (or not) of new technologies. Changes in selling always have wider organizational implications, because so many other decisions and resource commitments in firms depend upon demand forecasts and sales’ ability to meet those forecasts. Conversely, because the sales force faces pressures to “make the numbers” quarterly, changes in sales activities are risky and difficult. This chapter discusses the problems inherent in current definitions of “digital transformation,” areas where digital developments are likely to have the most impact on sales organizations, common obstacles to implementation of these initiatives in sales forces, and suggestions about the pre-requisites required to overcome the obstacles.

Keywords

Sales; Salesforce Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Transformation

Citation

Cespedes, Frank V. "Digital Transformation and the Salesforce: Observations, Warnings, and Recommendations." In Managing Digital Transformation: Understanding the Strategic Process, edited by Andreas Hinterhuber, Tiziano Vescovi, and Francesca Checchinato. Routledge, 2021.

About The Author

Frank V. Cespedes

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

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More from the Author
  • Linking Growth and the Frontline By: Frank V. Cespedes, Jay Galeota and Michael Wong
  • Linking Value and Price By: Frank V. Cespedes
  • Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Klopfenstein
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