With Salesforce Live Australia and New Zealand kicking off this week, I had the opportunity to sit down with Chandan Miskin, Practice Leader APJ – Enterprise Cloud Apps and Services at Infosys. Chandan has extensive experience helping organizations across the Asia-Pacific activate Salesforce to stay connected with customers and partners.

Watch the video below of our fireside chat, Australia-style, on digital maturity in sales organisations. Chandan shared his insights on:

• The latest trends in managing B2B sales processes and customer relationships

According to McKinsey research, in their ideal post-COVID-19 model, only 20–30% of B2B buyers want to interact with reps in-person. In the digital-first world, we currently live in, we discussed the need to fill gaps in prospect and client engagement to combat the challenge of growing screen fatigue.

“There is an absolute need for tools to [fill this gap] – provide the one-stop hub for sellers to access all the content they need in one place, be able to embark on a guided selling journey…derive insights to inform the next best action…and improve your sales velocity.”

Chandan Miskin, Infosys

• Digital maturity of sales teams in industries

A number of industries, such as Telecommunications and Financial Services, are dealing with disruptive market forces. What will be the critical success factors in salesforce transformation for these sectors to stay competitive and deliver standout client experiences?

• Overcoming barriers to the adoption of digital capabilities within sales teams

Salesforce research shows that 75% of customers expect companies to use new technologies to create better experiences. So what is holding back revenue teams from embracing digital capabilities? We discussed the different elements in organizational culture to overcome barriers to digital adoption among sales organizations.

• What to look for in a sales transformation partner

A common pitfall is working with solution vendors that solve an immediate problem, but the business reality is ever-changing. Chandan offered his advice on key considerations for organizations choosing business transformation partners that not only accelerate but, also future-proof their digitization journeys.

B2B Sales Transformation is Like Driving a Car

My biggest takeaway from the fireside chat is the parallel that Chandan drew between B2B sales and driving cars. Motor vehicles have evolved over the years. “When we all switched from manual to automatic gear sticks, it was a change in habit,” Chandan said. “When we all switched from fuel-based cars to driverless cars, it’s a big switch…electric cars are in between… that’s a big change in habit.”

“What we used to do in the past is not necessarily going to remain a habit in the future,” added Chandan.

To find out more about how technology reshapes seller habits from Chandan’s perspective, watch the video.