Managing change is hard. Ask any middle manager. Some would say that managing change in a sales environment is even harder. Change Management methodology is not a magic pill, but is instead a thorough behavioral predictability model to give you the best chance possible for facilitating change stickiness.

To keep up with the pace of the market, managing change is inevitable in the job description of a sales manager today. As a sales leader, it’s your responsibility to identify the best practices to be implemented. Sales transformation comes in all shapes and forms – processes change (e.g., the sales process), organizational change (i.e., merging of departments, roles and responsibility change), and documentation (e.g., order entry forms), etc.

How Can I Facilitate Change in My Sales Organization?

To be a good change manager is a combination of arts and science. Today, let’s tackle the science aspect – a good introductory model to managing change is the ADKAR approach. It provides the necessary structure and sequence to help sales managers and employees alike when adapting to new ways of working:

• Awareness of the reason for change

• Desire to personalize the need for change

• Knowledge of the NEW way

• Ability to apply tools, processes, and knowledge

• Reinforcement to measure the ongoing performance indicators of the change program

There is a misconception that change management is all about training. Change Management is so much more than that. As a matter of fact, I can predict the success of the program by looking at the project team structure and frequency of communication to stakeholders. Are looking to implement a successful, lasting change management program, or want to chat about building an agile organization? Then drop us a line.