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With emerging technologies and the shift to remote selling, there has been a rise of the modern, digital CRO. The shift to remote work has pushed selling into a highly digitally immersive process and activities.
Sales leaders have to adapt to the digital aspect of selling, in terms of selling, making relationships, and being more present than ever before due to work-at-home environments, such as distractions from kids during a Zoom meeting.
Today, Eric Stine, CRO of Skillsoft, joins us to dive into these emerging traits and trends of the Digital CRO. We covered:
- How have things changed over the past two years for CROs?
- What emerging traits do you are required for Digital CROs?
- What recommendation would you give current and future CROs to build a long career?
Be Flexible and Adaptable
A lot of us have learned that going entirely digital, which has a ton of benefits because you can hire the best talent, connect with anyone at any time, and maximize your productivity, still has many challenges.
Eric explains, “The upshot of going digital is that there are so many platforms and tools available and a lack of any commonly accepted standard, part of the flexibility that not only CROs but any executive, is the need to be flexible and adapt.”
Be More Personal and Personable
The digital revolution has caused everyone to be more flexible, adaptable, and willing to accept things that can’t be controlled (kids in the background). This has made it critically important because everyone dispersed and remote is to make those connections on more of a personal and human level across those digital and global boundaries.
Be a Passionate Team Builder
One of the most overlooked traits of a digital CRO is hiring and maintaining talent. The competition is fierce, so you need to build a collaborative team approach. When employees have so many choices in the market, you must keep and build around your talent.
Eric looks at hiring in two phases. One hire for role one above what you are looking to fill. You want to make sure you have predecessors (at least one) that you can coach and build around.
Eric states, “Hire the best talent regardless of physical space.” The digital-selling world has made this possible. Hiring managers used to hire for location first and talent second, but that has completely shifted.
Be Present in Every Moment
With nearly all interactions between the buyer and seller occurring digitally, you must be present in the moment. Think about how you approach a call. Is it the same as you would of in the past when the meeting was in-person?
Likely not, and we could argue if that’s a good or bad thing, but you must be present. That means being attentive on the Zoom call, being personable in the conversation, being accepting of distractions (i.e., kids in the background), and you must try harder to make a connection.
Some people would argue that those things don’t matter, but they are. People buy from people they trust and that they get along with.
Be Data-Driven in Digital-Selling
Modern CROs use data to inform their sales teams with actionable insights that lead to improved win rates, shortened sales cycles, and improved capacity. However, with everything occurring digitally, modern CROs need to get on board with the digital age of selling and invest in training and tools for their managers and reps to help them transition.
Sharad mentions:
“CROs will need to invest in Revenue Operations personnel and platforms to bring all data together in systems where all customer-facing roles can live and collaborate on connected processes.”
Closing Advice
We closed down the fireside chat with closing remarks and advice for sales leaders looking to move into the CRO role. Eric states it simply:
“Never hide the human part of yourself as it will pay dividends forever.”
Click here to get the full recording of Sharad’s conversation with Eric Stine. In addition, if you'd like to get a demo of BoostUp, you can do so by visiting us at www.boostup.ai/get-a-demo.
