Getting Qualified To Stick: An Introduction to Change Management

There’s no doubt using Qualified and adopting the Pipeline Cloud technologies and processes requires you and your team to change how you think and operate.

As a sales leader, you know making organizational changes is essential for taking your company to the next level. You can see the big picture and understand why these changes are necessary. But it's also essential to think about changes from your sales reps' perspectives. 

Do they have the insight they need to understand the changes?

Often, it isn't as easy for them to adapt to change because they're most likely more concerned with their ever-growing to-do list and ensuring they're hitting their quotas. And you can't blame them!  

As a sales manager, putting yourself in your sales reps' shoes is critical. You need to be proactive and strategic about introducing change to drive innovation successfully while also easing the weight of transition on your team.

Introduction to the ADKAR Method 

There are several methods that can help guide your team through a change, but in this course, we're going to explore the ADKAR method. ADKAR is a results-driven method that breaks down the change process into five steps to help your team through the transition:

1. Awareness 
2. Desire 
3. Knowledge 
4. Ability 
5. Reinforcement

Awareness & Desire 

Communicating the need for change is critical, but creating awareness doesn't mean simply announcing the change. To properly build awareness, your team needs to understand the reasoning behind the change, and truly desire it. Here are a few tips to build awareness and desire: 

‍Tip #1 Communicate the Change 

Help your sales reps understand today's buyers expect real-time personalized experiences, and the old way of selling is falling short in delivering these experiences. Consequently, reps are getting ghosted left and right. Lean into the frustration this has created for your sales reps in the past.

Tip #2 Ask & Listen 

It's essential to be prepared for resistance to change in this step. If met with resistance, it's crucial to get to the core reason for this pushback. Take the time to talk with our sales reps and hear their concerns. Here are a few things to think about: 

• Are reps afraid they don't have the skills to be successful?
• Are they worried about how Qualified will impact their job duties?  
• Are they frustrated by the extra effort needed to learn something new?

And when in doubt, keep asking reps WHY to dig deeper into their concerns. 

Knowledge & Ability 

At the beginning of the transition, focus primarily on education and training to ensure your team knows how to use the new tool and how it impacts their responsibilities and processes. To begin this education phase, take the time to evaluate the skills and responsibilities required for your sales reps to succeed using Qualified.

Tip #1 Sales Rep Certification 

All Qualified customers have access to several resources on Qualified University, where you can find articles, guides, and certifications to help guide and support your team in implementing and succeeding with Qualified. 

We highly recommend requiring all sales reps to take the Qualified Sales Rep Certification before implementing Qualified.  

Tip #2 Facilitate Peer Learning 

Especially when onboarding new sales reps, it's a great idea to pair them up with someone who understands the ins and outs of Qualified and is able to share best practices. A buddy system can also be helpful with current sales reps to encourage sharing best practice chatting tactics in real-time. 

Reinforcement 

After the initial transition, your team may have momentum, but it's important to be aware of those old habits creeping in as time passes. This is where reinforcement comes into play!

Tip #1 Create Collaboration and Feedback

Correct mistakes and poor behavior during 1:1 meetings when sales reps slip back into old habits. On the other hand, give praise publicly so that the entire organization can celebrate together.

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