Friday Rant – Technology as a Silver Bullet

I’ve always heard the term “Silver Bullet” but never took the time to research it to learn the origin of this term. Thanks to Wikipedia for this definition:

“The metaphor of the silver bullet applies to any straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness. The phrase typically appears with an expectation that some new technology or practice will easily cure a major prevailing problem.”

Let me provide a slightly revised definition from Derek-i-Pedia:

“Holy Cow. We’ve got a HUGE problem and no idea what do do about it. Since we’ve already changed our logo, and reorganization is out of the question, let’s throw technology at the angry looking 7,000 lb. gorilla in the corner.”

Sales organizations are notorious for attempting to cure low productivity or poor win rates with technology. I just read an article in the DemandGen report which indicates that 79% of “Best in Class” organizations were using or planning to use sales analytics technologies.

These organizations will likely spend lots of money, to get a system that will take months to be implemented, which may not be adopted by the sales organization anyway. Doesn’t sound like a Silver Bullet to me.

Here’s a couple of suggestions regarding technology for sales:

1. Think Small – Need a new CRM? Organizations like SalesForce have gotten it right by providing an on-demand solution with an attainable price point for you to use and evaluate for effectiveness. Paying a nominal monthly fee for a new technology makes more sense than breaking the bank for a solution which looks great in demos, but may never work that way because of your organization’s business processes. The new world of Software as a Service (SaaS) allows you to test drive, evaluate and terminate, all for much less than the price of a purchase.

2. Think Process – No technology will magically fix the shortcomings in your sales organizations. Web Marketing Automation and Sales Force Automation tools are useless without implementing processes driven by best practices. Thinking about scoring a prospect’s activities on your website? What interaction is worth more points – visiting the pricing page (shows intent) or the careers page (shows intent to call HR for a new job)?

3. Think Realistic – The best technology isn’t going to cover up a broken system or process. Identify specific goals that you hope technology will help you resolve (e.g., Utilizing Landing Pages for my Pay Per Click advertising will improve my conversion rate by X %, or using Web Marketing Automation will allow my reps to engage X number of new clients per week because they can focus on selling rather than educating customers).

If you’re looking for technology, put the processes in place to help that technology be successful.

If you’re looking for a Silver Bullet, good luck killing that werewolf.