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Matt Greenstein of Alexander Group On How To Use Digital Transformation To Take Your Company To The Next Level

As part of our series about “How to Use Digital Transformation to Take Your Company to the Next Level”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Matt Greenstein, Principal, Alexander Group (AGI).

Matt is a principal with the Alexander Group and leads the firm’s point of view on the Digital Revenue Organization. In that capacity Matt and team capture insights through research and community engagement. They ensure modern revenue growth strategy is reflected in Alexander Group’s consulting work.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

Prior to Alexander Group, I “carried a bag.” Like many at AGI I caught the consulting bug in business school but knew I wanted to focus on go-to-market. Over my 14+ years at the firm, I have had the opportunity to work across our focus industries on large scale transformation efforts as well as helping clients address more acute needs.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?

My first job out of undergrad was an account manager role. I was so relieved to have a job it didn’t matter that I couldn’t afford my own place or a decent suit ⎼ the idea of getting to travel and start earning was enough for me. On my first business trip, I threw on that cheap suit, flew to Columbus, OH, grabbed my budget rental car and proceeded to my first appointment.

Nailed the first one, got a couple good opportunities and moved on to the next one. As I jumped back into my rental car I heard a ‘POP!” I didn’t think much of it, thought it was the cheap rental car. I arrived at my next meeting and as I got out of the car I felt a chilling fall Ohio breeze. Turned out it wasn’t the cheap rental car but the cheap suit…or maybe the few extra pounds I had put on. In any case I was in a pickle. Do I cancel or try to reschedule or figure it out? I couldn’t risk missing the at-bat so I figured it out.

My plan was to keep my front to the customer at all times. It worked. I made it through the entire call without exposing my back(side) to the customer…though the same couldn’t be said of everyone else in the office.

I learned that if I can successfully navigate a sales call with a ripped pair of pants, I could accomplish much more. Problem solving and perseverance have been foundational for me personally and professionally.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

In my first year as I labored over a PowerPoint presentation, a principal reminded me that we are not artists or journalists. We are problem solvers. Delivering for a client doesn’t mean a fancy presentation or using big words, it means delivering practical insights at a level of depth that can be implemented. Success means mobilizing a management team to affect change. That moment of wisdom has served as a guiding light for me throughout my career.

Is there a particular book, podcast or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

Fortune’s “You’re 5-foot nothing” speech from Rudy gives me chills every time I hear it. In Gabe Polsky’s “In Search of Greatness,” Wayne Gretzky delivers a message that greatness comes from the combination of hard work with God-given passion and talent.

I identify with the underlying theme here⎼anything is possible but not without hard work and passion. I try to adhere to this ethos at home and work.

Alexander Group’s purpose, as long as I have been here, has been helping clients accelerate profitable top-line growth. Our insights, frameworks and project work has always orbited that principle. The firm has grown significantly in size and services since I joined. While we serve a range of industries and support marketing, sales and service organizations, accelerating profitable top-line growth remains the center of our universe.

Are you working on any new, exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?

The pandemic offered many of our clients a practical example of what a “digital” revenue organization could look like. Marketers didn’t have events and people were harder to reach as digital fatigue set in. Sales people couldn’t be in person and Service organizations were inundated with requests. It was amazing to watch how quickly revenue leaders pivoted to operate in this environment. As we emerge into a new normal people are eager to get back to some version of the past. Revenue leaders are concerned with losing some of the muscle that propelled them over the last 18 months.

In one of our recent projects the AGI team inventoried next gen Inside Sales models that popped up across the clients global landscape. The team identified and codified leading practices. They developed a blueprint of a unified future state and mobilized a client-led transformation effort.

My biggest takeaway from this effort was the need for people to experience the next gen Inside Sales model to truly buy-in. If we did this project pre-pandemic, many of the stakeholders would not have bought into the art of possible.

Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion about digital transformation. For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what exactly digital transformation means? On a practical level what does it look like to engage in a digital transformation?

At AGI, we define it as using data and technology to fundamentally change the way a company engages with customers.

It changes marketing motions⎼companies drive awareness and nurture relationships in a more scalable, personalized way. They use intent and other data at the contact level to deliver relevant messages.

It means new sales motions. Companies stand-up e-commerce platforms. They enable their sellers with data and technology to deliver differentiated pre-sales experiences.

It means new service motions including customer portals, chat and self service.

Which companies can most benefit from a digital transformation?

Every company has an opportunity to better leverage data and technology. Our experience tells us that while some are (much) further along, there is always a new frontier to be explored. The key is finding the right application of data and technology and avoiding the trap of overwhelming the organization. Because of the nature of the change, new ways of operating are hard for team members to adopt and the company needs to take the organization along for the journey.

We’d love to hear about your experiences helping others with digital transformation. In your experience, how has digital transformation helped improve operations, processes and customer experiences? We’d love to hear some stories if possible.

Our project work in the space falls into a couple categories. In some cases we are working with clients to better define what digital transformation means to their revenue organization. We call these blueprints. In other cases the blueprint is already put together and we are working shoulder-to-shoulder with the client team to implement.

We are currently working with an industrial manufacturing client now to help them define their blueprint. Executive leadership knew inherently that what got them to where they are now won’t deliver the next wave of growth. They knew they needed to better leverage data and technology, but the galactic question was “how” or “where to start.” We aligned with the leadership team that the most pressing need was rethinking the demand stimulation engine ⎼ how they build awareness and interact with customers early in the buying process. The new view of downstream marketing will impact their mix, their organization structure, jobs, processes and MarTech stack.

The pandemic served as a burning platform to develop new “digital” sales motions. We worked with several medical product companies over the last 18 months to stand up virtual selling models for both quota carriers and overlays clinical specialists. These projects involved redefining roles and processes and developing business requirements for additions to the tech stack including video, AR/VR and RPA.

We also run into examples where companies have a blueprint and roadmap, their real problem is affecting change.

An application software company knew where they were going, they had their blueprint, however were running into issues getting sales leaders to adopt new data driven ways of executing. They found that simply pushing “digital leads” to the organization was not enough. These reports were often not accessed or people complained about the quality. The solution here was rooted in change adoption. To get sales leaders on board, they needed to create pull. They built a self-service portal where sellers could access leads. They promoted use with tactics such as pushing buying intent insights to sellers and celebrating wins.

Has integrating digital transformation been a challenging process for some companies? What are the challenges? How do you help resolve them?

It’s challenging in two ways. The first is definitional. Digital is a poorly defined concept. It’s a confusing term when applied to business. It can mean so much or nothing at all. The first challenge we will overcome with clients is agreeing on what it means to them. That is the genesis of our blueprint projects. It’s all about rallying leadership around a common vision and a practical path forward.

The second problem is change adoption. Digital transformation means fundamental changes to the way the revenue organization operates. It either requires major disruption or sustained stepwise change. Leadership regimes aren’t often around long-enough to see three to five-year plans play out and often are not in a position to disrupt and perform to quarterly expectations.

Our project experience tells us that breaking the vision into pieces (e.g., the blueprint and associated roadmap) helps make it more digestible. The next learning is chartering ownership of each node to entrepreneurial, passionate leaders in the middle is the key to success. If it’s a new means of stimulating demand, fund a forward-thinking marketer and let them run with it. If it’s transforming inside to digital sales, find a leader who is not afraid of new ways of selling.

Ok. Thank you. Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are “Five Ways a Company Can Use Digital Transformation to Take It to the Next Level?” Please share a story or an example for each.

I am often asked to refer people who can fill leadership gaps, in particular during or post a transformation. One of the most common requests today is for marketing, sales, services and operational leaders who have gone through a digital transformation. This talent is in high demand and scarce. Emerging leaders in particular have a great opportunity to fast-track their careers.

In your opinion, how can companies best create a “culture of innovation” in order to create new competitive advantages?

In the words of Jerry Maguire: “Show me the money!” When it comes to asking a marketer, seller or service professional to make a 90 degree pivot from what has made them successful in the past, you need proof points. You need to demonstrate to people that we have or are on the precipice of a better mousetrap.

A frustrated digital sales leader once shared with me a story about rolling out a new data-driven, technology-enabled model to their global sales leadership team during sales kick-off. They stood on stage and wowed the audience with the data, algorithms, slick UIs and immersive AR/VR technology. As they walked triumphantly off the stage they overhead a group of sales leaders joking that they planned to tell their teams to just deliver the number…they didn’t care if they used the new model, only that they hit their quotas.

The sales leader realized in that moment that they could not rely on the model to be pushed down. They had to create evangelists in the field. They had to make the quota carriers successful and the model would go viral from there. Once they showed them the money, the rest would be history.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote?” Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.” G. Michael Hopf

While a recent quote, it’s one I find particularly poignant. It stresses the importance of staying on your toes, don’t be caught on your heels. It speaks to leadership’s accountability to embrace change and prevent the cycle. It speaks to the revenue organization’s need to fundamentally change how they engage with customers.

How can our readers further follow your work?

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

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