Championing A Digital Transformation: How the Best in B2B are Getting Leadership Buy In

We have been championing the cause of digital transformation for some years now. The days of the travelling sales rep are behind us and B2B buyers are increasingly leaning towards brands which can offer a digital experience more in line with what they’d expect during B2C interactions.

However, it can still be a challenge to effectively communicate to leadership the benefits of fully embracing digital transformation in the B2B space. Many executives in the business are wedding to the traditional methods of conducting B2B business and convincing them to authorize significant portions of spending on digital transformation projects can be like trying to ice-skate uphill.

The benefits of digital transformation are clear however, and those benefits are even more pronounced when all levels of the business are enthusiastically on board with the process. How then, can strategists in the B2B business effectively make their case to leadership and inspire buy in and engagement at the highest level.

Start at the Top

The CEO of the company provides your best chance of getting the most bang for your buck when gaining leadership buy in. If you can convince the CEO of the importance of digital transformation investment, the enthusiasm will inevitably trickle down through the ranks and you’ll be met with far less resistance from lower managers and executives.

"In the face of constant disruption, effective chief executive officers (CEOs) lead by scanning the environment, identifying the dangers that might be lurking or the opportunities that might exist, and determining whether and how to act,” says Deloitte. But while CEOs constantly hear that they should lead any significant digital transformation, it’s not always easy to know exactly how to do that. As technology continues to grow in complexity, it is harder for CEOs to take a direct role in leading these transformations.”

So, while the nature of the CEO role means they may not have the time to dedicate to every level of digital transformation, it is important to get their buy in as they are the ones best positioned to, not only convince other executives and managers of the benefits, but to also consider how any digital technology can be implemented with a holistic picture of the organization and its goals in mind.

Take the above figure from Deloitte for example. We can see how the CEO’s knowledge of business objectives and the long-term aims of the company can guide the extent of digital transformation and therefore the amount of buy in required. With this we can see why having the CEO on board is of paramount importance – there is little point getting buy in from lower ranked leaders when they might not be working with a holistic picture of the organization’s overarching goals.

Four Questions

When it comes to the actual business of convincing leadership to buy in to your digital transformation plans there are five questions you need to be able to answer to effectively make the case.

• How are you making it easier for your employees to envisage how their roles will be affected by the changes and make them comfortable with those changes without the fear of losing their jobs to automation?
• To what extent is data competency pervasive across your organization and what are you doing to improve skills in areas which are lacking?
• What are you doing to encourage collaboration rather than competing priorities which can slow down any digital transformation project?
• How can you enable a faster pace of change so that your company can learn continuously and organically? What processes can be implemented or improved to help facilitate this?
• What evidence can you present which clearly and dependably demonstrates the benefits of implementing the technology under discussion and can you replicate those results within your own organizational structure.

Being able to answer these questions demonstrates that you not only understand the goals of digital transformation, but fully comprehend the organization wide challenges present in achieving it. These questions should form the backbone of any presentation made to the CEO or other leadership figures and will give you the greatest possible chance of achieving your goals.

Final Thoughts

Gaining buy in from leadership is no mean feat and will require dedication and research from you and your team to effectively communicate, not only the benefits, but a clear and unbiased understanding of all the processes necessary to achieving your goal. Only with all these bases covered, do you stand a chance of convincing leadership to enthusiastically embrace digital transformation.

Gaining leadership buy in for digital transformation projects is sure to be part of the conversation at B2B Online Chicago 2023, being held in May at the Marriott Chicago Downtown, IL.

Download the agenda today for more information and insights.