Sales Tech Infusion: a case study in the medical device industry

Over the years, sales in the BtoB have become increasingly complex, strategic, value adding and technology dependent. Today's salespeople can rely on a myriad of technological tools, apps, programs, devices to conduct their activities and support their job, and companies are investing conspicuous resources on them. However, these technological investments are often under-utilised or misused. On the other hand, the Sales Technology Infusion (STI) concerns the maximum awareness, use and integration of the technological tools from the salesforce, allowing to obtain better sales performances and customer needs satisfaction. This study investigates the issue of STI with respect to the organizational change in progress, the evolution of the salesperson’s role, personal orientations and objectives, with a single case study approach, involving a leading multinational company in the medical device industry. The sales management, through in-depth interview and data triangulation, allows to trace the organizational solutions, the salesforce management and the transforming role of the salespeople in interaction with sales technologies. The analysis of the codes and themes from the various data sources, related to literature, brings out relevant insight into the current use of sales technology in this industry. Findings suggest that the use of sales technology by salespeople can be implemented and maximized according to the potential and needs of the salesforce. The cultural perspective prevails over the instrumental one: selling therefore remains seen as a phenomenon consisting of people and their interactions, while technology mediates interactions and supports sellers in the transformation of information into knowledge. The STI, together with the concept of Sales Enablement, can be useful to overcome the conception of technology as a set of tools. Furthermore, the case analysis, offers ideas and considerations for organizations in the implementation and infusion of sales technology, as a lever for maximizing sales results and effectiveness in satisfying customer needs, essential in today's settings intensive sales market.