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What to Expect From a GTM Business Transformation Project

Writer's picture: Michael VenmanMichael Venman

Updated: Mar 2, 2023

Realizing that your Marketing Automation and CRM systems need to change is one of those "Keyser Söze" moments from Usual Suspects. Everything becomes clearer and the path forward is to take a step back and reassess all that you thought was solid and concrete in the world. It's at this point, your job is to get stakeholders on the same page as to what's needed for the health of the business in the long term.


As you have these conversations, many will ask key and important questions about their team's involvement that you should be prepared to answer. Of course these will vary based on the project, but generally it will follow the same process with only the time or # of sprints being the variation. Here is an outline of what you'll need to answer the first few questions they'll ask.


What is the structure of these projects?

For large projects, it's imperative that we know what we are building before we start to tinker with your Sales System. Otherwise, we'll build something only to need to change it after we think further down stream. For that reason, all projects follow the same process:

  • System Technical Review (2 weeks)

  • Requirements Gathering/Validation (4-6 weeks)

  • Development (Sprints) (2-4 week sprints, number of sprints depends on the project)

  • Testing in Sandbox (2 days of testing after each sprint,. E2E testing before go-live)

  • Go-Live Weekend (Push to Production, 3rd Party Software Updates, Data, Testing)

  • Post-Go-Live Support (2-4 weeks)

Thankfully we use a custom built application called "The Sales Nerd App" to facilitate all the communication and decisions made across teams/consultants. You'll see which requirements are assigned to which sprints, conversation history on Chatter, and the progress of the projects all Natively built in Salesforce.


Who are the stakeholders?

Usually these roles would be involved in a Marketing/Sales Transformation:

  • Marketing Leader (CMO, Director of Marketing)

  • Marketing Operations (Marketing Automation Specialist, Campaign Strategist)

  • Marketers (End Users of Marketing Tools)

  • Sales Leader (CRO, VP of Sales, Sales Director)

  • Sales Operations (Salesforce Administrator, Sales Tools Administrator)

  • Sales People (End Users of Sales Tools)

  • Training (Sales Enablement)

  • Project Management (Operations Manager, Project Manager)

Who are the key players in the project?

There are several roles that will be helpful when building out your team of Stakeholders. Generally they will follow into these buckets:

  • Project Sponsor - person who is ultimately responsible for the project's success.

  • Track Lead - often there will be multiple tracks (Marketing, Sales, Data, Success, etc...) and this person is in charge of a specific Track's success.

  • Track Working Team - SME's to a piece of the track such as SDR leadership, Sales Operations, IT, etc...

Before beginning a project, we will select these people and ensure they have what they need to contribute to each phase of the project.


How much time will it take from my team?


This will absolutely change depending on the size of the project, but the below is normal for a large Transformation Project that touches Marketing Automation, Salesforce, Cadencing Tools, etc...

Hours/Week

Project Sponsor

Track Lead

Track Team

Technical Review

1

2

2

Requirements Gathering/Validation

3

5-10

4-8

Development

1

1-3

1-3

Testing

2

4-8

4-8

Go-Live Weekend

3

10

10

Post-Go-Live

3

3

5

Don't be discouraged by the amount of time this will take for your team. The vast majority of the work (development and sprints) won't include your team outside of demo's and random questions. Requirement gathering takes the most time, but this is to ensure we are aligned with what you are asking us to do.


Conclusion

Business Transformation projects are not small feats. To run them effectively means building communication channels and establishing buy-in prior to the project starting. Ensuring that you've selected the right people to contribute AND they (and their leadership) are aware of the time they will need to commit to the work is imperative.


If you are not confident in your Marketing and Sales data this type of project is worth it. By providing visibility into your Marketing and Sales Funnel, you are able to assign responsibilities and have shared definitions of what exactly is in your system. Without it, it's impossible to prioritize or iterate on the great work you are doing.


We are here to explore whether this is right for your company or if a smaller project is the right fit! Reach out to The Sales Nerd and we can find a way to drive towards your goals together.




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