As Miles said, I come from a country where we don’t see the sun for seven months. So, I’m incredibly happy to be here and enjoy the summer—thank you for that!
Today, I’m going to share my experience in applying Agile to sales. A little about me: I come from the sales world. I’ve worked in sales for more than 10 years, and as salespeople, we love numbers. That’s why I have a lot of numbers to share today. I travel around the world helping different companies change the mindset of their sales departments, and I am incredibly proud to have been a part of this journey for over a decade.
Who Here is From Sales?
How many people in this room are from sales? Can you raise your hand? One, two, three... about 10 people! That’s great! Usually, when I speak at conferences and ask this question, I’m the only one raising my hand. It can be intimidating!
To start, I’d like to show you how our sales world looks. I’m going to play a video—it’s about 20 years old, but every time I travel, I still see sales departments operating this way. After the video, I want to ask: Did you recognize your sales department? I hope not!
(Video plays.)
Did anyone recognize their sales department? No one? Wow, you are a very happy country! Because sometimes, people say, "Yes, that’s exactly our sales team!"
The Changing Role of Sales in Business Agility
Over the next two days, we will be discussing business agility. As Evan Leybourn said, at the center of business agility is the customer. Everything we do—whether it’s restructuring our organization, changing processes, or transforming our culture—is ultimately for the customer.
Years ago, sales departments held all the knowledge about the product, while customers had limited information. But now, customers know everything about the products, and they have more choices than ever before. This shift means that we must find ways to be closer to our customers, rethink our sales departments, and adopt an Agile mindset—not just in IT, but across the entire organization.
Agile isn’t just for software teams—it’s for sales, leadership, and even the person who opens the door at our company. The key question is: How do we change the mindset of salespeople and make them work as one team?
Case Study: Transforming Sales with Agile
This is a picture of Zappos' sales department. Now, here’s a picture from a well-known movie about a brokerage firm. I am currently helping one of the largest brokerage firms transition from this model to something more like Zappos.
One of the biggest challenges in sales is that many people believe Agile is only for software teams. They don’t realize they can apply it to sales. The first step in an Agile transformation is simply telling them, "Agile isn’t just for IT—it’s for the entire organization."
But here’s a secret: Salespeople think in numbers. If you tell them, "I attended a great Business Agility Conference, and Agile will help you triple your sales," they will pay attention!
Let me share a case study of a company that struggled with sales, achieving less than 33% of their targets. After applying Agile principles, they tripled their sales in just 12 months. They also implemented over 1,500 innovations throughout the organization, all driven by the sales department. This transformation created a competitive advantage.
The Challenge
This company had been producing and selling ceramic tiles for 20 years. With 1,400 employees, their revenue was declining. The business owner recognized that something needed to change. When he called me, he explained that his sales department had poor collaboration with other teams, lacked passion for change, blamed product quality and pricing instead of taking responsibility, and consistently missed their sales targets.
One day, he found the book "Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time" by Jeff Sutherland. This book, written in simple language, is great for introducing executives and sales teams to Agile. Inspired by the book, the business owner decided to apply Scrum to the sales department and brought me in to help.
Implementing Agile in Sales
We had five major sales departments. Instead of transforming everything at once, we started with one pilot team. This is another key lesson: Start with a pilot team, create a success story, and use that as proof to expand Agile across the organization.
We adapted Scrum for sales by:
- Creating cross-functional teams
- Introducing a sales coach instead of a traditional sales manager
- Defining a Product Owner role for sales
- Implementing planning sessions and a sales backlog
- Running sales sprints
- Holding daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives
Unlike traditional sales teams focused solely on revenue, we shifted our mindset toward customer value. Every week, we asked: "How can we create value for our customers?"
The Initial Dip
After implementing Agile, sales initially dropped. The business owner and salespeople were shocked. "Marina, we brought you in to increase sales, and now they’re worse!" But this happens in every Agile transformation. Sales teams often expect Agile to be a "magic pill" that instantly boosts revenue. In reality, Agile requires a mindset shift.
The Transformation
Salespeople had to transition from selling aggressively to listening and understanding customer needs. They became the voice of the customer, bringing insights back to the company to improve products, processes, and even financial operations. They had to shift from working as individual "lone wolves" to functioning as a team.
Managers also had to adjust. Traditionally, they controlled every step of the sales process, but in Agile, sales teams need autonomy and decision-making power.
After embracing these changes, the company tripled its sales in 12 months. The same people, the same company, the same budget—but a different way of thinking.
Continuous Innovation
Beyond increasing revenue, they also implemented over 300 innovations in one year. Each team ran weekly sprints, generating new ideas—some small, like team-building activities with IT, and others large, like changing the company’s CRM system.
The Power of Agile in Sales
Agile in sales isn’t just about increasing revenue—it transforms the entire organization. As Evan Leybourn said, sales is the heart of the company. If we change the heart, we change everything.
Salespeople love selling, and once they see Agile working, they "sell" the idea internally. They convince other departments to adopt Agile, becoming powerful allies in your transformation efforts.
Competitive Advantage
In today’s digital world, competitors can easily copy your product or your ideas, but they can’t copy your company’s culture. A customer-centric, Agile culture attracts top professionals and creates long-term success.
Final Thoughts
Here’s a summary of key insights from my talk. Feel free to take a picture and share it with your sales team. Now you know: Agile isn’t just for IT—it’s for sales.
I have applied Agile sales principles in healthcare, brokerage firms, and hospitality, transforming entire organizations. Every time, we start with sales because if we change the mindset of our salespeople, we change the mindset of the whole organization. And when our customers see that change, they reward us with their loyalty—and their money.
Thank you!