Digital transformation is the integration of digital technologies into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how it operates and delivers value to customers. It is a continuous improvement and innovation process that enables companies to stay competitive in an ever-changing digital landscape. Services related to digital transformation can include:

Implementing new technologies such as cloud computing;
Adopting new digital tools and platforms; and
Redesigning and automating business processes to be more efficient and data-driven.
Facts and Figures on Digital Transformation Outcomes
There are several studies and research reports that have found that digital transformation can have a significant impact on small and medium-sized businesses. Some facts and figures that support this include:

According to a survey conducted by Accenture,[1] companies that have fully embraced digital transformation and technologies have seen five times faster growth than their competitors; According to research by the United States Census Bureau,[2] businesses that have adopted e-commerce have seen an average increase in sales of 43%; and A study by Gartner[3] found that 89% of business leaders say digital is embedded in all business growth strategies.

These are just a few examples of the many studies that have shown the positive impact that digital transformation can have on small and medium-sized businesses. Overall, digital transformation can help businesses increase revenue, reduce costs, improve customer engagement and become more competitive. Key benefits of digital transformation initiatives businesses receive are:

Increased efficiency: Businesses can streamline their operations and reduce costs by automating manual processes and leveraging digital tools;
Improved customer experience: Digital technologies can provide personalized and convenient customer experiences, helping to increase loyalty and drive sales;
Enhanced data analysis: With the help of digital tools, small and medium-sized businesses can gather, analyze and use data more effectively to gain insights and make better decisions;
Increased competitiveness: By adopting digital technologies, small and medium-sized businesses can level the playing field with larger companies and compete more effectively in the marketplace; and
New revenue streams: Digital transformation can open up new opportunities for revenue generation, such as through e-commerce or digital services.
How Digital Transformation Can Save Costs for a Business

Digital transformation can help businesses save costs in various ways and across different business areas. Some examples include:

Automation: By automating manual processes, businesses can reduce the need for human labor, leading to cost savings. For example, automating accounting or inventory management can reduce the need for staff in those areas.
Improved efficiency: By streamlining business processes and leveraging digital tools, businesses can improve their overall efficiency and reduce costs. For example, implementing a CRM system can help a company better manage its customer interactions and reduce the need for multiple software solutions.
Reduced IT costs: By moving to cloud-based solutions, businesses can reduce the need for expensive on-premises infrastructure and lower IT costs. This can also help small and medium-sized companies to scale up or down as needed without incurring large capital expenses.
Increased productivity: By giving employees access to digital tools and technologies, businesses can increase the productivity of their workforce and reduce the need to hire additional staff.
Better utilization of data: By using data and analytics, businesses can gain insights into their operations and make more informed decisions, leading to cost savings. For example, by analyzing sales data, a company can identify products or services that are not performing well and adjust accordingly.
E-commerce and enterprise resource planning (ERP): By implementing E-commerce and ERP, digital transformation projects can save cost for businesses by automating processes, improving data accuracy, increasing scalability, improving inventory management, and increasing efficiency – all of which also tend to work to increase sales. These digital systems streamline processes, improve communication, and open up new markets and sales channels, resulting in cost savings and increased revenue.
These are just a few examples of how digital transformation services can help businesses save costs. The areas where a company can save costs depend on the business itself and the digital solutions implemented.

Why Are Digital Transformation Professionals Valuable to the Business’s Success?

Digital transformation service professionals typically have a wide range of expertise in various areas related to digital technology and business strategy. Some of the key areas of expertise that these consultants have include:

Digital strategy: These consultants help businesses develop a digital strategy that aligns with their overall business goals and objectives. This can include identifying which digital technologies and solutions will be most beneficial for the business.
Business process re-engineering: These consultants can help businesses redesign their processes to be more efficient and data-driven, including identifying areas where automation can be implemented to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
Technology implementation: These consultants have the expertise to implement a wide range of digital technologies, such as cloud-based solutions, CRM systems and analytics tools. They can help businesses choose the right technologies and ensure that they are implemented and configured correctly.
Data management and analysis: These consultants can help businesses develop a data management strategy, including data governance, data quality, and data analytics. They can also help businesses make sense of the data and gain insights that can drive business decisions.
Cybersecurity: These consultants can help businesses to implement cybersecurity measures to protect against cyber threats and data breaches;
IT architecture and infrastructure: These consultants can help businesses design and implement IT infrastructure, including network, storage, and cloud-based solutions, to improve their IT operations and scalability.
Change management: These consultants can help businesses to manage the cultural and organizational changes that often accompany digital transformations to ensure that the implementation is successful and sustainable.
These are just a few examples of the expertise that digital transformation consultants may have. The specific expertise will depend on the consultant or consulting firm and the business’s specific needs.

[1] Make the leap, take the lead Report | Accenture

[2] E-Commerce Sales Surged During the Pandemic (census.gov)

[3] https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2022-10-19-gartner-says-89-percent-of-board-directors-say-digital-is-embedded-in-all-business-growth-strategies

Find the right sales team:

As a business executive with years of experience in digital transformation, I know firsthand the importance of hiring the right sales team. But what does it take to find the best fit for your company? It all starts with defining your objectives and ensuring they align with your new hire’s goals.

What do you hope to get out of this new hire?

During the interview, be specific about your objectives and how you envision a typical day and week.

Do their objectives align with what your company requires?

During the interview process, be specific about what you hope to achieve and paint a picture of what a typical day and week will look like for the candidate. Ask them how they envision their role and ensure it aligns with what your company requires. After all, you don’t want to end up with a new hire whose priorities are unrelated to the job at hand.

But it doesn’t stop there. Once you’ve found the right candidate, it’s time to establish yourself as a leader and set clear goals for the entire team. Gather everyone for a meeting and delegate reporting to a team member. This is especially important if your team has grown with the addition of the new hire. By setting clear expectations and re-establishing reporting structures, you’ll ensure everyone is on the same page and working towards a common goal.

In the end, hiring the best digital sales team is all about finding the right fit, defining clear goals, and establishing yourself as a leader. With these steps in place, you’ll be on your way to success in no time.

Leadership Tip:
Establish yourself as a leader. It may sound cliched, but it is crucial. Gather the entire team, including the new recruit, for a meeting. When you step forward, set clear goals on what you want from the team. Then delegate reporting to a team member. Even if you already have a reporting structure in place, it’s critical to re-establish it now that your team has grown by one.

• Lesson 1:Baby Step 1 & Budgeting
• Lesson 2:Baby Step 2
• Lesson 3:Baby Step 3
• Lesson 4:Baby Steps 4, 5, 6 & 7
• Lesson 5:Buyer Beware
• Lesson 6:Understanding Insurance NEWThe Role of Insurance
• Lesson 7:Building Wealth NEWRetirement Planning
• Lesson 8:Real Estate & Mortgages
• Lesson 9:Outrageous Generosity NEWThe Great Misunderstanding

What’s an Annuity?

But fixed annuities have high management fees that reduce the growth of your investment. They also have surrender charges on early withdrawals, preventing you from accessing your money if you need it.

You can do better by investing in good growth-stock mutual funds. Let’s say you buy a typical annuity with a guaranteed annual payout of 5% interest and 1.15% in annual fees. To get the same payout with your mutual funds, you’d only need an annual return of 2.85%. Since the stock market’s long-term average annual growth is 12%, you can easily outpace the annuity’s performance with your mutual funds.

Variable annuities are an option for high-income earners who can’t contribute the full 15% of their income to pre-tax or tax-free investments due to income restrictions. They allow you to invest in mutual funds on a tax-deferred basis. Always stick to the four types of mutual funds Dave recommends: growth, growth and income, aggressive growth and international.

Extra features like principal guarantees and life insurance make variable annuities costly, so make sure you understand the options you choose. And never roll a 401(k), IRA or Roth IRA into a variable annuity. They are already tax-deferred or tax-free, so there’s no need to pay high variable annuity fees for special tax treatment.

If you’re still unsure, or if you already have an annuity and want to know your options, talk with an investing professional who can answer your questions. Our SmartVestor Pros will help you build a retirement savings plan you can feel confident about. Talk with a SmartVestor Pro today!

The national debt is nearly $16 trillion. Yes, $16 trillion. You know what you could do with just $1 trillion? You could pay the rent for every renter in the U.S. for three years or the monthly payments on all U.S. mortgages for 14 months. A $1 trillion stack of $1 bills would wrap around the equator 2.72 times!

And $1 trillion is just a fraction of the money the U.S. owes. Since Dave can’t stand debt, including the national debt, he had some tough things to say as he discussed the issue recently on The Dave Ramsey Show. Listen to the clip on our website.What Is National Debt?

The government uses debt to cover its expenses when it spends more than it makes from taxes or other revenue sources. There is no requirement that the country operate on a balanced budget, so, since the country was founded, the national debt has continued to grow.

In 2008, the national debt stood at $9 trillion—the total debt for the entire history of the U.S. Since then, we added $7 trillion to our debt, increasing it by almost 80%!

It is no different than one of us racking up credit card debt on groceries then getting a car loan and a mortgage on top of that. All the money you make goes to keep up your payments. Not smart.The Lines Are About to Cross

While $16 trillion of debt is overwhelming to think about, what’s worse is the breakneck rate of spending. It only took six months to go from $12 trillion to $13 trillion!

Imagine the U.S. debt and revenue as two lines on a chart. The revenue line is pretty flat, if not declining, but the debt line is shooting straight up. The two lines are about to cross, and that means the country’s debt will exceed its ability to pay the payments.A Political Revolution

The majority of people in America want an environment that gives them a shot to make their own money, and they are not happy with the redistribution of wealth that is happening today. The ballooning debt is just one more reason for a political revolution—to fire the politicians who are doing the spending, regardless of their party.

That’s why Dave doesn’t buy into the gloom and doom some political analysts believe. He talks with people all over the country who are angry about the direction the country is headed, and they are not willing to put up with it anymore.

Our debt problem has given our country the opportunity to come up with a solution. With such an impressive problem, the solution it inspires is bound to be great!

For future updates:
Debt tracker:
http://www.usdebtclock.org/index.html
or
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np