If you’re a sales leader in a complex organisation, we hope this isn’t your daily reality. Yet for many, it still is.
You ask for the latest sales numbers… And what lands on your desk is an Excel file called Final_final_v6.
And then another one.
And then someone swears their version is the real one.
That was the daily reality at Ericsson Nikola Tesla (ENT) before modernising its sales operations.
At AdriatiCON 2025, Ivana Šuman, Manager Sales Operations & Operational Development at ENT, and Branko Banjeglav, Managing Director at Agilcon Croatia, unpacked how Agilcon helped one of the region’s most complex tech companies replace spreadsheet chaos with a guided, insight-driven sales engine on Salesforce.
And give sales teams back their most valuable resource: time for customers.
The Problem: Sophisticated Sales, Scattered Data
ENT operates across multiple markets, with strict governance, heavy compliance and long, controlled sales cycles.
But behind the sophistication lived a simple issue:
- Data lived in spreadsheets.
- Key financial and modelling inputs lived in internal tools.
- Critical knowledge lived in people’s heads.
A basic question, “Where does this deal really stand?” meant hours of manual digging.
How Salesforce Turned ENT’s Sales Into a Guided Experience
When Salesforce entered the conversation, ENT was already evolving digitally, but sales lagged, and the pain was becoming structural.
They needed:
- One system for all opportunities across markets.
- Governance embedded into daily workflows.
- A platform they could tailor to how ENT actually sells.
- A chance to redesign the sales process, not digitise old habits.
With clear approval paths, step-by-step guidance, and built-in validations, Salesforce brought structure and consistency to every deal, replacing uncertainty with real-time clarity and keeping opportunities moving at speed and with confidence.
“What we saw in Salesforce was not just a tool, but a change in the way we work. It allowed us to integrate our entire sales process into one system that could be customised to our needs.”
Technology Rarely Kills CRM Projects. Habits Do
This wasn’t a plug-and-play project. ENT began with many custom components, legacy internal tools and deeply ingrained processes.
Early resistance was natural; some teams feared digitalisation would make things more complicated, not easier.
The breakthrough moment?
When teams realised that Salesforce was a better, easier way to manage their processes.
- Approvals on the go with Salesforce Mobile
- Opportunity updates in seconds
- Analytics in the pocket
- Instant visibility across teams
Decision-making became faster, clearer and entirely data-driven.
ENT knew technology wouldn’t change behaviour on its own, so they focused heavily on people. Clear communication, early involvement and continuous training.
Looking back, Ivana says they’d go even further with smaller steps, simpler rollouts and even more emphasis on education.
True transformation, she says, “always starts and ends with people.”
Book a free consultation and see how we can help you reach your goals.
The Results: Faster Decisions, Less Admin, More Customer Time
ENT’s redesigned sales engine delivered:
Simplified approvals: What used to be scattered across emails and spreadsheets is now integrated in Salesforce. Structured, fast, and transparently logged.
Better decisions, earlier: Real-time data replaced reporting meetings. Leadership sees the full picture sooner.
More customer time: Reps shifted from consolidation to conversations; admin noise dropped dramatically.
Greater collaboration and trust: Shared visibility replaced version-control battles. Structured transparency became the norm.
Lessons for Complex Sales Organisations
Ivana’s message for companies with similar sales cycles:
- Start small: Everyone wants the “big bang,” but step-by-step wins every time.
- Start with business goals, not CRM features: Digitisation should serve strategy, not the other way around.
- Treat CRM as a business decision, not an IT project: It’s about how you run sales, not where you store data.
- Invest early in change management: Behaviour eats configuration for breakfast.
- Connect your ecosystem: ENT integrated its internal financial modelling tool with Salesforce via APIs, creating a single shared view of every opportunity.
Let CRM be the engine: Not a reporting afterthought, but the heartbeat of daily sales activity.
Why the Right Partner Matters
Salesforce was the technology.
But the transformation required a business ally.
“We needed a partner who understood not just Salesforce, but our business. From the blueprint to every later process change, Agilcon proved to be a true business ally, not just an implementer.”
ENT’s story shows that even in highly regulated, complex environments, CRM delivers measurable impact when built around business goals — and when supported by the right partner.
If this transformation sparked ideas for your own sales organisation, the full AdriatiCON session is well worth a watch.
Or contact our team, we’d love to help you leave the Final_final_v6 era behind for good.
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