Sales enablement is a term that’s used often, but few people really know what it means.
In this article, we’ll answer some of the most commonly asked questions about sales enablement. The answers will help you understand the positive impact it could have on your business.
In the second part of the series, we’ll explain how to implement a sales enablement program.
What is sales enablement?
Sales enablement is a process that provides people in sales organizations with the information, content, and tools needed to sell effectively.
Why is sales enablement important?
It gives salespeople everything needed to successfully engage buyers throughout the selling process, which has been proven to increase sales and improve company performance over time.
What types of organizations benefit from it?
It has a positive impact on businesses of all sizes, with fewer than five salespeople to more than 1,000. Companies in any industry that sell products and services benefit. Sales enablement systems are available for all types of businesses. It’s important to select one that’s right for your organization.
Tip: The sales enablement system from Mobile Locker is designed to meet the needs of smaller businesses. It can be scaled and customized as companies grow over time.
Who benefits from sales enablement?
Most people think the only beneficiary of sales enablement is the sales department. In reality, it’s equally about the buyer. A sales enablement program can only be successful if it gives salespeople tools and information to connect with their target prospects and convert them into clients. In the end, it’s a win-win for salespeople and purchasers.
What types of information are provided?
It takes two forms:
- Content and sales support materials that sales professionals share with buyers
- Training materials, including conversation guides, scripts, best practices, answers to frequently asked questions, research and tools that help salespeople learn how to sell more effectively.
Tip: No matter how the information in a sales enablement system is formatted or presented, it should be easy to consume and usable by everyone in a sales department or division of it.
Who owns sales enablement?
Sales enablement can only be successful if it’s jointly owned by sales and marketing.
- Marketing supplies sales with messages and materials, along with training on how to use them. They also consistently monitor the effectiveness of marketing and sales programs.
- Sales implements and operationalizes the program, ensuring the materials and training supplied are used as intended. Sales also provides feedback on what’s working and what’s not.
In the end, marketing should be thought of as the creator — and sales as the enforcer — of sales enablement.
What kind of training is offered through sales enablement?
It includes top-down education on sales techniques, messages, and materials. It’s delivered through videos, in-person sessions, manuals, fact sheets, research, best practices and answers to common questions.
Training programs can also leverage collaboration tools that encourage interactive participation of salespeople and marketers. These tools transform training into a group effort that generates fresh knowledge and insights over time.
Tip: Many successful companies use sales enablement to transfer knowledge and best practices from their top salespeople to the rest of the sales team.
What metrics do sales engagement systems track?
Some of the key sales-related metrics that are typically monitored include:
- Average time to close sales, which will go down over time
- Percentage of reps achieving goals, which will increase
- Average deal size, which will be optimized based on company goals.
There are other metrics which are able to be tracked, but these three are good indicators of how the overall sales process is working.
Another key part of sales enablement is understanding if — and how — your sales team uses sales collateral. The best programs track usage and make certain resources are being used by everyone as intended. It also identifies materials that are — and are not — effective.
In the end, sales enablement should be central to every company culture. Everyone must either be working in sales or supporting sales. Any other activities are unnecessary, and sales enablement will help identify and eliminate them.
Companies that understand every employee must be involved in helping improve sales and overall performance are ones that are more likely to succeed.
In the second part of this series, we’ll explain what it takes to implement a sales enablement program.
