What are Sales Enablement tools?

u003cstrongu003eu003cemu003eSales enablement tools automate the customer experience,u003c/emu003eu003c/strongu003e making it more efficient for you internally, and more personalized and engaging for your customer. They include integrated customer relationship management (CRM), content management, training metrics and reporting. They also make it far easier for marketing to distribute, and sales to access and leverage. Automating certain functions allows both marketing and sales teams to dedicate their time to the most revenue-driving activities, which is especially important when you take into account that sellers currently spend only 37 percent of their time on actually selling, according to an u003ca href=u0022https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171110005551/en/Sales-Reps-Spend-37-Time-Selling-Researchu0022u003eInsideSales.com Labs reportu003c/au003e.u003cbr/u003eThe sales operations tools you should leverage for your sales enablement program include:u003cbr/u003eu003cstrongu003eIntegrated customer relationship management (CRM)u003c/strongu003eu003cemu003e: u003c/emu003eA CRM is a database where sales reps manage and track accounts within their pipeline.u003cemu003eu003cbr/u003eu003c/emu003eu003cbr/u003eu003cstrongu003eContent management:u003c/strongu003e Your organization’s marketing team should be creating compelling information to appeal to different buyers across the buyer journey. We provide more details about this below.u003cbr/u003eu003cstrongu003eTraining:u003c/strongu003e Regardless of how skilled a seller is, learning must be taught and reinforced with ongoing training materials that cover everything from product features of your company’s products and competitive knowledge, updated marketing techniques, to sales methodologies and more.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu003cstrongu003eMetrics and reporting:u003c/strongu003e Sales leaders can only gain insight into how their team is performing if they are tracking activities, such as completion of training, calls being made on a daily basis, pipeline forecasts, etc.u003cbr/u003eThe sales operations at the heart of sales enablement allows teams to do more with their data, efficiently gathering, organizing, and leveraging it to create more targeted and personal conversations with buyers that inspires them to sign on and stay a customer longer.

What does Sales Enablement do?

Sales enablement helps your sales professionals sell better by accomplishing the following:u003cbr/u003ePromotes ongoing sales training and developmentu003cbr/u003eIncreases efficiency of your sales processu003cbr/u003eAllows reps to develop better relationships with buyersu003cbr/u003eGets marketing and sales teams on the same page

What is a Sales Enablement manager?

A sales enablement manager leads the sales enablement team and works closely with sales and marketing to ensure sales people have the content, sales training, skills, and knowledge needed throughout the sales process. Sales enablement managers should also track rep performance in order to provide personalized u003ca href=u0022https://www.showpad.com/product/showpad-coach/u0022u003esales coaching and trainingu003c/au003e on sales, marketing, product, and industry-specific knowledge. This will allow your sales team to communicate clearly and confidently with customers while moving them through the sales funnel.u003cbr/u003eWhile distributing sales training content and analyzing performance metrics, sales enablement managers should also be coaching each rep on their team to facilitate growth and development. This training entails regular one-on-one meetings to discuss the rep’s work, letting them ask questions and evaluate their own sales performance. Sales enablement managers discuss things such as:u003cbr/u003eHow comfortable the rep feels in sales conversationsu003cbr/u003eWhat marketing and tools the rep is leveragingu003cbr/u003eWhy the rep made a certain decision/actionu003cbr/u003eWhat accomplishment the rep feels most proud ofu003cbr/u003eWhat they want to improve upon moving forwardu003cbr/u003eTalking through past, current, and future behaviors gives both the coach and rep a better understanding of progress to inform the best next steps.

What is Sales Enablement marketing?

Sales enablement marketing supports sales representatives through the creation of customer-facing marketing and tools, including:u003cbr/u003eCase studiesu003cbr/u003eWhite papersu003cbr/u003eeBooksu003cbr/u003ePricing pagesu003cbr/u003eProduct demo decksu003cbr/u003eCall scriptsu003cbr/u003eThis marketing collateral and tools should be crafted and optimized to appeal to customers at each stage of the buyer’s journey, and tailored to address different industries, challenges, and needs.u003cbr/u003eAccording to u003ca href=u0022https://www.siriusdecisions.com/research-articles/i/introducingthesiriusdecisionscontentmodelu0022u003eresearch done by SiriusDecisionsu003c/au003e, up to 70% of B2B content goes unused. This could be for a number of reasons: sellers are unaware that certain marketing pieces exist, don’t know how to access it, or are unsure of how to best use the marketing information for facilitating meaningful conversations to maximize customer experience and increase sales win rates. In order for sales enablement content to be used effectively, it must be easy to access and managed in a way so that sales people understand the context of every piece.u003cbr/u003eA major component of efficient sales enablement marketing is cross-departmental cooperation. There are a number of ways for sales and marketing to work together effectively to benefit your business. Maintain the outlook that you are partners working toward the same goal, rather than two disparate teams, and keep communication lines open. A customer win is a win for both sides. u003ca href=u0022https://www.siriusdecisions.com/blog/the-six-factors-driving-corporate-and-regional-marketing-alignmentu0022u003eSiriusDecisionsu003c/au003e found that an organization can deliver 19 percent faster revenue growth when there is strong internal alignment.u003cbr/u003eLearn more about how internal alignment drives success by u003ca href=u0022https://www.showpad.com/reports/sales-as-the-forgotten-marketing-channel/u0022u003edownloading our report, “Sales as the Forgotten Marketing Channel.”u003c/au003eu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e

What is a Sales Enablement Platform?

An all-in-one u003ca href=u0022https://www.showpad.com/platform/u0022u003esales enablement platformu003c/au003e takes your standard sales enablement tactics to the next level, providing everything marketing and sales operations team members need for alignment in one solution.u003cbr/u003eMany organizations are currently operating using several disparate tools to handle different sales enablement processes, none of which work in conjunction with each other. As a result, businesses are spending a lot of their time and budget to implement, use, and maintain these technologies. While you may be under the impression that you can manage everything manually, a system that can handle all processes from content creation and updates, management, and distribution; training tools; marketing performance; sales pipeline management; customer outreach; training and coaching; and reporting capabilities allows you to work more dynamically and effectively. The time saved for sellers looking for marketing collateral to present to buyers, or even creating it themselves, allows them to center their account-based marketing efforts and focus on their most important responsibility: closing deals.u003cbr/u003eSales enablement software providers like Showpad offer a sales enablement solution in one, easy-to-use platform. With marketing and sales using the same tools, nothing falls through the cracks.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e

How can you measure sales enablement success?

Measuring sales enablement success means defining some key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect your sales enablement goals. What are you trying to achieve?u003cbr/u003eu003cstrongu003eLead-to-conversion rateu003c/strongu003eu003cbr/u003eThe number one goal for any sales organization is to close more deals. From a sales enablement perspective, the key indicator of a successful program will be your sales team converting a higher percentage of leads into closed business. Naturally there will be some external factors that influence this number, such as changes in go-to-market strategy or wider market conditions, but a positive trend in conversion rate is a good sign that your sales enablement strategy and marketing is empowering your sales team to make the most of the opportunities that are being generated.u003cbr/u003eu003cstrongu003eSales velocityu003c/strongu003eu003cbr/u003eAs u003ca href=u0022https://blog.marketo.com/2017/11/sales-velocity-critical-sales-metric-team-probably-isnt-measuring.htmlu0022u003ethis excellent Marketo primer on sales velocityu003c/au003e spells out, “sales velocity plays a u003cemu003ehugeu003c/emu003e role in your business’ ability to thrive and grow. The less time it takes for prospects to move through your pipeline, the faster you can close more deals.”u003cbr/u003eOne focus of your sales enablement strategy should be to increase your organization’s sales velocity through improvements in product training, lead nurturing, and sales process optimizations. Are there any bottlenecks in your sales cycle? Are prospects taking too long to move down the sales funnel? These are things that a good sales enablement function will be able to identify and remedy, permitting a smoother transition from lead to closed business and improve sales productivity.u003cbr/u003eAs with most KPIs, sales velocity is impacted by many factors. For example, your average deal size may increase meaning that your process becomes more complex, leading to your sales velocity slowing down. Knowing this, you can leverage sales enablement strategies to optimize your sales process, or factor in this slower velocity for more accurate, actionable sales forecasting.u003cbr/u003eu003cstrongu003eQuota attainmentu003c/strongu003eu003cbr/u003eWhen your sales force are hitting their goals, it means they are doing something right; they have the tools they need and are using them effectively to engage buyers. Quota attainment is the percentage of salespeople on your team hitting or surpassing their previously-established quotas. This first and foremost gives you insights into the performance of members of your team, but also determines whether the goals you’ve set are realistic. u003ca href=u0022https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/sales-performance-metrics#1u0022u003eHubSpotu003c/au003e suggests the rule of thumb that if less than 60 percent of your team is reaching quota, your goals may be too tough; if 90 percent are hitting quota, they may be too easy. Be sure to analyze quota attainment on a regular basis, and adjust goals as needed.u003cbr/u003eu003cstrongu003eContent usageu003c/strongu003eu003cbr/u003eHigh-quality content is absolutely paramount to any effective sales team. Buyers want to see relevant, compelling content that addresses their own individual pain points and provides them with the data they need to make an informed buying decision.u003cbr/u003eMarketing teams are producing more and more content, but do you know which marketing content is actually effective for your sales team? Gaining insight into the efficacy of your sales content is the first step in providing key content recommendations to your sales force. KPIs to consider here include:u003cbr/u003eEmail opens and clicksu003cbr/u003eContent downloadsu003cbr/u003eVideo viewsu003cbr/u003eContent sharesu003cbr/u003eBy evaluating how content is shared and engaged with by different prospects at different stages of the sales cycle, you can ensure that the right marketing content is shared at the right time to move things forward.

How can you offer a better sales enablement solution?

Now that you know what sales enablement is, the next question is how to get started. Creating a strategic sales enablement journey takes extended planning and requires various moving parts. Follow these steps:u003cbr/u003eDetermine key stakeholders and ensure they are on board for your planned sales enablement strategy. Think of your strategy as a chain; if any stakeholder, or “link,” is not holding their weight, the strength of the entire chain is compromised; in other words, if even one person isn’t committed to enablement services, the overall process will not live up to its promise.u003cbr/u003eCommunicate goals and expectations for this new sales format with sellers and any other involved parties, as well as how success will be measured moving forward. Equip sales representatives with the knowledge and tools necessary to develop their talents and be successful, like:Video learning contentu003cbr/u003eShort product reviewsu003cbr/u003eMobile sales learningu003cbr/u003eOverview of sales programs and processu003cbr/u003eIndividual and overall skills assessmentsu003cbr/u003eCustomer-facing content targeting buyers at different stages within the buying processu003cbr/u003eRegularly analyze sales performance and iterate on your strategy to garner your ideal results. Use the data at your disposal to create impactful content and make smart selling decisions. u003cstrongu003eu003cemu003eSales enablement must be an ongoing practice if you want to realize your goals.u003c/emu003eu003c/strongu003eu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e

How can you get started with sales enablement?

Starting out on a sales enablement strategy can seem intimidating. As mentioned above, sales enablement is a cross-functional discipline with many moving parts. One of the most common questions we see around sales enablement is “how do I get started?”u003cbr/u003eTo answer this question, we’ve created a free ebook –u003ca href=u0022https://www.showpad.com/reports/how-to-build-a-sales-enablement-strategy-first-steps/u0022u003eu003cemu003e How to Build a Sales Enablement Strategy: First Stepsu003c/emu003eu003c/au003e. In this guide, we’ll share our key insights and provide you with the foundational framework to build a killer sales enablement strategy.u003cbr/u003eu003cstrongu003eu003cemu003eSales enablement is the path to sales effectivenessu003c/emu003eu003c/strongu003e. By focusing on content usage later in the sales process, sales and marketing teams can continually improve the marketing content, messaging and process businesses need to convert and close deals.u003cbr/u003eDownload the ebook to find out how a focus on enablement, not just productivity, can deliver:u003cbr/u003eMore accurate internal sales forecastsu003cbr/u003eShortened sales cyclesu003cbr/u003eInsight into content ROI

What are the steps to building a successful sales enablement program?

Starting out on a sales enablement strategy can seem intimidating. As mentioned above, sales enablement is a cross-functional discipline with many moving parts. One of the most common questions we see around sales enablement is “how do I get started?”u003cbr/u003eShowpad recommends seven steps are essential to building a successful sales enablement program. They are:u003cbr/u003eDraft and ratify a sales enablement charteru003cbr/u003eDevelop an enablement cadenceu003cbr/u003eAssess your team’s knowledgeu003cbr/u003eDevelop an ongoing communications planu003cbr/u003eMake sales enablement content easy to find and engagingu003cbr/u003eEvaluate and streamline your sales enablement softwareu003cbr/u003eMeasure an optimize your sales enablement programu003cbr/u003eYou can u003ca href=u0022https://www.showpad.com/reports/7-steps-to-building-a-winning-sales-enablement-program/u0022u003edownload the entire u003cemu003e7 Steps to Building a Winning Sales Enablement Programu003c/emu003e eBooku003c/au003e. This infographic also simplifies the process by breaking it down step-by-step.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e

The Ultimate Guide To Sales Enablement

Overview

Empower sales reps to deliver engaging experiences for modern buyers who expect personalization, automation and overall innovation.

Demo Showpad eOS®

What is sales enablement?

Forrester defines sales enablement as “a strategic, ongoing process that equips client-facing employees to consistently and systematically have a valuable conversation with the right customer stakeholders at each stage of the customer’s problem-solving life cycle.”

Sales Enablement goes deeper. It’s the strategic process to prepare sales organizations with the right tools, content and information to sell successfully. It empowers reps to deliver an engaging experience for modern buyers who expect personalization, automation and overall innovation.

It's strategic
Sales enablement is a high-level undertaking. It requires planning, forecasting and a deep understanding of your potential customers and the problems that they need to solve.
It’s ongoing
Enablement is never “done.” Product positioning changes. Marketing that may have helped close deals three months ago may no longer be relevant. A fundamental function of sales enablement services is ensuring that sales teams are empowered with the most up-to-date information, continuous training, content and tools to sell effectively.
It’s consistent and systematic
When we talk about sales enablement, we’re talking about driving uniformity of delivery across the go-to-market organization. By applying best practices across coaching, content management and your sales process, you provide a winning framework that drives greater sales effectiveness and higher win rates.
It sparks valuable conversations
Enablement has been a driver of the shift from transactional sales interactions to consultative sales conversations. Buyers are more informed than ever, with access to huge amounts of research and marketing on you and your competitors. Sales reps are no longer experts by default; they now need to be experts on merit. This is where a well-oiled enablement machine can make a difference.

The benefits of enablement

Sales enablement improves reps’ performance, leading to a better buyer experience and revenue growth. In practice, you should implement a platform within your enablement strategy that helps improve your sales process. A sales enablement platform allows you to automate training and content management, freeing up time for your salesforce to be with clients and work toward increasing revenue.

Benefits can include:

Promoting ongoing sales training and development

Increasing the efficiency of your sales process

Allowing reps to develop better relationships with buyers

Getting marketing and sales teams on the same page

Sales enablement drives business results

A report from Aberdeen found that companies with a formal sales enablement program are 96% more likely to achieve competitive levels of success.

Additionally, an enablement program helps sales and marketing teams collaborate more productively, working within the same programs that house customer data and content. Both teams can view what information is most impactful and make updates as necessary and can easily share the most relevant materials to sellers in real time. This way, your salesforce isn’t using outdated presentation materials.

With communication, content and data streamlined, sellers are able to focus their time on selling and closing deals faster — enablement’s ultimate objective. A successful sales rep is a happy sales rep, and with a program dedicated to their success and training, turnover rates will decrease.

Showpad client data reveals the following enablement benefits:

40 %

increase in cross-sells and upsells

17 %

increase in sales within the first month of the program

60 %

reduction in ramp time for new sales hires

300 %

increase in content usage

30 %

of time saved on admin tasks and preparation

Common types of sales tools

Enablement tools automate the customer experience, making it more efficient for you internally and more personalized and engaging for your customers. These tools also make it far easier for marketing to distribute, and sales to access and leverage, internal and customer-facing content. Automating certain functions allows both marketing and sales teams to dedicate their time to revenue-driving activities.

To maximize the potential of your sales enablement tools, it’s essential that your sales reps:

Have the authority to make commercial decisions for the organization
Are supported by leadership
Understand their goals and the tools they have at their disposal to meet them
Continually improve alignment with marketing

Customer relationship management (CRM)
A CRM is a database sales teams use to manage and track accounts within their pipeline.
Content management
Your organization’s marketing team should be creating compelling information to appeal to different buyers across the buyer journey.
Social platforms
As part of your content management strategy, encourage reps to practice social selling. Research from CSO Insights identified a 10.7% decrease in win rates for organizations that fail to adopt social selling techniques.
Training
Regardless of how experienced a seller is, important information and skills must be taught and reinforced. Provide reps with ongoing training materials that cover everything from product features, competitive knowledge, updated marketing techniques, sales methodologies and more.
Metrics and reporting
Sales leaders can understand how their teams are performing by tracking activities such as completion of training, calls being made on a daily basis and pipeline forecasts.