Why Does Your Business Need Sales Enablement Today?

It is no secret that tasks well-executed are often well-planned. If you offer a systemic plan and provide budgeted resources well in advance, your sales teams will attain their quotas and goals more efficiently. Strategizing on “how tos” as early as possible with “what if” scenarios accounted for, will convert more leads and drive revenue for your organization.

While all of this sounds like something you want to do right away, the primary question is how to start. How can you ensure that your salespeople have ample and the right kind of resources to work more leads into your business? Simple! Through sales enablement.

What is Sales Enablement?

In a nutshell, businesses undertake sales enablement to provide their sales team with qualified information, content, and tools to help sell more effectively. The ultimate aim of sales enablement is to boost sales by empowering salespeople through training, knowledge, and technology to engage customers throughout their buying journey. Different organizations have individual views on how to approach this method and how to staff this function.

Role of a Sales Enablement Team

A common question that lingers between beginners is, “what does a workday look like for sales enablement teams?” They handle a wide range of tasks that include -

• Creation of sales training activities, content, and assets

• Executing sales training and coaching to the target audiences

• Sales onboarding, along with long-running learning programs

• Business and sales communications

• Learning, management, and best practices of sales tools

• Analyzing the success of the sales enablement program

These are the primary activities undertaken by a sales enablement team. Organizations depending on their size, industry, resources, and sales needs may off-load many more responsibilities on their sales enablement team(s).

Which Department Does a Sales Enablement Team Come Under?

Given the heterogeneous nature of the roles a sales enablement team undertakes, it is hard to departmentalize it. Therefore, this business function does not fall under any clear-cut category. However, almost 50% of the sales enablement functions are overseen by sales heads, while the rest is shared among the marketing, operations, and executive management C-suites.

If you have a small organization or start-up, you may only have one person enabling sales for the entire company on a full or part-time basis. Alternatively, a conglomerate will likely have multiple dedicated teams, practitioners, and consultants, each focused on any one part of the sales enablement process – for example, content creation, sales training, etc. Remember, at the end of the day, every sales enablement team has this one crucial function - to support sellers.

Why Does an Organization Need Sales Enablement?

Why not? Boosting sales is one of the ultimate goals of any business enterprise. Doing it with a sales enablement team at the helm leads to 15% higher win rates than when your salespeople are winging it (Sales Management Association). What’s more, whether you operate in a B2B or a B2C space, practical sales training leads to stronger client relationships and quota attainment.

There are a host of benefits of developing a sales enablement team for your business targeted email list. Top ones are discussed below.

Retention and Engagement

Sales enablement ensures that your sales reps convert more leads and stay motivated. When they can produce better results, they tend to stick around for longer. This benefit does not only apply to salespeople but also to sales managers. Enabling front-line managers responsible for supporting reps with valuable coaching and communication skills enhances seller immersion, leading to conversions and better client nurturing.

Maximize Client Interaction

Readiness for sales does not only mean converting leads but also maximizing every client interaction. A good sales enablement team coaches its reps not only to sell but also on –

• How to onboard a client?

• How to pitch?

• How to employ competitive positioning?

And various other valuable lessons for when they are on the job. The skills imparted by the sales enablement team stay with the reps throughout the sales process, of which, making the actual sale is a very small part. If done right, your potential clients will call back and invite meetings because their time with your reps will be well-spent.

Effective Client Servicing

Client servicing is often a challenging role. Not only sales reps, but anyone who directly interacts with your buyers or leads can also benefit from the content and training modules prepared by the sales enablement team. This includes sales engineers, customer service squad, channel partners, service teams, etc. The process of sales enablement is especially helpful if your organization employs channel sellers. For instance, B2B companies need ways to keep external sales reps engaged and equipped for driving their brand’s revenue, rather than that of a rival company. And, sales enablement makes such a feat possible.

Leveraging Sales Tools

People in sales and marketing often use various tools like CRMs, automated sales enablement tools, customer intel tools, communication tools, etc. Many of these applications pose a high cost to companies and prove to be a wasteful investment if your reps don’t know how to use them well. A study by CSO Insights reveals that overseeing the optimal usage of sales tools is usually the number two priority of most sales enablement teams. If you want to turn your sales tools into a differentiator for your organization, get your sales enablement team to prep your reps.

When do You Require Sales Enablement?

Are you wondering whether your organization requires a sales enablement team? If such a conundrum persists, answer the following questions to decide whether your organization will benefit from one.

• Am I meeting my sales quota?

• Are my sales reps always pitching the right message?

• Are my reps employing sales tools to the best of their capabilities?

If you have answered “no” to the above three questions, it’s indeed time to get your organization a sales enablement team. However, if you have answered “yes” across the board, remember that client needs are constantly changing, and you may need to revisit the workings of your sales enablement team accordingly.

Parting Thoughts

Believe it or not, sales enablement is cardinal to sustaining any sales success and staying on top of your competitors. Now that you have a primary understanding of what sales enablement entails, give your business an edge by building one.