What strategies do great organizations use to keep their salespeople competitive? A strong sales enablement program is the key.
Everything you do to assist your sales team in achieving their objectives is sales enablement, but have you considered creating a formal sales enablement strategy? According to CSO Insights, with strategic sales enablement in place, 10.6% more sales reps met their quotas.
In this write up we will learn more about why the best sales enablement platform matters, and how it can aid to obtain a competitive advantage.
Sales enablement refers to the training, tools, and resources given to salespeople in order to assist them to close more deals. With sales enablement, salespeople are given the tools they need to become indispensable consultants to their clients, enhance their client loyalty, and increase their earnings.
Reps with a successful sales enablement programme are better able to provide relevant information to their clients and offer insight that helps buyers make the best purchasing decisions. As a result, salespeople develop into long-term resources that buyers can rely on.
How to Set a Sales Enablement Program in Place?
There is no “one proper approach” to develop a sales enablement programme because every company is different. However, there are a few key foundations to bear in mind. Here are a few things that aren’t negotiable:
- Create a sense of direction
Establishing your sales enablement manager is the first step in developing your sales enablement process. This person will be in charge of bringing marketing and sales together and coordinating the entire process, so they should be a good fit for both and have executive leadership’s support.
According to Forrester Research, 67% of customers would rather not connect with a salesperson until they have completed their research. Reps must be able to read their customers and react appropriately to changing dynamics.
- Organize Your Teams
Your organisation will need an environment of alignment and cohesion for a sales enablement strategy to succeed. There will be no more silos everywhere! The unification process could be one of the sales enablement manager’s first responsibilities.
First and foremost, the senior management must be on board with and supportive of the company’s sales enablement strategy. Next, all staff in the company, particularly marketing and sales, must be on the same page in order to gain clients and close agreements.
- Recruitment
Make sure your sales force can match your organization’s future needs before engaging with prospects and customers. Do you need to hire more salespeople? Should you get rid of certain artists who aren’t performing well? Because you already know your present salesmen, it’s up to you to do what’s best while laying the groundwork.
- Train
It’s time to coach your team once you’ve gained confidence in them. Begin producing your onboarding materials in partnership with marketing. You’ll also want to set up a sales coaching structure to provide continuing support and development.
- Equip
Next, offer reps material and field resources that will help them sell and provide value more successfully. White papers, datasheets, sell sheets, product films, and playbooks are examples of documents that describe effective next steps and milestones. Also, provide detailed information about buyers and buyer personas so that your team can sustain long-term buyer relationships.
- Tools for Sales Enablement
You’ll also want to provide your sales and marketing teams with the resources they’ll need to be effective with sales enablement.
Allow the team to explore with a limited number of tools to see what works best for everyone. Then, on a regular basis, re-evaluate the instruments you’ve picked. Ascertain that the content management system, CRM, communication technologies, and all other tools are serving the demands of everyone participating in the sales enablement process on a continuous basis. If a better tool becomes available, take advantage of it!
- Progress should be measured.
Finally, track all marketing and sales results. Collect data and compare it to pre-determined objectives. How many salespeople are meeting their quotas? Are buyers progressing through the sales process? How often and efficiently do sales personnel communicate with customers?
You’ll be able to provide targeted coaching that enhances individual performance once you’ve measured each rep’s results and reviewed your organization’s overall marketing/sales alignment efforts.
Why Should Sales Professionals Be Included in Your Sales Enablement Program?
Sales engineers are sometimes overlooked when it comes to sales enablement programmes. However, failing to include them has a negative impact because their position is frequently more technical than that of front-line sales agents.
When you need comprehensive product knowledge, sales engineers are often the go-to experts, and they’re involved in practically every element of the sales process. An organisation should give them use cases, roadmaps for future product releases, statistics on competitor products, training for technical demonstrations, and whatever else they need to succeed in order to stay competitive.
How to Begin with top Sales Enablement Tools?
Creating a sales enablement programme is a difficult task. Your sales team will be benefited from it in the long run, since it will make your reps more competitive and your company more prosperous. If you’re ready to get started, begin by collaborating with all departments.
Connect with sales operations and define the company’s plans for sales enablement. Next, work with marketing to create an outline for onboarding and training content. You’ll also want to talk to your top-performing reps about training and coaching so you can benefit from their experience on the ground.
Lastly, allow every salesperson in the company to try out a couple of sales enablement products. After they’ve demoed a few platforms, have a vote to see who comes out on top.
The benefits of bringing together reps, marketing, sales, and sales operations to create a successful sales enablement programme speak for themselves: reps will be more successful, buyers will be happier, and your company will be more profitable than ever before.
To discover more about how the Mindtickle sales enablement platform can benefit your sales teams, request a demo.
