What is Sales Enablement?

Until relatively recently, sales teams got by with a list of contact numbers and a phone… if they were lucky. Those that didn’t have the luxury of a phone had to go out and knock on doors to get deals through.

While teams could still make sales like this, it is not the optimal way to do so.

Instead, companies should provide their reps with all they need to help them increase their numbers. Doing so is called sales enablement.

Sales Enablement Definition

Sales enablement is providing your sales team with whatever it needs to be successful. The more high-quality resources you can provide your team, the better it is likely to perform. Linking up with other departments, especially marketing, can also help.

The resources that are the most useful for your team may depend on the industry you are working in, and the specific make up of your sales team.

Sales enablement tactics include:

  • Training is perhaps the simplest thing businesses can do to boost sales enablement. Ensuring all reps are up to speed on the latest sales strategies and techniques is an effective way to make them better sellers. This can include both onboarding for new reps as well as ongoing training for the whole team.
  • Managers that can pinpoint the most effective sales processes can share this information to help ensure reps are using the most effective tactics. Constantly reviewing this process can help spot weak points in the buyer journey, which once fixed, could lead to higher overall sales.
  • Providing reps with the sales material they need is another sales enablement strategy. You can give reps access to blog posts, case studies, eBooks, videos, and other content they can use to show buyers exactly why their product is a great choice for their business. Companies that sell to a wide range of customers should provide different material for each customer segment.
  • Companies that can provide reps with data about leads can help sales reps better understand potential customer’s motivations for needing the product. This could include everything from creating in-depth buyer personas to providing reps with access to data about the lead’s company or information about the type of content they have already interacted with. This is where your sales and marketing departments can work together.
  • Proving reps with the right technology is another factor that can have a huge impact on the success of a sales team. Sales and marketing automation software can help improve the sales team’s efficiency.

Why is Sales Enablement Important to a Sales Team’s Success?

When done well, sales enablement should lead sales teams to be more successful. There are several reasons for this.

Sales Reps Become Better Faster

It sounds obvious, but the more training reps have, the better they will be at their job. This will ultimately lead to more sales. Providing new reps with high-quality, in-depth training can also help speed up the onboarding process meaning new reps will be out bringing in sales faster than they otherwise would.

Likewise, having access to optimal sales processes will remove some of the guesswork. All reps will have access to the same sales plays, which means previously lower-performing reps should be going into negotiations on the same level as those that have always performed at a higher level.

Sales Reps are Better Equipped to Convert Leads

Sales enablement strategies ensure that reps are better equipped to complete deals. Having access to a wider array of sales and marketing material can help reps provide leads with the information they need to make a decision.

Likewise, in-depth data on the lead’s buyer journey, as well as predefined strategies aimed at each segment of buyer, ensures reps go into negotiations with everything they need to make the sale.

Sales Team Productivity Increases

Having access to sales technology such as CRM can free up time reps spend on administrative processes, allowing them to focus on more productive parts of their job. This increase in productivity could ultimately lead to more sales for your organisation.

Data about leads can also help reps be more productive. This could be through helping them identify which leads are more likely to be a better fit, and therefore which leads they should spend more time targeting. Or, it could be through helping reps identify which sales materials are likely to be most effective for each lead.

Either way, the more productively reps spend their time, the less making each sale will cost your business, ultimately increasing your bottom line.

Learn more about boosting sales productivity:

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