Why Sales Enablement is Not Just Another Passing Trend

As we embark on a journey of strategizing for greater revenues in these Coronavirus times, it is important to review the least important considered cog in the wheel—Sales Enablement.

I have always been a little apprehensive when my prospective interviewer company offers me a sales rep position alongside my content gig. All the target talk makes me dizzy. But as we enter the 21^st century, there are so many tools at our behest that one cannot go wrong with the sales strategy and the ‘so-called’ targets.

By and large, efforts have to be ramped up, newer technologies have to be embraced, besides changing the mindset (which in my case is a huge deal). Nonetheless, the sales gig is not as scary as it sounds.

Sales reps are the most underrated employees in an organization. One thinks that an individual just requires glib tongue and oodles of confidence to turnaround those sales numbers, but there is more to it than that.

Sales enablement stratagem

A well-rounded sales enablement strategy puts sales professionals at the top end of the pyramid, while the rest of the organization plays a supporting role.

As Carol Archebelle, Digital Marketing Manager at Foundations Wellness with a former sales career of 20 years, aptly puts it,

“Sales enablement is the exact opposite of the way corporate America has traditionally operated. It involves putting sales at the top of the pyramid and having the rest of the organization in a supporting role underneath. Letting sales run your organization really means the customers are running it.”

For Carol, sales enablement also means being flexible with your sales team and empathizing with the customer’s needs.

“When you are adaptive to your customers’ needs – when you are fluid and responsive enough to do this well – you will be leaps and bounds above your competitors who most likely operate in a stifling, top-down environment. It takes commitment from all levels of the organization to do this, but sales managers can start by giving their salespeople the freedom they need to bring the dollars in.”

Source: https://learn.g2.com/what-is-sales-enablement

Right from developing a content strategy, understanding buyer persona, reporting and analyzing bar graphs and charts, to technology, automation, and sales enablement software, all play a pivotal role in closing that crucial deal. All of the listed techniques and materials at every stage hugely contribute to building up to the sales numbers of your company.

A function of sales and marketing—sales enablement—optimizes the ROI. Regardless the deal is closed or not; a holistic sales enablement strategy leaves a positive impression on the buyer. Remember that time, when you went to buy a smartphone after week-long research but did end up getting convinced for an alternate brand, just because the salesperson had some valid points to make. That’s what I am talking about.

Dialing up revenues

Some of the tools and technologies aiding sales enablement to boost revenues is as follows:

1. Content strategy:

Admittedly, both content and the consumer are the kings. A well-oiled and structured content strategy is a critical business tool. Having a content pipeline is a  must in aiding the salespeople to present the relevant facets of your products and services to the consumer.

Emphasizing both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of content have a multiplier effect on the number of consumers and, subsequently, on the revenue generated.

The two broad categories of content required for sales enablement are: first, internal content assets such as playbooks, value messaging, product bundling and design tools, and training material necessary for the internal training of salespeople; and second, customer-facing content ranging from whitepapers, case studies, blog posts, brochures, and videos in the consumer wooing journey. Besides, proposal template, contracts, contract attachment, statements of work (SOW), or Service Level Agreements (SLA) are the content type required at the fag-end of the contract sealing.

Technologies and software such as Brainshark sales readiness software, Flipdeck intuitive cards and deck approach, Saleshood, and Seismic’s machine learning and analytics capabilities wholeheartedly up your content game, boost profitability, and improve the vendor-buyer relationship.

Own/self-content authoring, real-time amends, interactivity quotient, access, and delivery are at the helm of content strategy.

2. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool:

CRM is a vast study that investigates and analyzes a customer’s needs and preferences, and offers him exactly that—what he needs—in a more customized garb.

These days tools like HubSpot and Salesforce are at your rescue. These mechanisms offer a widget to be embedded in the sales department’s CRM (customer relationship management) database. HubSpot not only tracks cookies but precisely traces a consumer’s clicks, views, and downloads.

Now that a salesperson has all the required information about the consumer from this tool of a widget, he can easily tailor-make the conversation around the consumer’s pain point and objective rather than pushing a scripted sales pitch. Long-lasting trust and good customer experience are built this way. Irrespective of the deal is closed, the consumer might return to the shop for more goods, basis the relationship formed the first time around.

This CRM widget is also helpful for existing consumers. In case, employees of the same organization are regularly seen on the widget issuing tickets on a recurring issue; the salesperson would look into it from his CRM tool lens and offer a resolution.

3. AI-driven insights:

The list of technologies and tools offering sales enablement is exhaustive. It is up to you, how you maneuver through a long list and zero in just what is required. AI-driven insights are one such category that has an eye on the future.

AI-driven software such as Salesforce Einstein, Gong.io, and others ensure predictive analysis, timely reminders, scheduling calls, and best content recommendations to prioritize leads and further build long-lasting relationships with the king, i.e., the consumer.

Wrap

Apart from being a sales team function, sales enablement is buyer-centric too. Motivated by what tickles a buyer, sales enablement more or less prioritizes and empathizes with the needs of the buyer. And to make matters better, we have modern technology tools to increase sales opportunities.

Truly, we are living in a wonderful world with so many technologies and tools at our command, provided we use them in an appropriate, revenue-earning worthy manner. For much such content on sales and marketing, do check out our latest whitepapers on Sales and Marketing.