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Sales Enablement Sales Engagement Conversion Intelligence Sales Performance
Sales Readiness Sales Transformation Skill Development

23 March 2023 8 min read


BUILDING BEYOND TRAINING TO THE ENABLEMENT HORIZON

Sales Enablement Strategy

MATT COHEN

Read More

 1. Breaking down enablement & aligning on a definition
    1. Proactive:
    2. Buyer experience:
    3. Shaping priorities:
    4. Optimization of people, process, and technology:
 2. Assessing priorities based on a buyer-centric sales process
    1. Creating a sales process - starting with the buyer journey
 3. Identifying a sales methodology
 4. Analyzing competencies
 5. Executing your strategy
    1. Starting with onboarding
    2. Building a culture of continuous learning
 6. Measuring enablement success
 7. What if I’m not starting enablement from scratch?

Before we discuss building enablement, we need to align on what we mean by
enablement - that would be the priority to address!

We have come a long way in defining the purpose of enablement, thanks to the
hard work of thought leaders across the profession.

However, it is still nascent compared to other more established functions, so
there is no industry standard definition, and it can mean different things to
different people.

What matters is that you, your leadership team, and critical stakeholders align
on what it means.

 * Breaking down enablement & aligning on a definition
 * Assessing priorities based on a buyer-centric sales process
 * Identifying a sales methodology
 * Analyzing competencies
 * Executing your strategy
 * Measuring enablement success
 * What if you’re not building from scratch?


BREAKING DOWN ENABLEMENT & ALIGNING ON A DEFINITION

Enablement is the proactive identification of gaps in the buyer experience, and
shaping priorities to fill those gaps with the optimization of people,
processes, and technology.

Let’s break this down:


PROACTIVE:

Enablement is not putting out fires and waiting until the field tells you it
needs something. It requires thinking like a CEO, focusing on scale and
continuous improvement.


BUYER EXPERIENCE:

Enablement is not limited to sales teams. It should be aligned to all
revenue-generating groups.

Your buyer doesn’t think of talking to sales reps or customer success; they’re
just talking to an organization that needs to delight them every step of the way
to earn their business.

This is important because it defines your audience, which ideally includes all
go-to-market (sales, customer success, channel partners, and marketing).


SHAPING PRIORITIES:

This is not just enablement priorities - ideally, enablement has a seat at the
table in defining key objectives because they should know what their
revenue-generating teams need more than anyone else in the business.


OPTIMIZATION OF PEOPLE, PROCESS, AND TECHNOLOGY:

Defining the drivers of enablement is crucial in differentiating the function
from its sales training origins. Training is only one mechanism of many to
optimize in these areas.

I’m a fan of these three drivers because they highlight the cross-functional
nature of enablement.

You must coordinate with HR and frontline managers to optimize people, and
optimizing operations, technology, and processes can include many partnerships
depending on the scope.

Hopefully, that clarifies why aligning on a definition with leaders and
stakeholders sets you up for success.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What is a sales enablement charter? | SEC
Have you been wondering what a sales enablement charter is? Or how to build a
formal enablement charter in your org? This article highlights what you need to
know.
Sales Enablement CollectiveDaniel O’Dowd




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


ASSESSING PRIORITIES BASED ON A BUYER-CENTRIC SALES PROCESS

Once you check that off, you need to drill into this scope to determine
priorities.

You will get pulled into a lot of directions at this phase. Leaders will want
you to organize training, onboard new hires, implement technology, etc.

The list of urgent needs goes on and on.

However, you need to stand firm in the importance of defining the buyer’s
journey. This is critical because your buyer needs to set the foundation for
everything you do. Without understanding what matters to them, it is far too
easy to fall prey to over-focusing on an internal perspective.

If you have trouble advocating for this, explain that it is the foundation for
defining a buyer-centric sales process, which is the foundation for everything
else you do in enablement.

A structured sales process leads to a consistent buyer experience, revenue
predictability, and insight into gaps based on conversion rates. If you are
still running into roadblocks, revisit their definition and scope because they
may not be aligned with what is required for proper enablement.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buyer enablement - what is it and why is it important? | SEC
Sales enablement empowers salespeople, giving them the tools they need to
flourish. So why not take that to the next level? That’s where buyer enablement
comes in.
Sales Enablement CollectiveDaniel O’Dowd




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


CREATING A SALES PROCESS - STARTING WITH THE BUYER JOURNEY

How do these two fit together? Here are my steps for creating a sales process,
starting with the buyer journey:

Consult customers and the most experienced members on your go-to-market teams to
map out how clients buy and expand your solution or service adoption.

Interview the top performers from those teams to determine how they align to the
buying process to optimize the customer journey before and after the point of
sale.

Discuss what you learn from the top performers with GTM leaders to shape
distinct stages of that journey and identify clear goals for each.

Typically, a sales process consists of 5-7 steps that fall under three phases:
awareness, interest, and decision. Post-sales can include onboarding, adoption,
and advocacy as well.

Work with marketing to align internal and external content to every activity
possible. This will shape your sales content strategy and is pivotal in making
the process actionable.

Also, ensure that this strategy is reflected in any content management tools you
leverage so that teams can access the information they need when they need it.

Convert those goals to entry and exit criteria, along with the roles that are
accountable/responsible for achieving them.

This is the accountability layer, so leadership must believe in the importance
of shaping entry and exit criteria to fit what you’ve learned from the buyer.
Otherwise, it will not be adopted.

Get feedback from everyone you worked with on the final product to get buy-in
before launch.
Launch and enable all teams individually, so there is room to ask questions and
provide hands-on support.


IDENTIFYING A SALES METHODOLOGY

Once your buyer journey and sales process are defined, you have great insight
into what skills are needed to take a deal from lead to close to renewal.

That’s when it is time to take an inventory with your managers on the most
prominent skill gaps. Once identified, you can select a sales methodology.

Sales methodology is not the same as the sales process. It includes the actions
you take when selling or the way you sell. Examples include ValueSelling and
Solution Selling.

There are many options with pros and cons, and I could dedicate a separate
article to just that.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What is a sales methodology? | SEC
Learn what a sales methodology is, and why Sandler, Miller Heiman, MEDDIC,
Challenger, SPIN, and more remain popular sales methodologies across the world.
Sales Enablement CollectiveDaniel O’Dowd




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The primary thing to keep in mind is that you must be aligned with your GTM
leaders on what matters the most based on what skills areas require the most
focus.

If it is selling on value, ValueSelling is an excellent choice. Challenger is an
ideal choice if it pushes back on the buyer’s potentially inaccurate view of
your emerging market. If it is qualifying a deal, MEDDIC is an optimal choice.

Just make sure to do your research, consult your network, and keep the skill
gaps you identified in mind to prioritize needs.


ANALYZING COMPETENCIES

You have the skills down, but what is still missing are the intangibles.

 * What are the core competencies that make an effective Account Executives,
   Sales Engineers, or SDRs at your organization?
 * Are there different competencies needed for varying levels of seniority?

Remember that skills are abilities specific to the role, while competencies may
be transferable across functions and are more related to knowledge and behaviors
that lead to success.

Examples include grit, curiosity, and resourcefulness.

Defining these with your leadership team and aligning with HR will standardize
hiring and promotion practices. It will also provide the building blocks for
targeted coaching and continuous development in your enablement program.


EXECUTING YOUR STRATEGY


STARTING WITH ONBOARDING

Now that you have all of your skills and competencies mapped, it’s time to
execute and develop your teams to build the muscle!

As you build your onboarding program, practice empathy. Think of what you would
want to know as a new hire and build accordingly.

Don’t throw everything at them at once, or start with what they need to close an
opportunity in Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ). Build your solution’s foundations,
messaging, company values, etc., and then get to skills.

Onboarding is the best place to start because it is the quickest path to
progress.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The SEC onboarding playbook - download it today!
We worked with our partners at Second Nature and other expert onboarding
professionals to build this playbook. Download and elevate your processes today.
Sales Enablement CollectiveSales Enablement Collective




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Experienced reps at your company will typically be more entrenched in their way
of doing their job. You’ll hear that they are beating quota and therefore “don’t
need enablement.”

Sellers miss the fact that they could be even more effective by aligning with
their buyer, but convincing them of that is not always easy.

Prove an increase in effectiveness by ramping new hires faster than ever before.
Top reps will take note once they begin surpassing the effectiveness of more
tenured reps. If they don’t, leadership will.


BUILDING A CULTURE OF CONTINUOUS LEARNING

Once you have built an effective onboarding program, you will sense an
increasing demand for the knowledge that new hires are being exposed to, and
this is your window to instill a culture of continuous learning.

A constant development program should be adaptable, based on other gaps in the
buyer experience that are revealed over time. It should also be created in close
collaboration with cross-functional partners like product marketing.

Examples include a certification on a new pitch, improving discovery, or
instilling your chosen sales methodology.


MEASURING ENABLEMENT SUCCESS

At this point, you’ve been busy!

Depending on the size and complexity of the organization, you are likely six
months to a year into your enablement build.

To ensure that enablement continues to be successful, you must measure the
results of all your hard work.

To do this, continuously analyze the correlation between leading and lagging
indicators to track rep effectiveness throughout the process and proactively
identify gaps.

Leading indicators include time to ramp (must be defined with leadership),
training, and certification completion. You can even adopt key messaging if you
have a conversational intelligence solution.

Lagging indicators are more traditionally analyzed metrics, like deal stage
conversation, win rate, and quota attainment.

Correlating between the two also allows you to prove enablement’s impact on
revenue, the crown jewel of every enablement program.

Enablement will be rightfully viewed as a strategic function with influence if
you can prove that.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sales metrics for sales enablement: explained | SEC
A well-designed sales enablement strategy should have a measurable impact on
sales results and revenue. Often the challenge is identifying the right metrics
Sales Enablement CollectiveDaniel O’Dowd




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


WHAT IF I’M NOT STARTING ENABLEMENT FROM SCRATCH?

Please note that, for simplicity, this article focused on building an enablement
function from scratch.

More often, ad hoc enablement initiatives are in place, and an incoming leader
must enter the process above at a midway point. That can be much more
challenging because there are historical dynamics at play.

In this instance, make sure you spend time thoroughly understanding those
dynamics and closely align to your leadership on the ideal playbook.

When you have their buy-in, you will have the air cover you need to potentially
rework parts of this process that were done out of order.

Above all else, keep in mind that your focus is serving your clients, the teams
we have discussed. If any part of this process is ineffective in the long run,
it needs to be reworked.

While you need to be proactive in identifying their needs, it is always a good
compass to utilize.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matt’s article was first published at GTMmag here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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