My earliest memory of a HAM radio involves my uncle. He spent hours tuning and tweaking the dials, eager to connect with people far and wide. To this day, HAM radio remains a critical communication link in times of emergency. The fine-tuning required of HAM radio operators parallels the essence of sales enablement. Like HAM radio needs precise tuning, so does your sales strategy, processes, tools, and talent. Even the smallest tweaks can turn your company’s growth aspirations into a reality. In today’s high-speed B2B world, sales enablement isn’t a luxury—it’s a must.
Welcome to the first post in our series, “Boosting Business Success with Sales Enablement”. We’ll dive into the core elements of sales enablement and discover why it’s an absolute game-changer for sales success and business growth.
The Rise of Sales Enablement
Sales enablement has been steadily gaining traction over the past few years. It’s the quiet revolution transforming the way businesses sell. As evidenced in G2, the sales enablement adoption rate has skyrocketed by an astounding 343% in the last five years. This surge underlines the recognition by businesses of the immense potential and effectiveness of a strong sales enablement strategy.
But what’s the tangible impact? It’s in the numbers. Organizations with a sales enablement strategy win deals 49% of the time versus 42.5% for those without. Each fraction of close-rate improvement translates to substantial revenue for your business. Need more proof? In upcoming posts, we’ll explore real-world examples of companies successfully implementing sales enablement strategies and witnessing substantial improvements in deal creation and win rates.
The Power of Sales Enablement: Why it Works
Why exactly does sales enablement work? Well, the answer lies in addressing the typical challenges sales leaders face daily – time and resources. As a sales leader, you’re juggling many competing tasks simultaneously, each representing a different aspect of sales performance, which can feel exhausting. That’s where sales enablement swoops in, methodically and comprehensively tackling these challenges. It aligns training, coaching, resources, and technology—essentially acting as the ‘glue’ holding everything together. And trust me, as a sales leader, you want that glue.
A whopping 65% of sales managers say their biggest challenge is the need for more time and resources to perform their jobs. This pressure is ultimately transferred to the sales team as they often spend too much time on administrative tasks. You can incorporate sales enablement into your business to avoid this burden. A report by Aberdeen Group indicated that companies with a strong sales enablement program experienced a 23% increase in sales productivity. Take this as motivation to discover how sales enablement can work for your business.
Remember the saying: “Are you working in your business or on your business?”. Working in your business refers to the daily tasks and operations – the hands-on work. In contrast, working on your business means focusing on the bigger picture and strategic functions impacting overall growth and direction. Sales enablement lets you focus ‘on’ your business, allowing you to implement strategic changes that drive your business forward. It helps to ensure your sales organization is proactive, adapting to market changes and refining both skills and approaches.
Understanding Sales Enablement
So, what exactly is sales enablement? It’s more than just industry jargon. It’s a strategic approach to arming your sales team with the tools, resources, and training to elevate their sales process.
Simply put, sales enablement focuses on equipping sales teams and sales leaders to grow the business more effectively. Sales leaders can boost their teams’ confidence, competence, and productivity by investing time and resources into improving training programs and tools.
Let’s start with the basics. From our experience, we have found that the foundation of sales enablement rests on four pillars: comprehensive sales training, relevant collateral, focused coaching, and an efficient sales tech stack.
Here’s a quick look at these must-have elements:
- Sales Training: This goes beyond product specifications or sales tactics. It’s about fostering a learning environment that encourages ongoing skill enhancement and adaptation to ever-evolving market changes. Training is not a one-size-fits-all approach; talk to your team and see what works for you. According to McKinsey, leading organizations are twice as likely to customize training to specific sales roles. Take this as an opportunity to refine your training strategies and empower your team to their full potential.
- Compelling Collateral: It’s all about providing your sales team with compelling materials to articulate your product’s unique value meaningful to each of your ideal customer profiles (ICP). Having effective collateral not only enhances the credibility of your sales team but also empowers them with accurate, up-to-date, and reliable information. Equip your sales team to do what they do best – sell.
- Coaching: This involves guiding your sales team through challenges and fostering growth in their roles. Tailor your coaching to individual team members based on their strengths, areas for improvement, and career aspirations. It’s a critical element of a successful sales team, promoting personal success, driving team performance, and overall business growth. Try building in regular team meetings with group role-playing and call coaching sessions to boost results.
- Sales Tech Stack: Utilize technology to automate and streamline the sales process, including everything from CRM systems to communication tools. Founder of Portage Sales, Peter Meyers, believes it’s “less so about the tool, and more about concentrating on the integration and making it practical to fit inside your process”. A well-crafted sales tech stack can increase efficiency, reduce administrative burdens, and provide deeper insights, allowing your team to optimize their performance and focus on the human aspect of selling.
Sales success is achieved through targeted training, compelling collateral, personalized coaching, and a streamlined tech stack; implemented together, you can power meaningful momentum from your sales enablement investments. In essence, sales enablement works because it’s a strategic approach that gives your sales team the tools they need precisely when needed. It’s about consistently fine-tuning your sales process, just like perfecting those HAM radio signals. The result? Unlocking your sales team’s full potential, fueling productivity, higher win rates, and ultimately, business growth.
Ready to take the next step? Stay tuned for our next post in this series, where we’ll dig into the practical implications of implementing sales enablement in your organization to find what works for you.
Join the enablement journey at Portage Sales. We’re passionate about unlocking the power of sales enablement. We offer valuable insights and strategic change based on our extensive experience. Whether you’re a sales leader or a B2B business founder, we’d love to get to know you.
Let’s explore the tactics that can fuel growth in your business – book a discovery session!
