Sales enablement is a strategic process that helps align an organization’s sales goals with its ability to deliver the right message to the right buyer at the right time.
It sounds complex, but it’s actually quite simple: sales enablement is all about giving your sales team the tools, content, and training they need to be successful.
Unfortunately, many organizations fail to properly implement sales enablement strategies, resulting in subpar sales performance. If this is you, or you want to prevent this from happening to your organization, keep reading.
Here are seven tips for implementing sales enablement strategies that work.
1. Define Your Sales Process
The first step to successful sales enablement is to define your sales process. This means mapping out the steps involved in taking the lead from initial contact to a closed deal.
It’s important for every member of your sales team to be on the same page when it comes to your process, as this will ensure a consistent and efficient sales experience for your buyers.
Take note that the “sales process” goes beyond the actual act of selling. It also includes things like lead generation, prospecting, and customer relationship management (CRM).
By mapping out your entire process, you can more easily identify where sales enablement strategies need to be put in place.
2. Identify the Buyer’s Journey
Next, you need to identify the buyer’s journey. This refers to the steps a buyer takes when considering a purchase, from initial awareness all the way to post-purchase advocacy.
Understanding the buyer’s journey is critical for sales enablement, as it allows you to create content and strategies that target buyers at each stage of their decision-making process. In addition, it also shows you gaps in your sales process that need to be addressed.
Identifying the buyer’s journey also supports other areas of sales enablement, such as sales training and CRM. By understanding the buyer’s journey, you can more easily create targeted content and train your sales team on the most effective selling strategies.
3. Implement Training and Coaching Programs
An effective sales enablement strategy will also include performance management, training and coaching programs for your sales team. A big part of this strategy involves empowering your team members with the resources they need to be successful.
This might include onboarding programs for new hires, ongoing training on your product or service, and even coaching from more experienced salespeople. By investing in your team’s development, you’ll ensure that they have the skills and knowledge necessary to close deals and hit their quotas.
Aside from that, it also has intangible benefits, such as increased morale and job satisfaction, which can lead to lower turnover rates.
4. Give Your Team the Right Tools
On top of training and coaching, your sales team will also need the right tools to do their job effectively. The specific tools you’ll need will depend on your product or service, but they might include a CRM system, proposal software, or even just a solid email marketing tool.
If you’re not sure what tools your team needs, don’t hesitate to ask them! They’re the ones using these tools on a daily basis, so they’ll be the best judges of what will help them do their jobs better.
In addition, you can also schedule brainstorming sessions with your team to come up with new ideas and solutions to common sales problems. This is a great way to encourage creativity and collaboration, two essential ingredients for success.
5. Develop a Measurement Strategy
You can’t improve what you don’t measure, so it’s crucial to develop a measurement strategy as part of your sales enablement strategy. This will help you track your progress and identify areas that need improvement.
There are a number of metrics you can measure, but some important ones to consider include conversion rates, close rates, and time to close. By tracking these numbers over time, you’ll be able to see which sales enablement strategies are working and which ones need to be tweaked.
6. Set Clear Goals
It’s important to set clear goals for your sales enablement strategy. Otherwise, it’s easy to get off track and lose sight of what you’re trying to achieve.
Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). For example, a goal might be to increase conversion rates by 10% in the next quarter. On the other hand, avoid setting goals that are too vague, like “increasing sales.”
And don’t forget to involve your team in setting these goals! They’ll be more likely to buy into the strategy and work towards achieving the goals if they have a hand in setting them.
7. Be Flexible and Adjust as Needed
Last but not least, it’s important to remember that your sales enablement strategy is not set in stone. As your business grows and changes, so too will your needs. What works today might not work tomorrow, so you need to be flexible and willing to iterate as necessary.
This doesn’t mean scrapping your entire strategy every time something changes, but it does mean being open to making changes as needed. After all, the best sales enablement strategy is one that is constantly evolving to meet the needs of your business.
Final Thoughts
A winning sales enablement strategy becomes even more powerful with the right digital solutions in place.
With companies like Argano, you get a partner that can help you evaluate, define, and select the right technology tools for your business. These companies also provide support and guidance to ensure that you get the most out of your investment.
