Everyone wants to know how to create and implement a successful sales enablement program. 

 

But what, exactly, is a sales enablement program? 

 

And more importantly, how can you ensure that your company’s sales enablement program is effective?

 

At first glance, it might seem like a sales enablement program simply provides your sales team with the tools and resources they need to sell your products or services. And while that’s certainly part of it, there’s more to being successful than just giving your sales reps some brochures and product demos.

 

While many different things go into an effective sales enablement program, we’ve identified eight critical components for success. Keep reading to see what they are!

 

8 Keys For An Effective Sales Enablement Program

 

1. Build a team with the best and right people

To build a sales team that is best suited to achieve success, it is essential to focus on hiring individuals who are not only knowledgeable and skilled but also good at teamwork.

 

Further, successful sales strategies require flexible and adaptable representatives willing to adopt new engagement methods. Therefore, when building a sales team, it is essential to focus on finding professionals who can work together seamlessly to achieve the desired results.

 

Only by assembling a team of the best and the right people will you be able to set your business up for success.

 

2. Define clear customer-centric objectives

Sales enablement is all about empowering sales reps to engage the buyer. Therefore, the buying experience should be the cornerstone of your efforts. 

 

There are two advantages to this: 

 

• First, make sure salespeople understand who the buyer is and their journey.
• Mapping your sales plays and training to the buying experience.

Buyers today are more informed and empowered than ever, and almost 70% expect a personalized, seamless experience.[source] To meet these expectations, salespeople need to understand the buyer’s journey and map their interactions accordingly.

 

Once aligned, the correct information can be given to the clients at the right time. This will help measure success by looking at essential things like the pipeline, revenue, and lifetime value.

 

3. Evaluate the skill and knowledge gaps

There are several ways to evaluate sales reps for knowledge and skill gaps. Observations, assessments, quizzes, and metrics help identify areas where employees need improvement.

 

After completing evaluations, create training plans based on the list of skills and knowledge gaps identified during the evaluation process and prioritize the areas that need to be addressed.

 

Direct employees to the related resources and incorporate input from each individual to increase the acceptance of change and commitment to the process.

 

4. Create easily-accessible sales enablement content

According to 50% of sales professionals, buyers are becoming more selective in purchasing decisions and require more proof of value than ever before.  [source] At the same time, one in five sales professionals says that ineffective sales content is their biggest challenge when trying to close a deal. [source]

 

As a result, content that is tailored to each target audience, emphasizing how specific products or services are best suited to solve their problems, is required to provide buyers with justification for the need for them to commit.

 

Hence, developing comprehensive, easily-accessible sales enablement content is essential for any organization looking to effectively arm their sales teams with the materials they need to increase success in closing deals.

 

5. Integrate sales enablement tools

Most companies rely on email to send information and content to their sales teams. However, this is not the most effective way to communicate updates. In addition, email and multiple tools create confusion and increase sales reps’ time to sell actively.

 

Tools that automate tedious tasks and seamlessly integrate with all the other tools reduce time spent on admin-related tasks, like logging activity, transferring data, and finding the right content. This lets salespeople focus on building relationships and closing deals.

 

An integrated tools plan will allow reps to be more successful by spending less time searching for information and more time actively selling. As a result, your company will see an increase in sales and ROI.

 

6. Streamline the workflow to provide more insights

You need a streamlined workflow to make the most of your data. This will help you gain insights and make better decisions. Having the correct data is essential, but it is also important to report it regularly.

 

Ensure that your sales acceleration, enablement, and automation platforms track the metrics that most matter to you and generate reports with the insights you need. By streamlining your workflow, you make the most of your data and give yourself a competitive advantage.

 

7. Create standards based on top performers

When it comes to developing standards, one approach is to base them on the performance of top performers. Moreover, a report says that adding a top performer to the team boosts the effectiveness of other team members by 5-15%.[source]

 

This has the advantage of ensuring that the standards are realistic and achievable. After all, if the top performers can reach a certain level, then it stands to reason that others can, too.

 

8. Track and analyze data with the sales engagement tool

Data is essential for understanding which sales tactics are working and which need improvement. However, sifting through mountains of data is a time-consuming and daunting task. 

 

Using sales engagement tools, which automatically analyze sales data and quickly identify patterns and trends to fine-tune the sales process, ensures that resources focus on the most promising leads.

 

Additionally, analyzing sales data helps to prioritize leads, making it easier to close business deals. In today’s competitive market, having access to this intelligence gives your organization a significant advantage.

 

Wrap-up

 

Implementing a dedicated sales enablement strategy will provide the necessary foundation for success. By providing your sales reps with the tools they need and arming them with engaging, persuasive content, you help them achieve their targets more efficiently and create a successful revenue-generating team.