July 11, 2020
Strategic Sales Enablement
Whether you run a Strategic Sales Enablement program for one person or are part of a team, the sheer scope of the job can be overwhelming.
I hear you.
That’s why we’ve put together this guide to sales enablement, focusing on the three core parts of the job: strategy, execution, and governance.
Strategic Sales Enablement
Executing sales enablement
Sales enablement government
Let's do it, shall we?
Strategic Sales Enablement: Always Start Here
Everything in business starts with strategy (or should!). Success finance directors email lists depends on understanding your goals, both for the organization and the people you support.
Don't forget that you are in the “people business”
It’s easy to get caught up in projects and the pressures of work. Especially when the job covers so much territory. But it’s important to remember why the sales enablement role exists – to help your salespeople succeed.
As Max Perez says:
There are 4 P’s to ensure sales enablement success: PEOPLE, PURPOSE, PROGRAMS, and PLATFORMS. Never forget that we are in the “people business”!
While our success is deeply rooted in ensuring we are partnering with all business units of the company to decrease time to entry and increase salesperson productivity… NEVER forget that it all starts and ends with people!
We often get lost in products, processes, programs, etc., and the “human element” around how a company fits into the journey of its prospects or customers gets lost in the mix.
RELATED: Demystifying Sales Enablement: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Do It Right
Get buy-in from the top and bottom in Strategic Sales Enablement
Now here's where it can get challenging: You serve revenue-generating employees, sure, but you do it to help your executive team achieve their goals.
That means you need to align both up and down: understanding people's problems at every level and finding ways to help them achieve their goals.
Sandra Brusby, CEO of WBP, England, explained it like this: You need to understand the challenge or problem that management wants you to solve. Then you need to talk to employees and understand the problems they face.
From those conversations, you can identify divergence between management and employees, which will help you make recommendations and set priorities.
For employees, what are some easy wins? Start with these projects, so you can build credibility with them.
Give reps some tasks and assignments that they'll be excited about. Start by making their lives easier so they'll be willing to give you their time in the future.
Jane Mair, director of enablement at PeopleSOFT, agreed that you need to know the company you're in.
Recommends a programmatic approach, working with the existing operational sales rhythm rather than creating additional workflows for enablement initiatives.
Analytical and consultative skills go a long way in establishing an enabling function.
Be sure to collect a healthy mix of qualitative and quantitative data to drive stakeholder alignment in decision-making.
Create an enablement maturity model to help the team understand the current state and a roadmap for continuous iteration and optimization.
How do you do this? It really depends on your organization. Every company has unique challenges and goals, so you need to think outside the box.
Sales enablement best practices will get you started, but you need to be able to think strategically.
Maria Alvarado, Senior Sales Enablement Manager, says it well:
Do what’s right for your business. Every business will require something a little different from Enablement and a great enablement leader will be able to mold their previous experiences into a strategy and framework that works for their business, leadership, and customer-facing representatives.
She should know. Her company is a player in a new industry and is in hyper-growth mode.
Their experience with SaaS companies, while still applicable, has not been 100% transferable.
He had to jump from that previous experience while thinking outside the box to understand how to make his reps and company successful.
Setting priorities based on the organization's strategic objectives is important for Strategic Sales Enablement
You may feel torn between organizational initiatives and the needs of the people. Remember, when the organization succeeds, so does every individual who works there.
So when faced with competing priorities, higher-level objectives should win. Marcela Pineros, Global Sales Enablement Lead at New Relic, emphasizes this point:
Make sure you are aligned with critical company expectations and current company goals. Whatever those key goals/initiatives are, keep an eye on them.
