3 Keys for a Successful Sales Enablement Program

Crafting the right sales enablement strategy is a lot like building a house. With both, you want a sturdy framework that will stand for years to come, even as individual elements come and go. But at the same time, you need many other components to achieve lasting success. A house that lacks the right planning, materials, andlabour will crumble and leave you with a big, expensive mess to clean up. The same goes for your sales enablement plan.
So what do you need to ensure your strategy doesn’t cave in on itself? It varies from company to company, but if you can achieve the right mix of training, technology, content creation, and analytics, you’ll have many of the tools you need to succeed. Of course, there are intangibles that every organization must account for, and some of them are included in this list. But on the whole, sales enablement is simply about ensuring your sales process flows logically from one stage to another to allow the fastest and easiest route to a closed deal.

1. Integration with Both Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing departments used to be like distant cousins: aware of each other’s existence, but not particularly concerned one way or the other. Now, they’re more like conjoined twins: reliant on each other to perform the very functions that allow them to live. If you use inbound marketing methods, you need a sales team that’s equipped to continue nurturing clients, while an inbound seller is nothing without techniques that draw visitors to your website. If you can’t get these departments to work closely with one another, you likely won’t be able to adapt to the new business climate.

2. Acceptance from Your Salespeople

Salespeople are generally a pretty independent bunch. This can pose problems for your sales enablement strategy if they get too stuck in their rut, though. Whether they balk at adopting new selling techniques or feel that the shift devalues their skills and experience, inbound strategies are an all or nothing approach. If they don’t integrate with the new team, the whole plan falls apart.
When you start to implement changes, make sure that your sales staff feels valued and capable in their new roles. Emphasize the benefits they gain with inbound selling: they won’t have to sift through dead-ends or chase uninterested shoppers, and they’ll be able to meet their quotas more easily and close deals faster. Give them the training and tools they need to perform well in their new roles. If you can achieve all of this, it will make the transition easier for both them and your organization as a whole.

3. A Prosperous Partnership with an Inbound Marketing Agency

When you started this article, you may have hoped that sales enablement would be a process you could phase in gradually, adding pieces here and there whenever it became convenient. It’s true that you can’t adopt these methods too suddenly, but taking a do it yourself approach to your strategy is not necessarily the best idea. For example, you may not know how to use your desired enablement software, which will make teaching others almost impossible. The whole procedure requires hefty budgets and staffing, so if you try to keep things in-house, you’ll only take away necessary resources. Inbound marketing agencies are full of enablement experts that can devote more time and energy to your strategy and other necessary tasks than you can. As a result, you can be confident that they will help you sell smarter.

Author:
Source