Everything to know about Sales Enablement tools 2023

The days of spamming email lists or relentlessly calling prospects without any rhyme or reason are long gone. Some of the most well-known sales teams are adopting a new, more involved sales process.

Sales enablement is more than just a catchphrase; it is an approach that delves deeply into the customer journey to provide the sales team with the resources, information, and know-how they require to close deals. Your sales team simply cannot afford to ignore it any longer because it has proven to be so successful. But what exactly are sales enablement or sales enablement tools?

Definition and importance of Sales enablement

Giving sales teams the tools and knowledge, they require to interact with prospects more deeply is a process known as sales enablement. These assets (like content and marketing materials) can support sales representatives in developing strong relationships with their prospects.

These materials must be meticulously arranged, though. Sales professionals need to be able to get the right information at the right time and the right help from their coworkers.

By giving marketers useful insights that can help them better understand their target customers and by giving salespeople the necessary resources and training to close deals, sales enablement and sales enablement tools aid in bridging the gap between marketing and sales.

Sales and marketing teams must improve their presentation and work harder to understand their target audiences. To demonstrate their value, they must genuinely comprehend the problems that their clients are facing.

Since there is no one-size-fits-all strategy, sales teams need to be better equipped with the information, resources, and support to enable them to build more solid, lucrative business relationships with their clients.

The need for Sales enablement

Sales enablement is a tried-and-true strategy to increase deal closing and boost your company’s profitability. As of research, deliberate efforts to improve the connections between marketing and sales can result in an increase in growth of 19%.

Your sales and marketing teams will be more motivated and effective, which will help your bottom line as well, our marketing experts will notice the immediate results of their efforts. Your top sales performers will feel encouraged and aware that they have every opportunity to succeed in the meantime.

The rest of your company can benefit as well. Your product development team and business development team will be more satisfied the more you sell.

Functions of Sales enablement

A good sales enablement program offers a comprehensive strategy for increasing sales that is tailored to the organization it supports.

However, when you break it all down, a few essential roles become apparent as being present in almost all sales enablement strategies:

• To stay current on trends, comprehend their products, and maintain a consistent and quantifiable approach to sales, salespeople can benefit from ongoing training.
• For frontline sales, marketing, and leadership teams alike, coaching offers one-on-one support to help embed learning and instill confidence.
• Tools give salespeople the information they need to comprehend and benefit their prospects. Playbooks, sales templates, CRM programs, and other things fall under this.

A strong sales enablement strategy, however, doesn’t stop there.

Consider sales enablement as a link connecting other areas of the company.

• The sales enablement process could provide sales operations with useful insights that could be used to improve tech infrastructure, plan compensation, and other areas.
• Marketing teams can develop content based on insights gained from an extensive sales enablement process to better understand their target customers.
• Thanks to better support and easier access to resources made possible by a sales enablement process, business support teams like human resources may see an increase in retention.
• By assisting in the evaluation and onboarding of future sales colleagues, talent acquisition can also experience notable improvements in retention.

Who Is Responsible for Sales Enablement?

The sales and marketing teams both participate in this process.

Great, but how exactly does that operate?

Strong leaders from marketing and sales will need to collaborate to decide who is in charge of what in order to build a strong sales enablement framework.

• The marketing department is frequently in charge of developing training materials and content to give salespeople the knowledge they need to close deals.
• Typically, the sales team is in charge of gathering customer feedback and insights from the sales process and putting them in a usable format for the marketing team.

The implementation of the other team’s insights is the responsibility of both teams, though there are other ways to manage these processes.

Employ the RACI Matrix

The RACI matrix is one well-liked project management strategy. It is a structure that spells out who is in charge of what and how information is shared between teams.

Each team member has a role in this system:

• Responsible: the team member in charge of completing the task
• Accountable: the team member responsible for the task’s success or failure.
• Consultancy: the team member who needs to be consulted when making decisions regarding the task should be consulted
• Informed: the team member who needs to be kept informed of task progress

The following roles within a sales enablement initiative could be described using the RACI framework:

• The manager of sales facilitation is in charge or responsible.
• The sales or marketing team leader is responsible.
• Managers of sales and marketing were consulted.
• Sales and marketing teams are informed.

Process flow of Sales enablement

A framework for sales enablement consists of a number of procedures and techniques intended to improve the efficiency of sales teams. It should cover everything in between and begin with strategy and end with tracking.

Sales Facilitation Technique

Aligning sales and marketing around a shared goal with a clear plan for how and what will be done to achieve that goal is the first step in any framework for sales enablement.

The following are the essential components needed for a successful strategy:

• form a team,
• Determine the buyer’s journey,
• Establish objectives and KPIs,
• Make a plan.

Why it’s significant

When marketing and sales are not in sync, businesses lose $1 trillion annually due to decreased sales productivity and ineffective marketing. Teams can communicate more effectively and close more deals for the company with the aid of a thorough strategy.

Coaching and Training for Sales

Giving salespeople a goal to strive for is not sufficient; they also need high-quality coaching and training on how to achieve that goal.

Salespeople will be assisted in adopting a consistent and quantifiable approach to sales by coaching and training.

Salespeople receive the knowledge they need to succeed through training, and coaching assists them in putting that knowledge into practice.

The best sales enablement initiatives give salespeople formal and informal opportunities.

Informal training options include lunch and learn, sales competitions, and mentorship programs, whereas formal training options include sales boot camps, webinars, e-learning modules, and certification programs.

Creating templates for salespeople to use, sharing product walkthroughs and demos, and one-on-one Q&As are examples of coaching on the other hand.

Why it matters

The entire purpose of sales enablement and sales enablement tools is to provide salespeople with the resources they need to accomplish their objectives and close deals.

Salespeople can accomplish this with the aid of sales coaching and training. Up to 65% of workers think that receiving quality training keeps them motivated. Additionally, since 80%–90% of training is forgotten after just one month, ongoing training and coaching are essential components of a successful sales enablement framework.

The content for Sales

Another crucial component of sales enablement is sales content. Salespeople will direct prospects to this information in order to close a deal.

It is uncommon for a salesperson to be able to close a deal by giving a potential client little to no information. They might require assistance in guiding the prospect through their journey. Sales content is ideally suited for this situation.

The following is just a partial list of sales content:

• One of the most important and practical types of sales content available is email templates. To help the salesperson improve their chances of getting a response, these can be used in every circumstance and for every buyer persona.
• You can position your brand as an authority in the field by writing blog posts or how-to guides. Additionally, this information can help potential customers understand why they might require your product.
• E-books can also help establish your brand as an authority while giving readers a detailed look at the objectives of your product.
• Case studies serve as a form of social proof by highlighting a common issue and demonstrating how your product addressed it.
• The most comprehensive overview of your business and product is provided in sales decks. An effective sales presentation will identify a problem, offer a solution, and highlight the features and benefits of your product, all while supporting your claims with credible evidence and easily understandable visuals.

Why it’s significant  

 The difference between closing a deal and sending (yet another) follow-up email can be made by having the appropriate sales enablement tools and content at your disposal. 

  Did you know that searching for relevant content to share with prospects can take sales representatives up to 440 hours per year? As more and more consumers prefer digital interactions, it is crucial for salespeople to have compelling content available when and where they need it. 

Sales Facilitation Technology 

In order to aid salespeople in achieving their objectives, a solid sales enablement strategy will also take new technology and software into account. 

Customer relationship management software, email automation, training platforms, and other items fall under the category of sales technology. 

Salespeople frequently use the following sales enablement programs: 

 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software enables salespeople to view information about their clients, including their buyer personas, contact information, and whether or not they have followed up. 

In any sales strategy, email automation tools are essential. Salespeople can use automation to reach out to prospects, follow up with potential customers and implement templates to optimize their outreach efforts. 

In order to ensure the salespeople, have all the knowledge they need to close deals successfully, sales enablement managers can use learning management systems to see who has received training in what areas. 

Sales coaching tools can bring all the beneficial resources together under one roof, including encouragement, development, learning resources, and advice. 

Data and analytics software are crucial parts of understanding the customer’s journey. These tools assist in determining where customers are losing interest, determining what content might be most beneficial, and even providing teams with insightful feedback on conversion rates. 

 Why is it important?  

Briefly, technology simplifies the lives of salespeople. A company’s salespeople can save time, create more dynamic customer journeys, and, most importantly, close more deals that are worth more money by using technology to streamline the sales process. 

 Monitoring Progress 

 It’s critical to remember that sales enablement is a continuous process. Following the completion of each step, you must evaluate the results and modify your strategy as necessary. 

A crucial part of this process is monitoring the results. It will not only give your team insightful information about the customer journey, but it will also enable you to make data-driven choices regarding your sales enablement strategy. 

Best practices and strategies for Sales enablement

Top Sales enablement strategies

There are important ways to improve your sales enablement process’ effectiveness. Here are five of these practical strategies explained in more detail:

Give the appropriate tools.

The right content is only one aspect of sales enablement. You must also specify the tools and make them available.

The key decision-makers in your company should closely follow the sales enablement landscape in order to track new developments and tools that may have an impact on your software portfolio.

Provide regular instruction.

Instead of being proactive, many sales enablement strategies are reactive. They entail paying attention to salespeople and figuring out what they need. However, you can stop the cycle by providing consistent training.

Depending on your organization’s priorities, a wide variety of delivery methods could be used for this training. Your salespeople will then become informed of company developments at that point.

Imagine that you are about to introduce an intriguing new feature to your product in the upcoming quarter. The product lead could describe the feature during a half-day training session before the marketing team displays the collection of materials they have produced.

Make knowledge sharing simple.

Your team members may occasionally need to communicate critical information to sales. However, word-of-mouth is ineffective, and people have a tendency to forget. As a result, some salespeople will unavoidably be excluded.

As a result, you should set up a centralized method of knowledge sharing and ensure that your team uses it. There are low-tech alternatives in addition to great knowledge bank tools like Atlassian.

Consider adding a quick update to daily standup meetings or setting up a bulletin board in the sales division.

Sales enablement best practices

Following best practices will ensure that you get the most out of your sales enablement efforts and steer clear of common pitfalls. Take a closer look now…

Set clear guidelines.

It’s important for you to have a clear understanding of what to anticipate before starting any initiative. To assess the effectiveness of your sales enablement process, you should set a number of SMART goals.

You can continue making changes as necessary by reviewing your sales enablement procedure on a regular basis. Additionally, it will emphasize the significance of the initiative and demonstrate your commitment to the success of your sales and marketing divisions.

If at all possible, formalize and distribute the team’s feedback from your teams. Then you can establish transparency, which will aid in capturing the spirit of teamwork that truly makes a sales enablement process effective.

Reporting

There should be a lot of data generated by your sales enablement process. Your marketing department will be able to provide statistics on the access and viewing patterns of your marketing materials. Your sales team will be able to share specific statistics in the interim.

You should keep an eye on these crucial metrics over time to determine whether your sales enablement strategy is actually effective.

Employee opinions

You should pay attention to your sales and marketing teams, as well as other employees, to learn how the process is adding value. For instance, despite the processes you have in place, you might discover that the sales team still feels unsupported.

You can quickly solve these kinds of problems and offer solutions if you keep an eye on the ground.

Sales enablement tools

What do sales enablement posts do?

Sales enablement tools are designed to help sales teams improve their performance and productivity by providing them with the necessary resources, training, and support to succeed. These tools can take various forms, including software platforms, mobile apps, or web-based solutions.

The main purpose of sales enablement tools is to streamline the sales process by automating repetitive tasks, providing real-time data and analytics, and delivering targeted content and training.

Sales enablement tools and issues they address

Content Management for Sales

Technology for sales content management, also referred to as sales asset management, aids businesses in organizing, locating, and promoting the best sales assets.

Example: Highspot,

Highspot makes it possible to manage all the content required for the sales team to interact with customers and is set up so that representatives can quickly find what they need. Sales teams are empowered by Highspots to:

• Publish a variety of materials
• Create categories for your items.
• Simple content organization changes
• Update products with newer iterations
• Assemble pertinent news items
• Assistance to multiple editors

Practice and Coaching via Video

Sales teams can use video coaching tools to reinforce skills that were covered in training sessions and to assess sellers’ competency through video-based practice and coaching evaluations.

For instance- Wingman

A wingman is comparable to a live sales coach. While sales representatives are making their pitch, live cue cards are displayed as the software analyses conversations as they are taking place. Wingman tracks metrics such as the amount of time spent listening as opposed to speaking during calls and records calls, which is great for coaching in the future.

Constructive Sales Outreach

Sales engagement tools provide actionable data that highlights the most effective outreach strategies and streamline all the ways reps communicate with prospects, including phone, email, social media, and other channels.

For instance- Outplay

A platform called Outplay enables sales teams to schedule more meetings. It enables your sales team to track and connect with customers via LinkedIn, Twitter, phone, text, and email.

Sales administration

By monitoring KPIs and activity levels and enhancing the accuracy of the sales pipeline forecast, sales management tools assist sales leaders in better managing the teams they oversee.

For instance, HubSpot Sales

HubSpot is marketing and sales management software that performs a variety of tasks, including content management, marketing and sales automation, and more. In-depth reports on sales activity, productivity, and individual performance are also provided.

Sales operations vs Sales enablement

To differentiate between sales enablement and sales operations, it is crucial to understand their respective focuses. While there is some overlap between them, sales operations primarily deal with the process and structure of sales, whereas sales enablement aims to provide sales personnel with the necessary resources to succeed.

Sales operations is responsible for activities such as establishing sales infrastructure, setting up sales territories, defining quotas and targets, and managing commissions.

On the other hand, sales enablement is centered around creating sales materials, offering sales training, providing access to market intelligence and research, and assisting salespeople in resolving issues.

Sales enablement is the new constant

Consider implementing a sales enablement program if you want to increase your company’s sales performance. Your sales team may benefit from sales enablement, which can help close the skills gap and give salespeople the resources and tools they need to be successful.

Sales enablement is not a passing trend that won’t last for very long. In fact, as businesses work to boost their sales performance, sales enablement will only become more crucial. The time has come to start using sales enablement to improve your sales process, if you haven’t already.