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Sales enablement is an important aspect of any business, but what is it exactly? And why is it so important?

In its simplest form, sales enablement is the process of equipping sales teams with the knowledge and tools they need to sell more effectively.

But sales enablement is about more than just providing information. It's also about creating a culture of sales enablement within your organization, where everyone (especially the salespeople themselves) is invested in helping the sales function improve.

In this post, we'll discuss what sales enablement is and why it's important. We'll also give you some tips for creating a culture of sales enablement within your organization.

What Is Sales Enablement?

Sales enablement is the process of equipping and training salespeople to sell more effectively. It's all about arming your team with the right tools, resources, and knowledge they need to close more deals.

Sales enablement encompasses everything from training and education to process and technology tools.

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Why Is Sales Enablement Important?

You might be wondering why sales enablement is so important. Here are some reasons:

1. It helps sales reps close more deals. When you give your sales reps the tools they need to be successful, they're going to be able to close more deals.

2. It makes your sales process more efficient. The right tools and processes in place make it easier for your sales reps to do their jobs. And when things are running more efficiently, that means less time wasted and more money in the bank.

3. It improves customer satisfaction. When your sales reps are able to provide the right solutions to customers' needs, that's going to lead to higher customer satisfaction rates. And happy customers mean more business for you in the long run.

So as you can see, there are a lot of good reasons why sales enablement is so important.

If you're not sure where to start, don't worry—we've got you covered. Keep reading for some best practices on how to get started with sales enablement today.

Best Practices for Sales Enablement

Sales enablement will look different from organization to organization, but here are some best practices to get you started:

  1. Make sure the sales reps have the right information in a format that's easy to digest.
  2. Train reps on how to use the tools they have at their disposal.
  3. Get buy-in from your salespeople to improve work on improving their skills
  4. Set up regular check-ins with reps to see how they're doing and provide feedback.
  5. Give reps access to customer data so they can personalize their pitches.
  6. Encourage reps to use social media to build relationships with customers.
  7. Make sure that everyone is aware of what sales enablement is and what it entails. This includes the sales reps, the marketing department, and the CEO.
  8. Establish clear roles and responsibilities for everyone involved in sales enablement. This will help ensure that everyone is rowing in the same direction.
  9. Create a process for measuring the effectiveness of sales enablement. This will help you track and improve your results over time.

Who Owns Sales Enablement?

Sales enablement comes under the remit of sales operations (Sales Ops) and revenue operations (RevOps). It involves using data to identify opportunities for improvement in the sales function. For example, perhaps a lot of deals are falling through at the last stage, in which closing would be something to focus on.

Another example is building out the processes to ensure that the sales team is kept up to date on the latest product developments and how to sell it to customers.

Related read: How Are Revenue Operations and Sales Operations Different?

Sales Enablement Software

When it comes to sales enablement, there are a lot of different tools and strategies that can be used to directly help sales reps close more deals, such as sales acceleration software and sales enablement software.

One of the most important tools for sales enablement is a good CRM system. This can help you keep track of your pipeline and forecast more accurately (although there are standalone sales forecasting tools that you can integrate with your CRM as well) You should also make sure that you have a library of sales materials, such as product brochures, case studies, and white papers.

Larger sales teams usually use some type of proposal management software to help them standardize the proposals and proposal process.

And finally, don't forget about communication tools. These can help you keep your team connected and aligned on goals and objectives. Some popular communication tools include Slack, Asana, and Trello.

Another important aspect of sales enablement is training. You need to make sure that your reps are well-trained in both the product and the sales process. You can offer training in-person or online, depending on what works best for your team.

Sales Enablement Resources

First, it's important to make sure that the resources are useful and relevant to your sales reps. They should be easy to use, and they should help reps overcome any objections or hurdles they might face while selling.

Second, the resources should be tailored to your company's unique selling process. Every business is different, and your reps will need different tools and resources depending on their industry and market.

Finally, the sales enablement team should be constantly updating and improving the resources based on feedback from the reps themselves. They need to be agile and responsive, so that they can quickly adapt to changes in the market and the needs of their customers.

So who owns sales enablement? Ideally, it should be a collaborative effort between sales and marketing. The marketing team creates the resources, while the sales team uses them to close more deals.

Conclusion

Sales enablement is a process that equips salespeople with the tools and resources they need to sell more effectively. It's important because it helps sales reps close more deals, which in turn helps the company grow.

There are many best practices associated with sales enablement, and it's typically owned by the marketing department. However, it's important to work closely with the sales team to ensure that the tools and resources provided are actually useful and relevant.

By Phil Gray

Philip Gray is the COO of Black and White Zebra, a digital publishing and tech company. He hails from rainy Glasgow, Scotland transplanted in not quite as rainy Vancouver, BC, Canada. With 10+ years of experience in leadership and operations in industries that include biotechnology, healthcare, logistics, and SaaS, he applies a considerable broad scope of experience in business that lets him see the big picture. His love for data and all things revenue operations landed him this role as resident big brain for the RevOpsTeam.

A business renaissance man with his hands in many departmental pies, he is an advocate of centralized data management, holistic planning, and process automation. An unapologetic buzzword apologist, you can often find him double clicking, drilling down, and unpacking all the things.

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