The New Rules of Sales Enablement, Rule 1: We need a new definition of Sales Enablement

Continuing where I left off in my last post about The New Rules of Sales Enablement, Rule 1: Conversations, Not Collateral

We need a new definition of sales enablement

Before defining what sales enablement is, let’s consider the desired outcome. A well-enabled salesperson can:

• Understand the customer’s marketplace and business issues
• Help the buyer envision solving their problems using his or her products and services
• Get stalled deals moving again
• Sell newly launched or acquired products, and cross-sell unfamiliar products
• Frame the buyer’s evaluation criteria so that the competitors are at a disadvantage
• Help the “buyer champion” sell within his or her organization
• Overcome objections raised by the buyer
• Respond to the tough questions immediately and with credibility
• Do all this within three months of being hired rather than seven months

What do all these abilities have in common? A real give-and-take, back-and-forth, you-and-me kind of groove. Something all humans recognize in that wonderful thing called a “conversation.”

That’s why we need to rethink sales enablement as something other than a one-way deposit of materials in a portal.

The NEW Definition of Sales Enablement

Sales Enablement is about ensuring your salespeople can have the valuable conversations that help buyers advance through their buying process. Sales Enablement is everything your company needs to do to ensure your salespeople are
armed with:

• The right knowledge,
• Specific to the current selling situation,
• At the right time
• In the right place
• Tailored to the needs of the buyer

Let’s look at what we mean by the right knowledge

Sales knowledge is much more than a stack of data sheets or four-color glossy brochures. The right knowledge includes:

Shared experiences :: Stories of successful selling experiences, lessons learned in the field, advice on how to avoid landmines or differentiate from competitors.

Sales support tools :: Competitive analysis, objection handling, customer stories and references, discovery questions, call scripts, sample letters.

Subject matter experts :: Product gurus, industry specialists, client service managers who can help prepare the rep for a sales call or support the rep on a call.

Coaching and proven strategies :: Content, messages, and strategies that are proven to work in the current selling situation.

Customer-facing materials :: Not just static collateral, but dynamic deliverables that are personalized for each prospect.

As you can see, this goes way beyond what companies are cramming into their sales portals today.

Whenever I tell people about this first new rule, I get a lot of “Yeah, buts.”

“Yeah, but we don’t have enough of that stuff.”
“Yeah, but our marketing folks can’t keep up with the requests they get from sales today.”
“Yeah, but our content is not ready to be rolled out to sales.”
“Yeah, but we have no idea whether salespeople use the stuff we give them already.”

That’s where the next rule comes in… Follow me an I'll post Rule #2 in the next couple of days. But first, challenge me. What's your definition of sales enablement?