5 Steps of Sales Enablement Implementation

Sales teams are constantly under pressure to increase sales performance and meet revenue targets. However, many teams struggle to effectively engage with prospects and close deals, often relying on discounting to win business.

This not only erodes profit margins but also undermines the value of the products or services being sold. To overcome these challenges, sales organizations are turning to sales enablement programs.

In this guide, we'll cover five steps to implement a sales enablement program to help your sales team sell more effectively on value, versus discounting on price.

Step 1: Define Your Goals and Objectives for Sales Enablement

The first step in implementing a sales enablement program is to define your goals and objectives. What do you want your program to achieve? Are you looking to increase win rates? Improve sales productivity? Enhance the customer experience?

To define your goals and objectives, you may want to consider conducting a survey of your sales team to understand their pain points and challenges. You can also review your sales data to identify areas where you may be falling short. Once you've identified your goals and objectives, you can begin to develop a plan for sales enablement.

Step 2: Identify the Sales Tools, Content, & Resources You Need

To effectively enable your sales team, you'll need to provide them with the right resources and tools. These may include:

• Content: Sales enablement content can include things like sales playbooks, buyer personas, case studies, and scripts. It's important to ensure that your content is aligned with your sales objectives and is easily accessible to your sales team.
• Training: Sales training is a critical part of sales enablement. You may want to consider developing a formal sales training program that covers everything from product knowledge to sales skills and techniques.
• Technology: Sales enablement technology can include things like customer relationship management (CRM) systems, content management systems (CMS), and analytics platforms. It is important to choose the right technology and ensure that it integrates well with your existing systems.

Step 3: Create a Sales Onboarding, Training, & Coaching Plan

Once you've identified the resources and tools you need, you'll need to develop a plan for onboarding and training your sales team:

• Sales Onboarding: When you onboard new salespeople, it's important to provide them with a clear understanding of your program and the resources and tools that are available to them. This may include a formal orientation program, self-directed learning paths, bootcamps, workshops, reinforcement sessions, and certifications.
• Ongoing training: Sales enablement is an ongoing process, and it's important to provide your sales team with regular training and support. This may include workshops, training series, and seminars.
• Coaching: New knowledge and skills cannot be sustained without regular coaching and feedback. Develop a coaching plan and implement it to drive behavioral change.

Step 4: Measure and Analyze Sales Enablement Effectiveness

To ensure your sales enablement program is delivering the desired results, it's important to measure and analyze its effectiveness:

• Track Metrics - You can track metrics such as win rates, deal size, and time to close to understand the impact of your program. It's important to regularly review your metrics to identify trends and areas for improvement.
• Gather Feedback - You can also gather feedback from your sales team to identify areas for improvement. This will help you identify areas where your sales enablement program may be falling short.
• Update your Program - Based on your feedback and data, you may need to update your sales enablement program to ensure that it continues to meet your goals and objectives.

Step 5: Get Buy-In from Key Stakeholders

Finally, it's important to get buy-in from key stakeholders, including sales leadership, marketing, and sales operations teams. These stakeholders can provide valuable input and support as you implement your sales enablement program. Finally don't forget to regularly communicate the benefits of your sales enablement program to the broader organization.

Conclusion

Implementing a comprehensive sales enablement program can help your sales team sell more effectively and achieve better results.

By defining your goals and objectives, identifying tools and resources, providing sales training and coaching, measuring and analyzing effectiveness, and getting buy-in, you will have a successful sales enablement program that drives higher sales performance.

About the Author:? As a Management Consultant, Workshop Facilitator, & Global Sales Enablement Leader, Matt has helped companies accelerate sales performance and achieve higher sales results. Matt is recognized as a LinkedIn Influencer and regularly shares thought leadership on the topics of sales, negotiation, coaching, and leadership. For more insights,?follow Matt on LinkedIn