Cleantech companies should be nailing sales enablement. Here's how.

Empowering your internal and external sales team is important in any business, but when it comes to more complex, technical products such as cleantech hardware and software, it's make or break. The idea of your product sales resting in the hands of others who may be less knowledgeable about it (at least initially), should be enough to highlight that sales enablement should be prioritised as a function within the business.

So why is sales enablement challenging? My take on this is that it's a function that requires multiple departments to work together, and this is seen as peripheral to their core departmental functions. In truth, we know it is absolutely critical.

Some companies do it well, while others lag behind. Over the last twelve years I've experienced a wide spectrum of different approaches and worked closely with clients and employers to systemise sales enablement tool production in a way that ensures these resources are as effective as they can be.

There is an art and science to sales enablement and it doesn't end with selling tools alone, it's also about training, incentivising, and establishing thriving partnerships (internal and external) where open communication is supported and encouraged.

If you find yourself at a point where you're embarking on up-levelling your sales enablement game, I'm going to share a plan you can implement for success. But first, some context -

Developing sales enablement tools is not a linear process with a start and end date. It's circular. That is, you're designing an ongoing, cyclic system with feedback loops. This is because things change: the products, the markets, use cases, sales channels, competitors and sometimes the target audiences all change and therefore the selling tools must evolve too.

Other things to think about -

Who are your sellers?

Your sellers could include - Inside sales, field sales, product trainers, wholesalers, retailers, and possibly installers, affiliates and referrers. These groups all need to be singing from the same hymn sheet in communicating with customers about your company and your product or service.

What are you selling?

Products, services, but also your business partnership, the competitive advantage your partnership offers, your marketing support, ease of doing business, etc. So you should craft a value proposition not only to the end customer, but also to your channel partners.

What are the audiences your sales enablement tools, content and materials need to speak to?

It can be useful to consider the nature of the materials, and how many fit the description of 'sell-to' tools and 'sell-through'. This determines the target audience for each piece, making it super clear what the piece needs to achieve and how it should be used.

What data should inform your sales enablement strategy?

Sales enablement is about uncovering why you win or lose deals, which means the bulk of the data to track and take note of will be qualitative.

• Sales Objections
• FAQs
• Content usage and performance
• Sales cycle length
• Time to revenue
• Quota attainment
• Attach rate analytics
• Number of closed deals
• Sales closing ratio
• Win and loss rates
• Onboarding time
• Sales process adherence
• Deal size

Look for the story behind the data - holistically. Where do deals get stuck and why? Track the data over time and note any trends or changes. Set targets for what you want the big picture to look like, and then how individual data points should reflect that. The data is your guide, but it's also a powerful tool to demonstrate the business case for your sales enablement budget requirements.

In building a sales enablement strategy, we are looking to identify methods to grease the wheels, release some of the blockages and improve sales performance with tools, training, content and materials.

Finally, here are the steps to establishing an effective sales enablement program:

1. Set up a Sales Enablement taskforce, including team members from marketing, product marketing and sales. For the initial sprint, they need to meet weekly. This can be scaled down to monthly once you hit a good production cadence.
2. Name the team - this is useful for company-wide cooperation and also gives those involved a sense of purpose.
3. Set measurable and realistic KPIs, e.g. top 10 sales tools completed within 12 weeks.
4. Give them your list of personas and ask them to map out their needs, concerns and sticking points, along with how these should be addressed. I've included a template below which you might find handy. Have them update it regularly from a feedback loop listing all recent sales questions and objections. Any obstacle to the sale should be listed and triaged at this point, and if there are actions for R&D or other departments, the taskforce sends it on. Any objections which can be solved with communication and sales tools, the team should list what tools would be useful.
5. Consider tools for everyone involved in the sales process - Inside Sales, Sales, Distributors, Installers, Partners and referrers. A really cool content grid I've referred to in the past is this one by Eloqua/Jess3:

1. (Sorry, can't seem to continue the previous numbering!). Present the list back to your seller groups in each region for initial feedback and validation before proceeding into development.
2. Once you have a complete list of sales tools identified, move these over to tab 2, which is the production tracker.
3. Rank the tools in order of priority. The taskforce should continue to meet regularly to keep production moving forward at pace.
4. Consider who should produce the draft copy, and who they should interview to gather information.
5. Develop the tools in priority order.
6. Present the tools in batches on a meeting with Sales and talk them through how to use them, and how to provide feedback to the Sales Enablement taskforce. The feedback should relate directly back to the objectives and metrics of the sales tool.
7. Continue the process in a perpetual cycle, albeit with less frequent meetings once you're in maintenance mode.
8. Triggers for future sprints might include: new market entry, a major regulatory change, a new product launch, etc.

Hope this helps!

At Positive Good , we develop and implement sales enablement strategies for clients in cleantech and renewable energy. If this is you, and you need support please get in touch!

We work with innovators, changemakers and brands that are driving the energy transition across hardware, software, data, platforms, services and utility-scale projects.

Whether you’re entering a new market, launching a product or commissioning a project, we have the experience, networks and resources to ensure you win mindshare with all the relevant industry stakeholders and decision-makers.

www.positivegood.com.au