The Revenue Generation Blog | Square 2

10 A-la-Carte Sales Enablement Services

Written by Mike Lieberman, CEO and Chief Revenue Scientist | Thu, Jan 18, 2018

Most definitions of sales enablement are broad and discuss a wide range of sales and marketing services. If you know your sales department could use a boost but aren’t sure where to start, take a look at some a-la-carte sales enablement services you can get started with immediately.


1. Content Audit

Knowing what content you have and don’t have is crucial to the sales enablement process. Collecting all your case studies, whitepapers, e-books, presentations, and product information in the same place helps reps find and use content more efficiently. It also gives insight into what content needs to be updated, what is missing, and what is used most often.


2. Marketing and Sales Alignment

With a better understanding of what content your business has and uses, the marketing team will get a clearer picture of how your salespeople sell and what types of content helps them achieve their goals. The marketing team can now create email workflows promoting popular content, sales sequences with proper messaging to support each rep, and templates reps will actually use.


3. Review of Sales Process

A full review of the selling process can highlight bottlenecks and disconnects that need to be addressed. For instance, if reps spend 10 hours preparing for demos each week, but only a few demos result in a sale, your demonstration process or presentation content may need adjusting.

A sales process audit is a way for your whole team to get an in-depth analysis of your systems and review sales performance based on real data. When deciding on sales enablement services, this is a good place to start.


4. Buyer Persona Development

Many organizations only focus on the specifics of their buyers if they are new to the market or if there is a large change in the industry. While these times are important, it is necessary to redefine your buyer personas and their buying process at least once a year.

Unless you take the time to reengage and learn about your buyers, your content and sales process could both be aimed at the wrong target.


5. Sales Training and Coaching

Frequent sales training is something many sales leaders avoid, but it has value for both your highest performing and newest reps.

On average, the typical sales rep loses 80 to 90 percent of their training within 30 days. This is why sales coaching needs to be ongoing. It keeps sales teams focused on the process and goals of the department as well as teaching them how to sell using the inbound methodology.


6. Industry Intelligence

Experts offering sales enablement services always have their ear to the ground and are up to date on the latest trends and techniques. They can help you gather competitor intelligence, stay informed on industry and market trends, and help your sales team be more knowledgeable about their work, product, or services.


7. Standardized Reporting

Deciding which sales reports are most valuable and customizing them to show only the data you need will save sales leaders time.

Some metrics to focus on are:

  • Activities completed by salespeople
  • Product demos completed
  • Deals won
  • Deals lost
  • Leads generated
  • Average sales cycle length

Some sales leaders know the information they need but don’t know how to get it efficiently. A sales enablement specialist can help connect these dots.


8. Lead Scoring

Many sales rep hours are spent on prospects that don’t fit your business. A lead scoring system uses real data to judge incoming leads based on specific criteria. A lead scoring system can place weak leads into a nurturing workflow while raising qualified leads to a salesperson to handle the sale. A sales enablement professional can set up these systems as well as decide what determines a qualified lead.


9. Technology Evaluation & Training

A sales enablement expert can confirm your sales tools are properly aligned with your sales process and that your team has fully adopted the program. You can implement the best technology on the market but if your reps aren’t using it or are using it incorrectly, it impacts the whole department.

Whether you stay with the same system or bring on new software, sales enablement coaches can help train and set up sales tools. They can train reps so you get full buy-in from your team and make sure any customized reporting or features are prepared properly.


10. Automated Messaging Setup

Sales is no longer a manual business. Although setting up automated systems takes some time, in the long run, these systems save hours in wasted time each week. New sales tools can send follow-up emails triggered automatically after a specific time period. Prospects can set meetings without ever speaking to someone through direct calendar links. Also, live chatbots and instant messaging features mean sales reps can chat and engage with qualified leads in real time.