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Imagination is an inherent component in sales enablement strategy. It is crucial to understand that the colder, logical aspects of sales enablement — such as analysis, planning, and execution — are not entirely representative of a successful strategy. Sales professionals have to be driven, enigmatic, creative, empathetic, and collaborative.
As the Vice President (VP) of Growth at Cyberbacker, a leading provider of world-class administrative services, Gabrielle Salazar embodies the dynamic personality of successful leaders in this space. “The main purpose of our different teams and divisions is to acquire, maintain, and retain clients,” she explains.
Successful sales teams are agile and able to meet challenging market conditions, knowledgeable in their company’s product, receptive to feedback, empathetic to customers, and collaborative with internal stakeholders. As a leader with a decade of experience in the call center industry, Salazar emphasizes the importance of cohesive understanding “among different sales roles, their characteristics, job applications, as well as a deep understanding of the brand, product, and tools or services offered.”
The creation of a successful sales enablement process requires a careful and thoughtful approach. While it may seem straightforward, business leaders like Salazar understand that there are nuances and complexities that should be considered to build cross-functional, adaptable, and responsive teams.
Here are five tips for building your sales enablement strategy and creating a cohesive picture:
1. Understand your product or service, messaging, and mission
A successful sales enablement strategy involves educating team members not just on the brand, product, or service, but also on why the messaging is important for clients. Salazar cites the incremental strategy behind Cyberbacker’s development cycle, which begins with training new hires as event moderators, then apprentices before they become Growthbackers who sell contracts and handle client relations.
Defining your sales process is crucial as it facilitates a thorough onboarding process for new team members. This involves identifying critical stages in the sales cycle, specific actions per role, and scalable metrics associated with each step. Understanding your sales process enables you to pinpoint areas where sales enablement can have the most significant impact.
2. Tailor your communication to emphasize the value, benefits, and differentiators of your product or service to your target audience
Sales enablement strategies should clearly compel the customer or audience to associate the brand, service, or product features with a cohesive brand story. Using data and research to establish buyer personas is one way to achieve this, as it helps to clarify industry niche and business size and, ultimately, identify a target audience.
Prospective customers should also be able to easily convey a concise, easily understood version of the particular brand, product, or service to others. The objective is to enable team members to consistently massage the story with potential clients through calls, emails, or content across social media platforms.
3. Operate in an environment that encourages innovation and experimentation
Sales is an industry known to be stressful and chaotic, but some organizations have found success through a more cohesive approach. Salazar notes that Craig Goodliffe, Cyberbacker’s founder and CEO, offered “tremendous support” when she began her career at the company.
This kind of leadership and collaboration is key to aligning content strategy, sales process, and buyer personas, which can create effective sales collateral and training materials for sales teams. By doing so, cross-functional collaborations and communication are strengthened, and relevant and applicable content is delivered to targeted audiences.
To foster creativity, companies must encourage independent exploration and experimentation and regularly update teams and collaborators. This approach develops innovative strategies that improve sales effectiveness and enhance customer experiences.
4. Address potential concerns and objections while highlighting the value of your product or service
For a sales enablement strategy to be most effective, it’s vital to leave and make room for the integration of technology. Several startups specialize in creating tools that focus on sales prospecting, lead generation, and customer relationship management (CRM).
However, it’s important to choose sales enablement tools that are not cumbersome and instead serve as a helpful guide. Effective tools should enable team members to organize tasks, communicate with internal and external stakeholders quickly, as well as track and distribute content, engagement metrics, and key insights.
5. Consistently adapt your sales enablement approach
To succeed, creators and sales teams must constantly refine their techniques and adapt to new tools and materials. Sales enablement is not a straight line — it is a continually evolving process that requires investment, measurement, and adjustment to remain effective. Long-term business success is achieved by acknowledging this fact and being proactive in response to changes.
One way to do this is to invest in ongoing training and education tailored to the sales team’s individual needs. By staying up-to-date on product tooling changes and being prepared to answer frequently asked questions, sales teams can continue to build customer trust and drive business success. Personalized training and education also help ensure sales teams are engaged and motivated to succeed.
Sales enablement is a crucial aspect of any business looking to grow revenue and increase customer engagement. Successful strategies involve educating team members, tailoring communication, fostering creativity, addressing concerns, highlighting product value, and using sales enablement platforms.
“There is a lot going on when your company is in a stage of growth,” Salazar says, “and the most complicated parts of my role involve keeping an eye on everyone to ensure that they all function well. When you’re building a sales enablement strategy, it’s crucial to remain available to help team members when they need assistance.”
