Based on our discussions with prospects, buyers at trade shows, and industry experts, there is still a lot of confusion about “What is Sales Enablement?”
As a 20-year practitioner of marketing, and some times sales leader, I have done sales enablement (little ‘s’, little ‘e’) in some capacity in every company throughout my career. But in the last 5 years it has become increasingly common for companies to have dedicated teams with the title of “Sales Enablement” or “Sales Readiness.” And in that same time, the emergence of a clear marketing technology segment has arisen.
Whether there is a dedicated team or a shared responsibility, sales enablement bridges the divide between marketing and sales. It provides marketing a platform to publish and analyze the effectiveness of their content. It enables sales enablement to monitor sales readiness. And it empowers sales reps to find the most effective content, share it with prospects, and get real-time alerts on customer engagement.
We wrote “The Definitive Guide to Sales Enablement” to help clarify the confusion about the space and give interested parties a foundation from which to drive improvements, adopt best practices and assess tools. The ROI for sales enablement is compelling. On average 65% of content goes unused, representing a $2M waste for the average mid-sized company. On the other hand, “best-in-class” companies that implement sales enablement, have 50% better quota attainment than companies who don’t. We want to make everybody “best-in-class.”
The Definitive Guide contains a wealth of information from which to dive deeper. Here is an outline of its contents:
- Calculating ROI
- Evolution of Sales Enablement Solutions
- Platform Capabilities Matrix
- Maturity Model – A Path for Growth
- Deployment Best Practices
- Designing your Sales Enablement Solution
- Measuring Content Performance
- Analyzing Sales Rep Readiness and Training
- Tracking Sales Enablement Solution Health
- Conclusion – A Path to Optimizing Your Sales Cycle
- Appendix A – Solution Vendor List
- Appendix B – Analysts List
This is a living resource — it will evolve and be updated over time as the market continues to mature. We hope you find it useful. Please send any and all feedback.
