The 2020 State of Sales Enablement report was recently published, and it echoed a similar sentiment — sales enablement practitioners are in a unique position as they are responsible for helping revenue teams transition to new ways of working.
The study found that sales enablement is a vital lever to help organizations increase win rates, improve customer satisfaction, and accelerate revenue.
Post-Sales Teams, the Secret to Customer Experience
With an uncertain global economy, organizations have turned their focus to retaining and expanding their existing customer base, which is a critical component of overall business health. As companies seek new ways to reinvigorate their customer base, support for post-sales roles is a crucial opportunity for sales enablement to bring value to the business.
Organizations that support account management through sales enablement experience win rates that are 4 percentage points higher than those that do not. Those that support services through sales enablement also experience win rates that are 4 percentage points higher than those that do not.
Enabling post-sales teams helps the services team and account managers deliver consistent value and satisfaction, both of which are extremely important while navigating our current business landscape.
Virtual Enablement Tools Improve Effectiveness
The ability to conduct business virtually is a new, necessary reality and is likely here to stay. In order to drive agility among the teams that sales enablement supports, enablement practitioners must quickly innovate to deliver impactful virtual enablement programs.
When implemented effectively, virtual enablement can promote scalability and flexibility among sales teams that can set organizations up for success both now and long-term. For example, respondents said that digitally onboarding new employees working from home is critical to sales success.
Those that effectively utilize tools for onboarding experience win rates that are 7 percentage points higher than those that do not use a tool. As life has gone more virtual, revenue teams must have the tools they need to make the pivot effectively.
Revenue Alignment Drives Success
Sales enablement has historically reported to a wide range of leaders across the organization, from marketing to sales. Last year, however, the report began to see a growing trend toward reporting into executive leaders and a substantial shift in the number of organizations where sales enablement reports to a revenue leader.
This shift demonstrates an increased desire to align sales enablement efforts to overall revenue goals within organizations. Increased alignment across the revenue engine can help sales enablement elevate its success and highlight its value throughout the company. The more closely aligned sales enablement efforts are to revenue and executive leaders’ goals, the better-positioned enablement is to generate an impact on those goals.
New Normal and New Priorities
As a new business landscape begins to take form, high-performing enablement teams are finding success by prioritizing customer experience, virtual tools, and alignment to strategic initiatives. Enablement teams are a vital revenue lever for organizations that hope to make the pivot to remote work effectively.
