How Block Drove External Share Adoption to 61%

An Inadequate Solution for Resolving Cross-Functional Silos

For any organization, a product launch is a complex moment. It can unlock new revenue potential — but only so long as teams across the organization operate in lockstep. “Product launches can become so siloed,” began Nieka Mamczak, head of sales engagement strategy for Square at Block. “Everyone has their own tasks to do. We forget what our mission is and who we’re serving — our customers.” The team at Block understood how conflicting priorities and siloed operations can curtail launch outcomes. “If [marketing and enablement] come off siloed, reps aren’t going to trust one or the other parties,” added Mamczak. 

To protect against inconsistency, the team sought to create a standardized process for communicating upcoming product launches to sellers and customers. “What’s the delivery mechanism?” asked Mamczak. “Where is everything going to live and how is it going to be presented internally and externally?” With the right delivery mechanism, the team could build competence ahead of the launch and equip sellers to deliver high-quality customer experiences from launch day and beyond. However, the team lacked that essential piece of the equation: Their existing enablement platform struggled to engage users and saw consistently low usage, in no small part due to insufficient search features and analytics.

The team knew that a highly utilized single source of truth would place knowledge at users’ fingertips and ready sellers for the field. More than that, it would create the cross-functional consistency that leads to high-quality customer experiences. “If you don’t start with a foundational place, the reps and the customers will suffer,” explained Mamczak. “There will be friction.” The search for a friction-free solution led Block to switch platforms, finding in Highspot the delivery mechanism it needed to operationalize internal and external launch processes.

A Seamless, Silo-Free Go-To-Market Motion

As Block took its first steps with Highspot, it linked arms with stakeholders across the business — from engineering to enablement — to create a unified message. “We want to take all those people in the line and incrementally bring together the voice of the customer,” explained Mamczak. “By the time the customer experiences what we’re trying to tell them, there’s true synergy across the messaging.” This new, cross-functional story meant that teams no longer spoke in siloed, departmental language. Instead, they spoke in the customer’s language. 

Block’s enablement team uses Plays to bring this unified message to sellers. “I’m a big fan of the Play format in Highspot — what to know, say, show, and do,” enthused Mamczak. “We focus a lot on the ‘show and do’ sections when we launch products.” These Plays built familiarity with the new product and reinforced Block’s value proposition, so sellers could tell a cohesive, end-to-end story. “In the ‘what to know’ section, I like to make sure foundational knowledge is still there,” noted Mamczak. “If sellers lead with just the latest and greatest, there might be customer confusion.” The newfound availability of content and guidance led users to the platform in droves, resulting in a 90% recurring usage rate.

Post-launch, the team leans on sales leaders to reinforce key skills and behaviors. “Enablement trains the masses, then moves to the next product launch,” shared Mamczak. “Sales leaders are the ones that amplify what success looks like.” As such, the team has incorporated manager enablement into their ongoing launch strategy. “We create Huddle Guides, which is content and training served to sales leaders and managers so they can promote [the launch] with their teams,” added Mamczak. These guides help managers coach effectively and are essential to maintaining launch momentum. With ongoing reinforcement as the final step in the new standardized launch process, Block is well-positioned to drive durable, long-lasting impact from product launch investments.

A Standardized, Data-Informed Product Launch Motion

The problems of the previous solution have become a thing of the past. Now, Block’s teams have a platform they trust, and recurring usage of Highspot has increased by 11%. High adoption and engagement have become a reality, and Block is feeling the impact on seller execution. With just a few clicks, reps can surface and share content — a streamlined approach to buyer engagement that has resulted in 61% external share adoption. 

In Highspot, Block found more than just an internal and external delivery mechanism. It found a means of tracking performance before launch outcomes go awry. “Successful product launches don’t begin at closed-won,” explained Mamczak. “It’s already too late. Measure incrementally over time, even small nuanced things.” The platform’s native analytics make it easy to assess key leading indicators and launch performance in near-real time. “The Scorecards in Highspot are fantastic,” praised Mamczak. Block has unlocked execution at every stage of the product launch lifecycle, from engineering all the way to sales outcomes. With Highspot, it has the support it needs to land its next launch — and all those that follow.