Sales enablement isn’t just a fleeting trend, and we’ve got the statistics to prove it.
In 2012, 19.3% of the respondents to CSO Insights’ sales enablement study indicated they had personnel dedicated to increasing the sales organization’s effectiveness. This number steadily grew in the years following, rising to 22.6% in 2013, 25.5% in 2014, and over 30% in 2015. It’s clear that sales enablement is being more widely adopted.
So why are more and more companies jumping on the sales enablement bandwagon? Is it just another business buzzword, or is there something more to it?
Here are the benefits you can expect from successfully implementing a sales enablement program:
- Say “bye-bye” to poor seller performance.
Before sales enablement, company sales teams have limped along with inadequate training and poorly targeted collateral. And while sales teams have indeed been able to perform well in many instances, these are often despite their current arrangement and not because of it.
A company can drastically increase sales productivity by giving them the right tools for the job, like effective software solutions and a more streamlined RFP process. Sales has more time to spend doing what they do best: hunting down new leads and nurturing existing ones.
- Boost your numbers, in a big way.
Higher revenue is a direct result of having a more productive sales team, and is the best possible reason to implement sales enablement. It’s not an empty boast: CSO Insights latest study found that average revenue performance of sales-enabled companies is 10.2% higher than companies without it. If you implement a sales enablement program, you’re significantly increasing your bottom line without hiring a single new sales person.
- Create a high-functioning sales ecosystem.
Sales should no longer be considered an independent operation. Instead, companies have to take a holistic view of how best to support sales teams. Who does this matter? Because everything in the company is connected to sales. Sales Operations puts the tools and processes in place to help sellers succeed. Marketing is on the front-line to create content sellers need to do their job. Product development tweaks the product based on feedback sales collects. A sales enablement program breaks down organizational barriers to create a highly productive sales ecosystem.
Companies that properly apply sales enablement will have a more coordinated and cohesive organization. This has tangible benefits beyond just the ones given to sales: increased efficiency, employee satisfaction, and productivity are just a few.
