Building a sales enablement plan
You wouldn't set out on a trip without some type of plan in place. The same goes for implementing a new initiative at work. Let's take a closer look at the essential steps you'll want to take to build your organization's own sales enablement plan.
Determine project goals
First, you need to determine what your overall sales enablement goals are. This will help you identify what sales enablement deliverables are needed. We've found that the best goals should directly tie the organization's business objectives so it's easier to determine the ROI of your initiative. It's also important to set reasonable expectations, but add stretch goals to keep everyone motivated to drive business growth.
Identify what your team needs
Sellers benefit from your enablement plan, so it's important to solve their most pressing pain points and challenges. Be sure to get their feedback on what they need to be more productive and successful. This will help you identify which initiatives are likely to have the biggest impact on your team. This knowledge will also help you build a sales enablement playbook, effectively provide the tools your team needs, and provide any missing training.
Define key performance indicators
After you understand the organization's larger goals and identify seller needs, you need to determine the key metrics and outcomes you'll use to measure the success of your sales enablement efforts. Common sales enablement KPIs include sales revenue, win rates, sales cycle length, customer satisfaction scores, and seller effectiveness.
Partner with key influencers
While enablement teams should be the main driver of the planning process, it's still important to involve the other departments and team members. Partner with key stakeholders and influencers who you'll need to collaborate and work with throughout the project. Remember, a sales enablement team shouldn't own the entire initiative, instead they should lean on the expertise and skills of those across sales and marketing teams. This will help maximize the impact and overall success of your enablement initiatives.
Establish roles and responsibilities
Once you've identified your goals and what your team needs, it's time to assign roles and responsibilities. There will be a number of different tasks that need to take place, and effective sales enablement planning requires delegation so everyone understands what they're responsible for.
Set realistic timelines
Define a timeline for achieving your goals and outcomes. Consider the time it takes to implement changes, deliver training, and see the impact of the enablement efforts. Setting realistic timelines also helps manage expectations and ensures that progress is being made.
Measure and communicate success
As you execute your sales enablement plan, continuously measure and evaluate the results against your KPIs. Be sure to regularly review progress with the sales team to make data-driven adjustments to your strategy. It's also important to communicate the outcomes and objectives with other stakeholders who were involved in the project. This ensures that everyone is on the same page and working toward the same goals.
Use the right sales enablement tool
The old way of sales planning includes project management tools, complex workflows, and context switching. This creates a slow and ineffective planning process that negatively impacts speed to market and business agility. However, a purpose-built, all-in-one sales enablement platform helps create a more streamlined sales enablement process that includes planning, sales enablement content management, training, coaching, reporting, and more. Seismic's 2023 Value of Enablement Report found that leaders who use sales enablement software credit it for freeing up their time to focus on high-value activities. Additionally, 85% of leaders say it saves them time on enablement planning and forecasting activities.
