Every sales team needs an enablement strategy in place to provide a foundation for their work which actually translates into better performance and positive outcomes for the entire organization.
There are a few facets which come together to make up an ideal strategy in this context, so let’s look at the main ones you’ll need to master so that your own sales efforts can be overhauled.
An excellent platform to underpin sales enablement
As you’d expect, there are software solutions, such as https://www.allego.com/platform/sales-enablement/, designed specifically to unify and codify your sales enablement strategy, while empowering team members in the process.
With the help of one of these platforms, you’ll be able to optimize everything from content creation and collaboration to usage analytics and more.
One of the best known services in this space is Highspot, but it’s also a good idea to explore Highspot alternatives before you make a commitment, so you can get an overview of the market as it stands today.
An unambiguous statement of intent
Employees perform better when they know what the overarching ethos and aims of their team are. This is doubly true when it comes to sales, so having a mission statement in place which sets this out without ambiguity is perpetually useful.
Part of this is building a profile of who buyers might be. This will allow sales specialists to pinpoint the right prospects, and understand how to steward them consistently.
A set of specific targets
Every sales team has one main aim; to increase sales and boost business revenues as a result. However, it’s helpful to break this down further into targets that are a little more specific.
Specificity is only part of the puzzle, as you will also need targets for your sales team which are measurable, so you can see whether they are being met or being missed.
Likewise you have to aim for goals that are actually realistic, as attainability is important in order to keep people motivated. Raising your sights too high, only to fall short time and again, will be demoralizing, for example.
Equally, if targets aren’t being attained, you need to look at why this is, and again measurability will come into play.
A pipeline for progression
An important but often overlooked aspect of a good sales enablement strategy is that of planning for the future by preparing team members for eventual progression to bigger and better roles in this department.
There is no point perpetuating the status quo indefinitely, even if you are happy with current performance levels. Eventually you will want people to be ready to step up and fill positions higher up the ladder, which will make your sales team robust and reliable for years.
Training is part and parcel of this process, as you want to enable employees to reach their true potential, and this cannot be done without giving them access to the resources they need to flourish. Performance analysis and assessment are also instrumental in shaping how progress occurs.
A supportive environment
The concept of a sales team being a competitive, almost cutthroat place to work no longer rings true, and indeed it is the case that people who collaborate and support colleagues, rather than treating them as adversaries, will deliver better performance to the business as a whole.
Such cultural values need to be enshrined from the top down, and your sales enablement strategy must encourage supportiveness among team members at all echelons of the department. From this firm foundation, great things can be built, so it’s worth considering even if you are starting from scratch.
