Highspot Blog

The phrase “if you’re not early, you’re late” is one of the most familiar pieces of advice passed down from generation to generation and mentor to mentee. So much so that the phrase has over 1.4 billion search results on Google — which is understandable when you consider how often the advice is applicable. From job interviews to product differentiation, it’s always beneficial to stay ahead of the competition.

Sales Enablement PRO recently published the 2019 State of Sales Enablement and the report clearly echoed a similar sentiment — companies without an established sales enablement function are behind the curve and risk falling prey to their competitors.

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Sales enablement is sweeping the globe.

In partnership with Sales Enablement PRO, we surveyed more than 500 executives, sales enablement, and marketing leaders from companies of all sizes across the world. What we found validates that sales enablement is becoming the backbone of successful sales organisations spanning industries and geographies.

More than 79% of participants have a sales enablement process or practice in place, or plan on inventing one this year — a 20% increase from last year’s survey. Despite urgent demand and clear evidence of sales enablement’s business impact, clear definitions and best practices are wanting. The 68% of respondents who reported having a dedicated sales enablement tool named more than 150 different solutions when asked to identify the tools in use — demonstrating confusion in the market around what is truly needed to enable reps.

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Every founder anticipates the moment when their business must scale because rapid growth demands it. But growing a business is as challenging as it is exhilarating.

That’s because it’s difficult to hire, train, and enable a sales force capable of sustained growth. Only 16% of sales leaders are confident that they have the talent they need to succeed in the future. Research conducted by Xerox showed that 87% of the new knowledge learned in sales training is lost within 12 weeks. And once they’re trained, up to 1/3 of a sales professional’s time is spent looking for or creating content to share with prospects.

Though harrowing, these numbers reveal an opportunity for operational changes that can optimize the sales process from onboarding to content. The solution I’m referring to is sales enablement.

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Effective sales strategies are developed through careful evaluation and constant improvement. At Highspot, we work with sales and marketing leaders every day to enable their success, so we know firsthand the importance of a strong sales strategy.

Below, we’ve answered the most frequently asked questions about developing a winning sales strategy.

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Prospecting, pitching, tracking engagement — there’s no question that modern technology solutions have made it easier for sellers to complete these essential tasks. But even as the tools have improved, selling has become more complicated as buyers’ expectations have risen. With increased access to information, buyers today do more of their research independently and invite more internal stakeholders into buying decisions. To capture and win buyers’ attention, sellers must now research and present insightful solutions tailored to multiple decision makers’ needs. The result is that reps end up spending more time trying to keep up with increasingly complex sales processes, impacting overall sales productivity.

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Quality over quantity: we’ve all heard the age-old advice to prioritize value instead of numbers. But of course, in sales, sellers need both quality and quantity to build a busy pipeline of qualified buyers. Sales enablement and sales engagement support sales teams in forming meaningful connections with buyers at scale and streamlining sales processes. There’s strong support for both:

• Sales enablement: Aberdeen has shown that companies with successful sales enablement programs see 23% higher lead conversion rate.
• Sales engagement: SiriusDecisions reports that training and supporting sellers with sales engagement can potentially increase the tenure of sales reps by 40 to 65%.

But what’s the difference between sales enablement and sales engagement — and which do you need for your sales team to ensure quality and quantity? To answer that question, it helps to start by defining the two different practices.

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I always find it fun to interview fellow marketers and bond through our shared understanding of great products, strong value propositions — and common pain points. The pain of sales and marketing alignment (or misalignment) is one that every marketer knows but few know how to solve. After trying to tackle this issue in several different ways, Phill Sundal at DiscoverOrg finally found success with Highspot. In the interview below, he outlines the successes and failures he encountered as he worked to bring sales and marketing into alignment at his company.

Here is the video interview, as well as the interview transcript, below:

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In our fast-paced world where modern-day buyers are more demanding than ever, sales enablement comes to play a crucial role in sellers’ success. But there’s more to it than that. Not only do companies need the right sales enablement solution — they need the right approach.

This is one reason why we’re excited to share insights and advice from Matt McClendon, President of DSG, as part of our Highspot “Hot Shots” series. Matt has a passion for creating sales-friendly playbooks and helping clients provide their sales channels with the content, tools, and training required to lead compelling customer conversations. DSG has provided professional services, creative services, and enablement tools to hundreds of B2B companies and more than 100,000 salespeople.

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You know you’re talking to someone who values innovation when it’s in their job title. Jason Bailey is the Director of Marketing Programs and Innovation for Fiserv, a provider of technology solutions to the financial world, including banks, credit unions, securities processing organizations, and insurance companies. This interview provides insights into how innovators think about sales enablement.

Here is the video interview, as well as the interview transcript, below:

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Whether it’s a modified sales process, updated compensation plan, or new sales tool, change management can be one of the most challenging obstacles that sales teams face. The ability to lead change can make or break the success of your team’s ability to adapt to major business changes, so it’s important to implement an effective change management strategy to help your reps adopt change within your organization.

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