How Kevel boosted rep confidence by 50%

Ad tech platform Kevel has been helping customers make the Internet a better place since 2010. Its retail media and custom ad solutions enable publishers to regain ownership of their ad revenue from ad tech giants. Internally, Kevel believes that education is the primary growth driver for sales teams, a philosophy that led it to invest in Highspot. With an AI-powered platform fueling education and engagement workflows, Kevel is poised to drive significant returns. 

Education-first philosophy sparks search for enablement tool

Businesses everywhere are moving fast, their sights set on growth. But growth begins with a strong foundation: Reps can’t win if they haven’t been taught how. “If you ask any enterprise leadership about their priorities, they’re going to say: ‘Sell, sell, sell,’” began Kate Curtis, senior product marketing manager, enablement at Kevel. “The real priority for go-to-market teams is the educational foundation.”

Without that foundation, consistent growth just isn’t possible. “You can’t sell unless you believe in [the product], understand how it works, and can bring a story to the table—not just how the features and functionality work,” explained Curtis. 

Recognizing this, Kevel gave reps a seat at the table, using their feedback to guide its enablement strategy. “We’ve had enablement surveys running for the past couple of quarters to understand where people are struggling, not just with content but also with their confidence in certain messaging, products, and ICPs,” added Curtis. 

The results were telling. “I heard loud and clear: ‘I can’t find anything, don’t understand how to talk about it, and can’t find answers to my questions,” shared Curtis. 

To break the cycle, Kevel began evaluating solutions, seeking an AI-powered tool to connect knowledge, action, and impact. “That’s why I brought in Highspot,” continued Curtis. “We needed to start from a clean slate.” With Highspot, Kevel could begin creating an AI-powered system for education, one designed to drive enduring growth.

AI educates in the moment of need

As Kevel built its enablement foundation, it placed Highspot at the center of its strategy. The platform became a single source of truth for more than just content; soon, it connected essential data that historically lived across disconnected, siloed systems. “We’re thinking outside of the box to make sure reps find content,” noted Curtis. “We’re constantly looking for other ways to feed data into the platform and give reps information they didn’t know they were looking for.”

With Nexus, Highspot’s AI and analytics engine, synthesizing this data, reps can query the system and get accurate answers to hyper-specific buyer questions in seconds. “Reps can go in and ask: ‘What kind of ad formats can I use?’” shared Curtis. “The AI is able to scrape our data, give that information to the rep in real time, and point to the source if they need to dig deeper. It’s smarter because it’s honed on us.” 

In short, Kevel has enabled reps to self-educate. With knowledge at their fingertips, they can reliably answer buyer questions on the fly, in turn accelerating conversations and building buyer confidence. 

Kevel has also given itself an edge with Digital Rooms. “The information from Digital Rooms—what customers are engaging with—is giving us the ability to move faster,” enthused Curtis. Already, over 88% of reps have adopted external shares, meaning Kevel’s sales force has the educational foundation to sell effectively and the capabilities to do so faster than ever. 

Early trends indicate growth potential

At Kevel, selling happens differently. Reps learn on their own with AI. They know what works and what doesn’t based on the data in their Digital Rooms. The platform has changed their outlook: Since implementing Highspot, rep confidence has increased by 50%. “I can physically see the sales team collaborating more, understanding what’s impactful at each stage, and streamlining their conversations,” shared Curtis “Highspot will help expedite the time to close sales.”

Already, the organization is well on its way to achieving these outcomes. “We’ve seen a 25% increase in time spent in Highspot month over month,” concluded Curtis. “We know there will be business results.” Kevel has the foundation in place—all that remains is to watch as better education and engagement tactics lead to stronger pipeline, higher win rate, and more sustainable growth.