What is Sales Enablement and How Does It Work?

Sales and Marketing Intelligence technology has rapidly evolved over the past few years, transitioning from a niche tool to a “nice to have,” and now to an essential component of the sales process and tech stack, as noted by Gartner.

According to the LinkedIn State of Sales Report 2022 for the United States and Canada, “80% of sellers who achieved 150% of their quota or more use sales tech at least once a week.”

But what does “sales enablement” truly mean for you and your organization? When should it be prioritized, and who is responsible for it?

This guide addresses these important questions about sales enablement, offering a clear and comprehensive understanding of its relevance to modern businesses and how yours can begin implementing it, starting with the fundamentals.

What is sales enablement? 

Sales enablement is a strategic, cross-functional discipline aimed at enhancing sales results and productivity. It does this by providing integrated content, training, and coaching services for salespeople and front-line sales managers throughout the entire customer buying journey, all powered by technology.

This definition, sourced from research firm CSO Insights, resonates with us at Brainshark because it encompasses the key responsibilities and services typically offered by sales enablement teams today while highlighting the crucial role of technology.

While “sales enablement” is the most widely recognized term for this technology and its associated processes, you may also come across terms like “revenue enablement” and “go-to-market enablement” as the industry continues to evolve.

Of course, how sales enablement is defined can vary depending on who you ask. Different companies have distinct perspectives on its meaning, approach, and the way the function is structured, leading to further exploration of the topic.

What Do Sales Enablement Teams Do?

Sales enablement teams engage in a variety of activities and priorities, including:

• Sales onboarding and continuous learning programs
• Creation of sales assets and training content
• Ownership and implementation of sales coaching strategies
• Sales communications
• Cross-functional communication
• Management of sales tools and best practices for users
• Measuring and reporting on the success of sales enablement programs

The scope of these activities can vary based on company size, industry, the specific needs of the sales team, and the structure of the enablement team.

When it comes to ownership of sales enablement, nearly 50% of these functions fall under the head of sales, according to CSO Insights. Others may report to executive management, sales operations, or marketing departments.

Some organizations might designate a single individual to oversee sales enablement, whether on a full-time or part-time basis. In contrast, others may have multiple dedicated practitioners focusing on various aspects of the strategy, such as a specialized sales coach or content creator.

Ultimately, the primary goal of every sales enablement team is to support sellers, though the methods and structures to achieve this can differ significantly from one company to another.

Why Is Sales Enablement Important?

First and foremost, sales enablement drives better results for companies—what could be more critical than that? It’s associated with a 15% increase in win rates and correlates with more effective sales training, stronger customer relationships, and higher quota attainment (source: CSO Insights).

There are many additional benefits of sales enablement, including:

1. Sales Readiness

Sales readiness is a key aspect of sales enablement, focused on ensuring that salespeople possess the knowledge and skills needed to optimize every client interaction.

This involves strategic activities that prepare representatives for selling, such as onboarding, coaching, continuous learning, and reinforcement. It encompasses everything a rep needs to know on the job—product details, messaging, competitive positioning, and essential skills for effective interactions throughout the sales process.

When executed effectively, buyers will leave meetings feeling that their time with your reps was well spent, even if it doesn’t result in an immediate deal.

2. Sales Engagement and Retention

Sales enablement is designed to help representatives succeed. When they achieve better results, they are more likely to feel engaged in their roles and remain with the company long-term.

Forrester has found that high-performing sales organizations offer more continuous learning, peer learning, and advanced skills training than their lower-performing counterparts.

This focus on development extends beyond sales reps to include sales managers. Equipping front-line managers with effective coaching and communication skills boosts seller engagement and leads to improved outcomes.

As CSO Insights states, “How your sales managers inspire, motivate, and engage your sales teams is the single most important practice to drive seller engagement.”

3. Client-Facing Success

Sales enablement also supports everyone who directly interacts with buyers, not just quota-carrying sales reps. This includes sales engineers, customer success teams, service personnel, and channel partners.

For example, in B2B organizations, it’s crucial to keep external reps engaged with your messaging to drive revenue for your brand, rather than for competitors.

4. Effective Usage of Sales Tools

Sales reps often rely on various tools daily, including CRMs, sales enablement tools, engagement platforms, intelligence solutions, and communication software. Many of these represent significant investments for the company, making it essential to ensure that reps know how to use these technologies effectively.

CSO Insights reports that optimizing sales tool usage is the second-most common priority for sales enablement teams today. Sales enablement collaborates with vendor customer success management teams during new releases, provides related training, and ensures that sellers can maximize their resources. With proper preparation, reps can leverage these tools to differentiate your company in the market.

When Do You Need Sales Enablement?

Now that we’ve explored the “what” and the “why” of sales enablement, you may be considering whether your organization should develop a sales enablement program or enhance an existing one.

Here are some essential questions to consider:

• Are we meeting all our sales goals?
• Are we confident that reps are consistently on-message?
• Are we fully certain that reps are utilizing sales tools to their maximum potential?
• Is there no room for improvement in seller quota attainment?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, your organization could benefit from sales enablement.

Even if your responses are all “yes,” keep in mind that businesses are constantly evolving. You may have a growing sales force that requires a more structured onboarding process, or your reps might be selling rapidly changing products, complicating the buying process. Additionally, significant messaging shifts related to mergers, acquisitions, or new go-to-market strategies could arise.

These challenges are likely to impact most organizations at some point, making enablement crucial for maintaining any current sales success.

Gaining Buy-In for Sales Enablement

If you’re ready to create a sales enablement program, that’s a promising first step! However, just because you recognize the value of sales enablement doesn’t guarantee that your sales leaders or executives will agree. Without their support, achieving results—especially at the outset—can be challenging.

To secure their backing, you’ll need to craft a compelling business case for your sales enablement program. Here are some key pointers to consider:

Assess Your Organization’s Needs

Defining what sales enablement aims to achieve and the specific problems it will address is vital. Clear goals will help you focus your budget requests and prevent attempts to tackle too much at once.

For instance, if you notice sellers are underperforming, collaborate with sales operations to understand the underlying issues. You might analyze the sales funnel and discover a high number of stalled deals during the discovery phase or identify new hires struggling to close their first deals quickly. This data can highlight key priorities, such as improving discovery training and enhancing new hire onboarding.

Document Your Strategy

Once you’ve identified the challenges you aim to resolve, you can start outlining your solution. A sales enablement charter serves as a written business plan to present to the executive team for approval. This charter should define the program’s responsibilities, potential staffing, target audiences, key investments, and success metrics.

Speak the Language of Your Decision-Makers

Just as sales reps need to understand their buyers’ communication styles, you must tailor your internal pitch for the enablement program. When presenting your charter, do so in a way that resonates with leadership.

For example, if the CEO prioritizes customer retention, highlight how sales enablement will work with account managers on the renewal process. When discussing the program with the CFO, frame your pitch around its financial impact—such as how reducing time to productivity could increase the number of deals a new sales hire closes.

Gain Support from Reps and Front-Line Managers

Effective change management relies on the support of various stakeholders, including sales reps and their managers. To secure their backing, understand their daily realities and emphasize the benefits of enablement for them.

For instance, linking enablement initiatives to how sellers achieve their quotas will grab their attention. Sharing early success stories—like a rep who secured new business thanks to coaching—can serve as a blueprint for peers.

Sales managers also need to be aligned with your strategy, as they are in direct contact with reps when the enablement team isn’t. Prioritize consistent communication and alignment with front-line leaders as you roll out new initiatives.

Key Sales Enablement Terms Defined

Whether you’re new to your role or looking to expand your knowledge, having a solid grasp of sales enablement terminology is beneficial. Here’s a brief glossary of important terms:

Sales Training 

Sales training encompasses both new hire onboarding and continuous learning, helping reps build skills, knowledge, and behaviors. Training can cover various topics—such as product knowledge, buyer personas, and effective communication—and may take forms like eLearning, live sessions, or online simulations. It can be led by in-house experts or outsourced to external consultants.

Sales Coaching 

Sales coaching involves evaluating reps’ skills and readiness and providing feedback for ongoing performance improvement. This process is typically led by sales managers with support from sales enablement professionals. Coaching may include in-person role plays or video coaching, where reps record themselves delivering key messages for review.

Sales Coaching Assessments 

While companies often track whether reps complete required training, it’s crucial to assess whether they can apply what they’ve learned in real-world situations. Sales coaching assessments help answer this question and can take various forms, such as quizzes, simulation assessments, or in-field observations.

Sales Enablement Tools 

Sales enablement tools are technologies designed to enhance the sales process and help teams meet corporate objectives. They streamline workflows for anyone working in or with the sales organization and encompass a range of solutions, such as video coaching tools, content management systems, and sales intelligence platforms.

Sales Effectiveness 

Sales effectiveness results from a well-executed sales enablement strategy. An effective sales force consists of reps equipped to excel at every stage of the buyer’s journey. Larger companies may even have a formal “sales effectiveness” function that encompasses responsibilities typically assigned to sales enablement or sales operations.

Sales Content Sales content includes any materials created to assist reps in closing new business. This encompasses external-facing content aimed at persuading buyers—like product sheets and case studies—as well as internal materials that prepare reps, such as messaging guides and battle cards.