It’s one of the latest buzzwords out there and you're here to understand exactly what sales enablement means and why it matters. While there are many variations of its meaning, I like to think of sales enablement as a combination of all the tools, materials and processes that enable a salesperson to sell more effectively. That is the key word. A sales person already knows how to sell. But how are you doing it in today's world? Are you optimizing your efforts both in time, energy and conversion? Digital content, pipeline management, sales training and even some forms of marketing are all apart of enabling your business' growth and they land on sales people in today's world. The most successful ones know this and are constantly learning new ways to better enable their efforts. Today's sales processes are not as straight-forward as they used to be.

Today's sales strategies are a complicated net of technology and it takes more effort and more know-how than ever to be successful. With moving pieces and more ways to communicate than ever, selling effectively is all about hurdling distractions with constantly changing procedures and tools which creates to lost time and lost sales. Pipeline management, training, information repository, reporting, data insights and analytics all collide in competing for your attention. It's a sales enablement strategy that fights through these distractions and ensures that you reach your sales goals and beyond. Those that try to take this on themselves usually drown in the overwhelming requirements to keep up or resort to old habits that don't work as well as they used to.

Sales enablement matters because without it your lost profits will reflect in the seller's lost time. To better explain, various internet sites are reporting that sales cycles have increased 24% leading to a decreased sales productivity. This means you are working harder with worse results.

It is key that a sales team follows an efficient selling process which, in turn, reduces sales time and increases sales. The exact opposite of the national trend. This, in a nut shell, is sales enablement and why it matters. Having relevant information, at the right time, with the right in-depth analytics will enable your sales. Leveraging the company’s tools for use by all the sales people, instead of just the top 20% who are typically invested in by management, gives you the same opportunity to be a stellar team player on the sales team. When salespeople have access to the right tools they can more easily sell to new and existing customers.  

The biggest question I see is when do you implement sales enablement strategies and how? The best advice I can give is to connect with a sales enablement partner who can relieve the weight on your shoulders. Having the right data in the right place at the right time with an accurate and insightful analysis provided by an experienced professional is truly the best money a sales person could spend in today's complicated world of selling. I am lucky enough to work for what I believe is one of the best sales enablers out there. And I'm proud to say I have worked at a company who does just this, providing sales enablement well before it was a buzz word over the last decade. I'd love to connect with you to hear what areas you are struggling with and to see if I might be able to assist you in decreasing your workload while increasing your sales. Until then, make sure you are spending your day doing what you do best; selling, while you find new ways to optimize your process.