Sales Enablement Explained: What You Should Know

The key to your team’s success just might be sales enablement. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, don’t worry.

Our comprehensive guide will explain all things sales enablement, including what it is, why people use it, and how you can use it with your team.  

What Is Sales Enablement? 

Sales enablement is actually pretty simple. It involves providing a sales team with all the tools, technology, and other strategic resources they need to succeed. It really doesn’t matter how talented your reps are — everyone can stand to benefit from it.

What’s the goal?

In a nutshell, the goal of sales enablement is to make sure the buying process runs smoothly from start to finish. Connecting your team to the resources they need does so much more than streamline the overall process — It can also increase your company’s overall revenue, your team’s productivity and performance, and even boost your brand’s reputation. 

How to Use AI to for Sales Enablement

The field of AI is ever-evolving and as such, can be easily applicable for enablement. One such tool worth exploring is the aforementioned Yoodli: an AI-powered sales coach that can help take your sales reps to the next level.

Not only that, but for sales enablement leaders, Yoodli can be a lifesaver. Instead of spending valuable time on certifying thousands of reps, Yoodli does personalized enablement at scale. In other words, this AI app ensures leaders can do their jobs much more effectively. 

Other ways to use Yoodli

As an AI coach, Yoodli has many capabilities that make it a perfect sales enablement tool. For starters, Yoodli can analyze a sales rep’s speech while they’re practicing and provide them personalized feedback and metrics for improvement. 

For example, reps can get individualized feedback on aspects of their speech, such as:

• Speaking pace
• How many filler words used
• Word choice
• Conciseness (and much more)

However, Yoodli can also simulate customer and prospect calls to give your reps a realistic setting where they can practice any applicable skills they’ve been working. 

The best part is, these roleplays aren’t just realistic — they can be tailored to encompass all types of customers. For example, when you’re setting up a roleplay practice on Yoodli, you can choose the personality of your AI roleplay client.

Personalizing the conversation this way gives reps a risk-free, safe place to practice the skills they’ve acquired. After the conversation, reps can then use those personalized metrics and analytics to improve their sales pitching skills. It’s that easy.

You can start experimenting with Yoodli today for free at https://yoodli.ai/.

Used by leading Fortune 500 sales companies like Google and Korn Ferry, Yoodli simulates roleplays to improve your sales team’s pitching and overall customer experience. Here’s how it works.

Sales Enablement Tools and Examples

Because it’s such a large, overarching topic, there are plenty of great examples of existing and new tech. Here are some of the most critical tools (and examples) you should be aware of.

Content management systems (CMS)

One of the most commonly used tools in many industries, including sales, is content management systems (CMS). A good CMS can revitalize a sales team and make the lives of the reps so much easier. 

For example, a sales team’s CMS can store, organize, and even turn over sales deliverables like battlecards or presentations (and other digital collateral). Some of the best CMS options include:

• Salesforce
• HubSpot CMS
• WordPress
• Wix
• Magnolia
• Squarespace

Customer relationship management (CRM) software

Another widely used tool is customer relationship management (CRM) software. Similarly to a CMS, CRM software can help streamline and automate the sales process for reps so they can focus on more pressing things. 

For example, some of the most critical functions a CRM software can perform include:

• Securely storing client data
• Tracking and managing client interactions and sales opportunities 

Some of the most popular CRM tools include HubSpot, Salesforce, Zendesk, Pipedrive, and Zoho.

Sales coaching tools

Out of all the possible tools and technology, sales coaching tools might just be the most valuable. 

At the end of the day, sales reps need to be able to do their job well. However, if their skills aren’t up to par, it can be much more difficult to find success. That’s where sales coaching tools come in.

These tools provide companies with educational opportunities, training programs, and other resources needed to take a sales team to the next level. The further development of a rep’s existing knowledge and skill shouldn’t be overlooked. There are plenty of sales coaching tools worth checking out. 

Yoodli, for example, uses generative AI technology to function as a sales coach for representatives looking to improve on their skills (more on this below!). 

Other sales enablement tools

Because it is such an extensive topic, there are plenty of other tools worth mentioning. Some of the other sales enablement tools teams should check out include technology like: 

• E-signature and digital signing software, which gives clients the opportunity to sign agreements and contracts online (such as Adobe Sign or DocuSign)
• Competitive intelligence software, which can collect information on a competitor’s content strategy, products, and pricing
• Screen sharing and recording tools, which can be used by sales teams to show product walkthroughs and demos for clients
• Proposal tools, which can facilitate the process of drafting and sending sales proposals
• Video conferencing apps — such as Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams — which can streamline virtual presentations and meeting with customers and prospects

Why Is Sales Enablement Strategy Important?

Enablement strategy is important in many ways, but particularly in removing barriers that might stop a team from making a closing deal. Providing a seamless client journey is a must, and sales enablement allows teams to do so with confidence. 

Empowering your sales reps with the tools, technology, and education they need to succeed can do wonders for your overall brand and business strategy, too. 

How to Build a Sales Enablement Strategy

Although it might feel overwhelming at first, it doesn’t have to be. Here are some tips and tricks for building a good strategy. 

Pinpoint any existing needs and issues

Perhaps the first step to building a worthy sales enablement strategy is identifying any current needs or problems your team faces. For example, maybe you’ve noticed that there are some skills or knowledge gaps within the team. By pinpointing these, you can solidify what needs to improve and what you’ll need to get there. 

The existing needs and issues might very well vary from rep to rep, but making a list of these can help you narrow down what tools might be helpful for your team. 

Take advantage of tech and tools

Once you know what you’re dealing with (AKA, what needs and challenges your team faces), you can start scoping out the appropriate sales enablement tools to introduce. For example, if you found that your sales reps spend too much time on tasks that could easily be streamlined or automated, perhaps you invest in a CMS and other various sales automation tools. 

If the existing challenges are tied to your reps’ skill sets and knowledge, perhaps you’d rather invest in other tools, like coaching platforms.

Create and optimize winning sales content

Of course, building and optimizing content for your client base is also crucial to sales enablement. If your team’s sales content isn’t resonating with your customers, that’s a problem. 

Make sure you carve out content development when crafting your organization’s strategy.

Benefits of Sales Enablement

Making sure your team has access to all the tools they need for a seamless experience definitely yields results. Here are some of the most worthwhile benefits of implementing sales enablement. 

Increased sales productivity and performance

One of the most obvious benefits is the boosted productivity and performance. By equipping your team with all the strategic resources they need, you’re essentially scaling your business’ success. 

For example, using various sales enablement tools can actually facilitate onboarding for new hires. Instead of relying on only your top sales reps, you can take advantage of training resources and other materials to get trainees up to speed.

In a similar vein, the overall sales processes can be efficiently streamlined by using best practices. When reps have the necessary skills and knowledge, they can finalize deals more effectively. 

Some other ways it can boost productivity and performance include through things like:

• Shortening the sales cycle and spending less time on administrative tasks by automating processes  
• Using tried-and-true methodologies that ensure all your sales reps are all on the same page
• Improving client engagement by honing in on sales reps’ communication skills

Boosted business growth

Although productivity and performance should in and of itself boost business growth, implementing sales enablement can increase growth in other ways. 

For example, consider a brand’s reputation. When a business takes advantage of enablement and its reps consistently show up for clients, its overall reputation and image gets a healthy boost. Customer experiences and interactions add up, and when those are overwhelmingly positive, that positivity reflects well for your brand.

Aside from branding, it can also boost the growth of your business through decreased costs (particularly in areas like lost deal opportunities as a result of inadequate knowledge or skills). The increase in revenue from boosted sales productivity and performance only adds to business growth. 

Sales Enablement FAQs

Because it’s such a hot topic, there are often lots of questions floating around the subject. Here are some of the most common sales enablement FAQs.

1. What does a sales enablement specialist do?

A sales enablement specialist is someone who’s responsible for setting up a team with all the tools and resources they need to conduct successful sales. For example, a sales enablement specialist might be hired to connect reps with specific training to help them sell products or services more efficiently.

2. Is sales enablement the same thing as sales operations?

Although they’re similar, sales enablement and sales operations are two different things with respective goals. While the former focuses on getting a sales team up to speed, sales operations hones in on the streamlining of the overall process.  

3. What’s the difference between sales enablement and marketing?

In a similar vein, sales enablement and marketing are also related, but different concepts. As opposed to the former, marketing is actual planning, promoting, and selling products. That’s distinct from the specific training and investment in tools and resources to assist reps with their job.

4. What’s the future of sales enablement?

While we can’t predict the future exactly, there are definitely some identifiable trends regarding sales enablement. Experts believe sales enablement will evolve to become much more client-focused. For example, customers are beginning to expect more from the brands they have relationships with. 

As writer John Rankins says, the “sales enablement industry will have to pivot from ‘selling to customers’ to ‘selling with them.’”

5. What skills do you need for sales enablement?

The best part about sales enablement is that you don’t need any special skills to get started. In fact, it’s more about the skills that you and your team might lack. The only thing you need to get started with sales enablement is motivation.

The Bottom Line 

Sales enablement is only going to become more essential for everyday businesses. Investing your team’s sales reps (and their skills and education) can completely transform the way your business makes deals. Yoodli is one such tool that can easily transform the sales pitching skills of your reps. The benefits to dedicating training to improve your team’s skills are endless.

Sources

• LinkedIn: “Succeeding with Sales Enablement: Definition, Tools, and Strategies,” “Content Marketing and Sales Enablement – What’s the Difference?,” “Sales Enablement’s Fierce Future in 2024.”
• Coursera: “What Is Sales Enablement? Definition, Jobs, and Strategy.”