Did you know that aligned sales and marketing teams can achieve 38% more sales and a 36% higher retention rate?
Sales Enablement is a buzzword that has gained traction recently, and while it may seem like a new concept, it is essentially a strategic approach to aligning sales and marketing efforts. Much like the human-centric marketing trend, Sales Enablement is not revolutionary yet has become crucial in today's competitive business landscape. So, optimizing every aspect of your operations is essential. Sales Enablement tackles one of the oldest internal conflicts: reconciling sales and marketing!
Let’s explore how Sales Enablement can be a game-changer for your organization.
It is all about utilizing the most efficient marketing and sales activities. It is the way an organization can strengthen the funnels, improve the customer journey experience, and reduce their churn rate.
For that, managers should be able to audit and identify all the positive interactions between sales and marketing and amplify them for greater revenue.
This requires a very operational presence with both teams and providing them with the right and shared tools. Analytics, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Content Management Systems (CMS) are paramount. These tools not only streamline data collection but also centralize its management and provide useful data.
One often underestimated yet powerful tool in Sales Enablement is the use of avatars or buyer personas. They are a well-known marketing tool, often underestimated because they seem obvious. Experience at SPIN Ideas, working with so many different clients, has shown us that it is not. If you build a comprehensive Ideal Client Profile, co-developed by both teams and largely shared with sales, it could help the team to better focus on their targets and better manage their actions.
Implementing tools is just the beginning; fostering a robust relationship between sales and marketing is the key. Regular meetings, brainstorming sessions, shared resources, content libraries, sales training, and KPIs all play crucial roles in aligning both teams toward a common goal. This is probably the trickiest part of sales enablement as here we talk about management, culture, and mindset shift. Depending on the organization's culture, it can be challenging for the teams and the managers.
Finally, there is one very effective way to ensure a successful enablement plan: use reverse engineering, what we call account-based marketing. Instead of reaching out to numerous unknown prospects and investing time, energy, and money to reach a higher number of them, instead make a shortlist of the most important prospects in your market that you want to have on board. Then create a specific funnel for each of them including personalized resources like white papers, videos, and articles. You may have different contacts/departments for one prospect, requesting a different type of content for each.
Sales Enablement is not just about processes; it's about injecting human and personal messages into your outreach. By focusing on a common goal and utilizing the strengths of each team member, you create a more coherent and high-performing team, ultimately reflected in improved results and revenue.
What do you get with more efficient Sales Enablement work?
- Accelerated and deepened customer relationships and understanding.
- Improved customer service.
- Personalized content for a higher reach.
- Better trained salespeople.
- Greater use of marketing resources: white papers, videos, leaflets, etc.
- Bigger production of targeted content through marketing and sales.
- More focused and motivated salespeople.
- More efficiency and revenue.
In conclusion, Sales Enablement is not a magic wand; it is a well-executed strategy that generates synergy between sales and marketing. By implementing the right tools, fostering collaboration, and adopting innovative approaches, CEOs can elevate their teams' performance and drive tangible results. It's not just a trend; it's a transformation.
This transformation is at the heart of SPIN Ideas values and reflects exactly how we are supporting our clients with their marketing strategy and implementation. Would you like to unleash the power of your growth with Sales Enablement? I use my 20 years of experience in sales and marketing worldwide to help companies embrace targeted marketing strategies to achieve a higher impact. Book a free audit call here.