Building an Effective Sales Enablement Training Program

As we mentioned in a post earlier this month, an innovative, scalable, and impactful sales enablement training program is part of the way approach building our training solutions. Our approach differentiates us from our competitors and has opened doors to some pretty cool opportunities. Let’s take a look at some of the things we’ve done and what we’re doing next, in terms of adding value to companies and our contributions as thought leaders and innovators.

Sales Enablement Training that Adds Value

Organizations have a tendency to focus primarily on one sales enablement category (content, technology, or employee training). From our perspective, though, each category is vitally important to a sales enablement program and works in collaboration with the others to add real value to a company.

We take the “all-in” approach, which involves continuous support for sales enablement efforts, using all three categories of content, technology, or employee training. Not only does it seem like the right idea, but research shows that “all-in” organizations outpace their competition. In fact, this type of continuous sales training brings 50% higher net sales per employee. That’s the kind of value that you can take to the bank.

So, how do we accomplish this? How do we ensure that the sales enablement trainings we create provide real value for companies? We have found that focusing on analysis, assets, and programs makes all the difference.

Continuous sales training brings 50% higher net sales.

Analysis: The success of any training project depends first on what you know. To make it a little easier for an organization to gather this information, we’ve developed the ANSWER analysis, which is a structured method for conducting a rapid performance analysis by engaging stakeholders in a collaborative and creative way. During the analysis, anyone responsible for leading a performance improvement initiative are led through a discussion of the needs to be met, potential approaches to a solution, and actions necessary to produce results. Starting out with a rapid needs analysis like this could mean the difference between a successful or unsuccessful learning engagement.

Using the information obtained from the needs analysis, we are able to better move forward with further analysis, such as learner needs discovery and performance mapping, to more effectively develop custom corporate training that meets the needs it was created to fill.

Assets: The best sales enablement training programs offer a multitude of performance support assets to sales team members. While that might seem like a no-brainer, content and collateral is lacking more often than not. But assets can have a huge impact on conversion rates. Check out these statistics from SalesHub:

• 90% of salespeople avoid using content because it’s outdated and not customizable;
• 65% of sales reps can’t find content to send to prospects;
• 95% of buyers buy from someone who gave them content at each stage of the buying.

Up-to-date, customizable, and readily available content is powerful. It is the foundation for facilitating insightful conversations with stakeholders. Our team of experts work to gather and prioritize content that educate reps and improve client interactions.

Programs: In our 35+ years of experience, we have learned that effective sales enablement programs leverage technology to maximize efficiency. The use of tools and platforms can accelerate robust results in sales performance. Technology-supported sales enablement training also facilitates effortless global distribution of a centralized program. 

Thought Leadership & Innovation

Sales enablement training is a concept that can be difficult to understand. But as thought leaders in the industry, we offer a clear and consistent message—sales enablement is about improving how well and how fast sales reps respond to buyer needs. It’s not about starting from scratch, but about revamping the existing sales process. It’s about expanding resources and aligning them with an organization’s strategy.

Up-to-date, customizable, and readily available content is powerful.

In today’s modern landscape, where the buyer is now in charge, sales enablement is crucial to keeping sales reps from falling behind. Old ways don’t work, and for that reason we aim to create revolutionary, innovative training that learners will actually use. One major way we are innovating is through the use of mobile training. By providing things like mobile customer interaction tools or sales preparation tools and performance aids, learners are able to engage in a fresh, new way.

Take WellPoint, for example. WellPoint needed to train a sales team to speak confidently and eloquently about a large range of technical tools and diverse medical services, despite being from a variety of non-scientific backgrounds. They wanted a training solution that wouldn’t be seen as training.

Our approach to meeting WellPoint’s needs included creating a “Sales Tool Kit.” Our solution made even the most complex technical information clear to the learners. We paid close attention to the sales team’s unique learning needs, designing a program they could access quickly and digest efficiently. Combining just-in-time tools, videos, mobile and web-based methods, and simulations, Wellpoint’s sales specialists were empowered and supported to better meet client needs.

One last statistic for you: Aberdeen found that companies with best-in-class sales enablement experience 56% more revenue growth than companies who make do with something less. And guess what? Best-in-class is what we do best. By combining our innovation expertise, understanding of sales enablement, and focus on analysis, assets, and programs, we are able to create trainings that add real value for our partners.