It’s a new year, and if you're on a sales enablement team, you're probably thinking about how you can help the sales team reach their goals this year, from SKOs to fresh new tools. But we've gotta ask... has anyone ever thought of enabling the enablement team?
It's time to start supporting the stars behind the scenes. After all, it's a tough job — and it's also essential to help sales teams keep their edge. At Somersault, we know how important it is for enablement teams to have the skills and power to drive real change at their organizations.
Here's the key: not all sales enablement tools have to be technology- or product-driven. Enablement teams that can support their salespeople with customer-centric and innovative approaches will help build a truly differentiated process for their prospects. To help get you started, we’ve compiled a list of our top sales enablement tools for 2020 so you that your sales team won't just sell more, but sell better.
Here's a sneak peak:
- Peel back the layers: keep your customer's customer in mind.
- Innovate your process: update your discovery methods.
- Be human: don't let data overwhelm you — selling is still an art.
- Use tech: don't let tech use you.
- Power empowerment: set your sales team up for success.
1. Think about your customer’s customer
Particularly in the B2B sales space, you want to encourage your sales team to think about your customer’s customer. Think about it — your prospects want to close deals just as much as you do, so you need to show them how you can help. Your customer’s customers are an untapped resource for your sales team to connect with prospects on a deeper level.
To start this process:
- Find out who your prospects’ customers are.
- Gather info on their challenges.
- Investigate how your prospect can be a better partner for these people.
These insights will make your sales team’s conversations with prospects more valuable and personalized than the competition.
2. Rediscover your discovery
Discovery has always been a part of the sales process, but if you're still using the same methods as you were in 2015, it's time to rethink your technique. Instead of sticking to what you’ve always done, sales enablement teams should encourage sales teams to think outside the box when gathering information about prospects.
We suggest looking for unusual sources, as well as what’s easy for you to get your hands on. For example:
- You can call up your prospect’s service line and ask what challenges their customers are currently facing.
- Or, you can call a customer of your prospect and a non-customer to see how well your prospect is solving their customer’s needs — and where they're falling short.
Overall, having a strong discovery strategy is crucial to enabling your sales team to make meaningful connections with prospects, and it's a key step in becoming a true customer-centric advisor. If it’s been a while since you rethought the way you conduct discovery, the new year is a perfect opportunity to take your discovery to the next level.
3. Remember the art of selling
Sales enablement was originally developed as a way of providing tools and skills for the seller universe. Today, it has become heavily focused on increasing sellers’ knowledge about their products and industries. This system leaves out the most important part of selling: people won't buy from you if they don't trust you.
Although it’s important for your sales team to be knowledgeable about their products and industry, their knowledge is useless if they can’t make a valuable connection with prospects.
In fact, companies often say that their best sellers are those who are curious and connected with prospects. This is why it’s so important to bring back the art of selling as one of your sales enablement tools.
In the current landscape, enablement teams may need to push back about how much product training is too much in order to prioritize the human element of training. In a science-driven sales world, this won't be easy — but it will be worth it. Start by taking an audit of how much of your enablement training is product- or industry-focused, and use this as leverage to advocate for more skills training.
Want to elevate your sales enablement techniques and give your team fresh insight? Check out the benefits of a personalized Sell by Design course today!
4. Make technology work for you
With so many options for sales enablement technology to choose from — DiscoverOrg, ZoomInfo, LeadIQ and SalesLoft, to name a few — you have to ensure that your enablement technology is working for you.
Typically, business development representatives are taking the lead on this front. For the sales enablement team, it’s important that you are empowering BDRs to use their enablement technology with a human perspective in mind. Without this perspective, it can be really easy to hide behind technology and analytics, and lose touch with the person on the other end of the data.
Essentially, focus on one central question, even when using tech: what is it that sales reps need to know in order to connect with your prospect and meet their needs?
5. Empower the entire sales team
As the sales industry becomes more diverse, it’s not enough to just attract talent to your sales team — you need to get them to stay. Because, let’s face it, a strong salesforce is one that sticks around. That includes groups that have historically been underrepresented in sales, like women. It's up to sales enablement teams to make sure that everyone their teams feels like they belong.
As a sales enablement tool, you’ll want to empower your team members to feel confident in their role — not just train them to recite product details. That can include specialized events, such as workshops for women to network and skill themselves up, or simply workshops decidated to building o. By creating a more inclusive environment on your sales team, you're investing in the long-term growth of your revenue.
It's time for enablement to introduce a new era in selling.
In the new year, sales enablement teams should empower their sales teams to sell from a human perspective. It's the key to establishing a positive and uniquely impactful approach to your sales. That means remembering the people behind the email — and the people behind those people, such as the customer's customer. It also means boosting up the humans on your sales team, rather than focusing on products or tech.
Learn more about how to delight your customers and enhance your sales team's approach with expert insights from our Sell by Design course.
