Takeaways from the 2017 Sales Enablement Society Conference

Late last year, I wrote about something which happened in Palm Beach, FL when the Sales Enablement Society was officially formed. 100 of us arrived at the Breakers, not knowing exactly what to expect, but knowing there were looming problems requiring our collective attention.

A few weeks ago, about 280 of us from around the globe descended upon the Renaissance Hotel in Richardson, TX to continue examining the issues. What transpired over three and a half days, and the mindshare which occurred, was in a word transformative.

We did our level best to include by social media the thousands of people across six continents who couldn't make it to Texas, for one reason or another (the event sold out, so tickets were unavailable to many). As impactful as social media may be, however, it cannot adequately convey the atmosphere of this conference. You'll need to read, watch, and listen to the bevy of information available on the Sales Enablement Society's platform to begin to grasp the enormity of what happened. And to get you started, below is just a sampling of my takeaways from the 2017 Sales Enablement Conference:

The Human Spirit is a remarkable, powerful force

I’ve never before observed or experienced the enormity of what happened starting on Thursday morning of the conference. I’d have to say the lion’s share of attendees, many or most of whom had only met online or by telephone, expressed genuine joy, excitement, and enthusiasm – not for the conference per se, but for the people with whom they’d been exchanging ideas over the past several months. Authentically warm smiles and bear-hug embraces were abundant. This Human Spirit, coupled with the concepts and issues around which we coalesced, was a clear differentiation between this conference and nearly every other, and is the fuel which continues to keep the Sales Enablement Society and the profession of Sales Enablement moving forward.

We are in a fundamentally different economy

Scott Santucci, Sales Enablement Society's founder, demonstrated technological advances have shifted the power base from manufacturing to information, and the rapid growth in this new era is staggering; the top seven companies in 2008 had an average valuation of $262B, and today those top seven are dominated by tech companies (Facebook, Google, Amazon, etc.) with an average valuation of $568B. Yet, we continue to apply old paradigms to our current economic state. As Marshall Goldsmith said, “What got you here, won’t get you there.”

The function of Sales, as it exists today within most corporations, is about to implode upon itself

Dr. Howard Dover made the brilliant analogy of our current state of approaching the function of Sales to the Dust Bowl era; the Dust Bowl and ensuing economic and agricultural disaster occurred in large part because technological innovations made it easier to plow and cultivate land as had been done in previous years. Farmers did more of the same thing in more efficient ways, rather than stopping to consider the long term effects of their actions and innovate in their approaches. Businesses continue to approach sales as though the economy hasn’t changed in decades, and technology is allowing them to do this ever more efficiently. Further, businesses don’t appear to be moving toward innovation in their Sales functions; fully 53% of sellers don’t hit quota, so the solution applied by businesses is to increase the population of sellers by 68%, the theory being to just do more of the same thing. The perpetuation of old business models, as what Bain and McKinsey do, but in ever more efficient ways, will likely have disastrous results over time.

Technology, which is increasing at an exponential rate, is adding confusion and noise

For example, the number of MarTech companies has increased massively over just the last few years, which complicates the buying decision. However, despite the focus on technology, sales is still fundamentally a human to human interaction, and most companies don’t know who (as in the person) they’re selling to – they sell to companies, instead of people. Technology is a catalyst to selling, which is a human activity. Selling is becoming dehumanized.

New York Times best selling author Ori Brafman spoke to the power of a decentralized network,

using the starfish as an analogy; a starfish has no central control nexus, it is instead a network of individual organisms which promotes agility and also happens to grow stronger as one fights it. The point here is that networks with a strictly centralized command and control structure are vulnerable. And, Ori also demonstrated that the opposite of control is – enablement. Thus, enablement creates strength, while strict control creates vulnerability, thereby creating the justification for enablement. Robert Racine, VP of Global Sales Enablement for Wipro Technologies, then spoke to the changes coming to organizational structures by 2022, and the birth of the Chief Growth Officer, who would be a Sales Enablement Professional.

Tamara Schenk, Research Director for CSO Insights, pointed out

that Sales Enablement is an orchestrating, strategic role, not a tactical one. Also, it is not directly responsible for revenue generation; rather, it is directly responsible for enabling the organization to generate its revenue. This may seem like a distinction without a difference, but keeping this straight will allow a Sales Enablement function to maintain its focus and effectiveness, while preventing it from becoming mired in scope creep.

Serendipity happens

We cannot predict the future, even though businesses behave as though they can. In fact, businesses need to embrace serendipity when it arrives rather than trying to control every aspect of its being (see the starfish analogy above), as well as take advantage of opportunities to innovate in white space and to invite renegade opinions into its ranks. This is where growth comes from – white space, renegade actors with outside-the-box thinking, and serendipity, as per Ori Brafman’s “The Chaos Imperative”.

There is a palpable hunger for what is being undertaken by the SES

The grassroots manner in which the Society came to be is telling. 100 people coalesced around an idea in Palm Beach, Florida less than a year ago. There was no website, no structure, no formal charter, and no funding. 11 months later the Society has roots in 32 countries and 41 U.S. states, driven almost solely by social media and telephone conversations. This Society and this conference was brought to life by volunteers, most of whom have day jobs or own businesses yet believe there is a need for change in the world of Sales. The Sales Enablement Society and the profession of Sales Enablement is in the rare position of being able to, quite literally and without hyperbole, create global change in the ways businesses impact society. That’s powerful.

Having been part of this conference,

as well as being part of the original 100 Founding Members, I have a strong sense of stewardship over this initiative and a strong connection to those who attended. Frankly, I’ve never felt more altruistic than I have being part of this group of professionals. However, to keep this moving forward we need to remain connected and supportive of each other, because there are tremendous forces at play to maintain the status quo and the degenerative nature of the current state of Sales.

Ask 10 companies what Sales Enablement means...

...and you're likely to get 13 different answers. The term Sales Enablement is in rampant circulation of late, used in everything from job postings to software to company names. The fact is, anyone claiming to have the solution to Sales Enablement is, ironically, selling something. At the 2017 Sales Enablement Conference great pains were undertaken to define exactly what Sales Enablement is. We seeded the definition at the conference, and it is now being sent around the globe to SES Chapter for ratification and/or revision. SES Founding Member Michael Labate headed up this remarkable and vital effort, because without a common definition of what Sales Enablement is, it will be impossible to create a profession around the function or eliminate the babble which confounds those attempting to practice Sales Enablement today.

Two words from Kristy West and Kirk Miller: “Yes! And…”

I encourage each of you who are passionate about improving corporate Sales to engage with the Sales Enablement Society if you haven't already done so. Meet and interact with its incredible members, and add your voice to the discussions. The impact this organization is bringing to the Sales function within organizations around the globe is significant, and we welcome you.

Bob Britton, President, Dallas Chapter of the Sales Enablement Society

ps: Hashtag for LinkedIn SE Society Info is #SESociety