Sales enablement: How do your priorities compare?
The 2018 Sales Enablement Report from CSO Insights includes a list of the top sales enablement goals organizations want to achieve in the year ahead.
Take some time to review them, along with our perspective on why they’re important. It will help you understand ALL the ways sales enablement can benefit your organization.
Increase win rates of deals in the pipeline
44.6 percent of respondents identified this as a priority
One of the most frustrating things for most sales organizations is nurturing opportunities for a long time only to have them fail. They invest time, energy and money to attract prospects and engage with them, only to not have the investment pay off in the end.
Sales enablement identifies leaks in the sales pipeline so salespeople and marketers can plug them. This improves sales close rates and reduces waste in sales and marketing programs. Increased close rates coupled with improved efficiency adds significant dollars to the bottom line.
Increase the number of new accounts
42.0 percent
Attracting new business is a top priority for most firms. It’s also one of the biggest challenges. It’s hard to find ways to connect with new buyers, who may not be aware of your firm and what you do.
Sales enablement helps identify the messages and sales tactics people in your target audience respond to. This will turn your sales efforts into a dependable revenue pipeline, rather than a random attempt to attract buyers and close deals.
Increase existing account penetration
35.2 percent
For most organizations, it’s easier to retain current clients and deepen relationships with them than to attract new ones.
Sales enablement identifies buying trends and opportunities within your client base. Your reps can upsell higher ticket products and services and find new things to offer that customers will want to purchase.
It will also help you determine how — and how often — you need to communicate with current clients to keep them engaged and prevent them from being picked off by your competitors.
Reduce sales cycle length
28.3 percent
Some sales take so long to close that they don’t make economic sense. The time and effort needed to get them done is greater than the value of the sale.
Sales enablement alerts you as to when and where your sales process is stalling so you know when it’s time to accelerate things or abandon opportunities. It also point to the messages and tactics that will speed time to close.
Increase average deal size
28.0 percent
What’s better than closing deals? How about closing even BIGGER deals?
If your sales team is putting time and effort into opportunities, it only makes sense to sell more and increase the profitability of them.
Sales enablement allows you to analyze historical sales trends so you can find ways to sell more products and services to each buyer. You can see what types of products and services similar clients have purchased in the past and bundle them into packages they will find appealing.
Improve client experience and reduce customer churn
27.0 percent
Today, the internet makes it easier than ever for unhappy customers to find other providers and jump ship. That’s why it’s critical to avoid mistakes and deliver a world-class experience in all your customer interactions.
The data supplied through your sales enablement system will help you find the messages, sales tactics and types of interactions that resonate with your customer base and link them together into an optimal end-to-end experience.
Another benefit: Your reps will have ready access to information that helps them provide better and faster answers to questions.
Increase available selling time
23.0 percent
What could be better than giving your salespeople more hours per day to sell? Think about it: They waste a lot of time figuring out which prospects are worth pursuing, finding the latest sales support materials and looking for information on how to explain different products and services.
A sales enablement system takes the confusion and guesswork out of all these things. It simplifies the selling process, giving reps more time to interact with prospects and clients.
Decrease new salesperson ramp-up time
20.4 percent
How long does it take for new reps to become productive? For many companies, especially those in technical fields or that offer a broad array of products and services, it can take weeks for them to start earning revenue. Up until then, they’re a drain on the bottom line of the business.
Sales enablement systems can quickly and efficiently deliver on-boarding programs that get new employees selling more quickly, while reducing the risk they could make an error that could harm your business and its reputation.
Reduce administrative burden on salespeople
15.4 percent
How many times has a salesperson told you that they’d sell more IF they had more time?
Sales enablement defines the sales process, making it fast and easy to find everything needed to close deals. It also automatically records critical information about interactions with clients and prospects. This reduces planning and administrative workload significantly, which provides more time for reps to do what’s important: sell.
