- Are you keeping up with your peers?
- Are you falling behind?
- Is there an opportunity for you to gain a competitive edge?
When it comes to sales, everyone is looking for an advantage.
One of the proven ways to close more — and better — deals at a faster pace is by implementing a sales enablement program. It provides reps with everything needed to successfully engage with buyers and clients.
The 2018 Sales Enablement Report from CSO Insights looked into the use of sales enablement at different types of organizations and found that across all industries, on average, 60 percent of businesses practice sales enablement.
However, the penetration in different industries can range from just over 20 percent to 90 plus percent.
- If you work in a high penetration industry, and do not take a disciplined approach to sales enablement, you owe it to yourself and your firm to play catch-up and put more focus on it as soon as possible.
- If you’re in an industry that’s lagging behind, you could enjoy a competitive advantage by practicing sales enablement ahead of your competitors.
Here are some of the top and bottom industries based on the percentage of organizations that practice sales enablement, along with the benefits of implementing a program for each industry.
Industries with the highest sales enablement penetration rates
Telecommunications and technology
> 90.0 percent sales enablement penetration
Tech-related industries are, by their nature, early adaptors of cutting-edge ideas and new types of technology. This has certainly been the case with sales enablement.
Firms in the sector quickly realized that sales enablement makes it easier to train reps on complex, hard-to-explain product and service offerings. It also supplies them with ready access to the materials needed to demonstrate how new communication and tech solutions work and explain the benefits they provide to users.
Many telecommunication and tech companies are currently looking to upgrade to newer, more advanced sales enablement solutions, like the one offered by Mobile Locker. The updated technology provides a broader array of benefits, including enhanced cross-organizational cooperation.
Transportation, logistics, and distribution
81.0 percent
Most of the companies in the transportation sector depend on sales enablement systems to not just support sales, but also to improve information flow across their businesses.
The system becomes the single source of information for these complex organizations. It ensures people working in different departments have access to the same data. This helps prevent errors and build efficiency, making firms in this sector that practice sales enablement more profitable.
If you work for one of the almost 20 percent of companies in this sector that don’t have a sales enablement system, what are you waiting for? It’s time to get on board or you will be left behind.
Media and publishing
78.6 percent
Media and publishing companies handle a LOT of information. They need to pass content among many internal and external stakeholders to develop it, get it approved, publish it and distribute it. This often results in significant version control issues.
A sales enablement system ensures that everyone involved in a project is working off the most current version of a document and that it’s moved from person to person in a secure and controlled way. This helps save time, avoid errors and prevent security breaches.
If you work for a media company, such as an advertising agency, publisher or broadcaster, and aren’t using sales enablement technology to help manage your projects, you should take advantage of this powerful functionality.
Banking and financial services
75.0 percent
Banks and other financial companies are required to supply their clients with legal and compliant information about the products and services they offer to them. If a rep uses incorrect or out-of-date sales materials, the rep and the firm they represent could face significant repercussions, including fines, disciplinary actions, and legal issues.
A sales enablement system provides greater control over collateral distribution. Financial advisors, brokers, bankers, and insurance agents can feel confident knowing they’re using the latest reviewed and approved documents with clients.
If you’re in the financial services industry and are not using a sales enablement system to distribute your content, you could be putting your firm at risk.
Industries with the lowest sales enablement penetration rates
Manufacturing
33.3 percent
We‘re surprised by how few manufacturers practice sales enablement.
Most have complex product and service offerings and challenging proposal development cycles. Based on our experience working with manufacturing companies, a sales enablement system:
- Provides reps with training on how to explain complex solutions in clear and understandable ways
- Encourages collaboration that makes developing complex presentations and proposals fast and easy
- Identifies ways to optimize the sales process and close more deals faster.
If you’re a manufacturer and not using a sales enablement system, you owe it to yourself to learn how Mobile Locker’s innovative technology could benefit your business.
Oil and gas
22.2 percent
Most firms in the oil and gas business could benefit from practicing sales enablement. There is little new in their offerings and many depend on old-school techniques to sell them.
Sales enablement pushes firms that are stuck in the past into the future by helping them identify new and better ways to sell their products and services along with messages that resonate with today’s buyers.
More than firms in any other industry, oil and gas businesses could benefit from implementing a sales enablement program.
