5 Sales Enablement Tips and Best Practices from Experts

Sales enablement is a critical aspect of a sales process. It enables you to identify ways to optimize your sales team’s efficiency and achieve your sales goals.

In fact, as per the State of Sales Enablement Report 2020, sales enablement received an adoption rate of 343% in the last five years and 62% of businesses have some form of sales enablement process in place.

This means that by implementing a sales enablement program, you can make sure that your sales staff can interact with prospects while having access to the right knowledge and tools to allow them to guide prospects across the stages of the sales funnel.

But with so much information available on the subject, how can you determine which approach or strategy is correct for you? That’s why in this article, I’ll go over sales enablement best practices and tips from experts to allow you to understand what you should do to make the most of your sales enablement program. 

Sales enablement best practices + tips 

Sales enablement is a multifaceted process that includes providing your sales reps with meaningful content, training, and technology to handle several types of sales. With that said, here are some of the best practices for sales enablement:

24/7 content availability  

Content is the core of your sales enablement framework. Without it, your sales rep will be stuck whenever they come across any issue. Quality content enables your sales team to be more productive and find the right engagement model to reach out to prospects.

Not just that. Relevant content created with your prospects and their pain points in mind will help your sales team to address these issues in the customer’s journey. That’s why the content should be compiled in a manner that is readily accessible to your sales staff and allows them to monitor and anticipate any problems that might come up in the buyer’s journey.

For instance, take a look at how outbound sales software such as Zixflow, has created a knowledge base with relevant content about its features, which is easily available to the sales team and lets them provide assistance to any product-related queries.

If you are still wondering how to collect your documentation in a single portal, you can use a knowledge base software. There are many platforms available in the market that let you gather knowledge and resources in a centralized library that is easy to access by your sales reps. Research and find suitable software according to your needs.

Superior onboarding and training process

Content, be it in written or video form, allows your sales team to get knowledge about a particular feature or a scenario and find solutions to their problems. But it cannot be a substitute for practical experience or training. For this reason, you should focus on providing in-depth training for newly hired reps and develop an ongoing training program for current sales staff. 

Your onboarding program should make sure that recently hired sales agents can understand their roles quickly. In this stage, your focus should be on giving them preliminary knowledge about the company, product, target audience, sales process, and the tools you are using. 

As for your existing team members, customize your training process in a way that each sales agent gets the training that suits their role. 

For example, sales engagement is a process of interacting with prospects and helping them understand the usefulness of your product. So if a rep is reaching out to a prospect over the phone might need coaching on phone etiquette and the knowledge of the right prospecting approach. 

Similarly, reps having meetings and working in the field may require face-to-face selling and relationship-building techniques. 

One of the mediums you can use to provide training to your reps is videos. Videos are easy to understand compared to written content and can deliver knowledge quickly. And Zixflow allows you to add training videos to the software, which are available to your entire sales staff at the click of a button.

Align sales team with marketing 

Aligning sales and marketing teams is an important part of sales enablement because it’s the efforts of the marketing team who are generating these various types of leads, which the sales department can later convert into buyers. 

And research has shown that 90% of people working in sales and marketing divisions say that with aligned processes and messaging, you can provide a better buyer experience. Plus, by aligning marketing and sales departments, you can ensure that both are working towards the same business goals, resulting in increased effectiveness and number of sales. 

To ensure that your marketing and sales teams are properly aligned with each other, you need to have open communication and dedicated channels to easily share details, ideas, insights, and feedback in real time. 

On top of that, scheduling meetings regularly and having joint strategy sessions will let your sales and marketing departments keep track of what everyone is doing, allowing them to be on the same page.

Optimize sales enablement with the right tools

Tools and technology have become critical aspects of every business. Not only do they help in increasing efficiency but also simplify the task.

Providing and familiarizing your sales reps with the correct sales enablement tools will allow them to streamline their daily activities and boost overall sales effectiveness. Some of the common types of sales enablement tools include:

Modern SalesOS like Zixflow

Zixflow is a comprehensive sales engagement platform that integrates multiple tools and functionalities into one solution. It is designed to enable you to simplify your sales process, increase productivity, and drive more sales. 

On top of that, Zixflow allows you to automatically generate leads using its Leadbot, an AI-based chatbot that interacts with your website visitors, captures the lead’s details, and sends it directly to the sales CRM. Plus, you don’t require any coding knowledge to create this leadbot. Check out this video to see how you can easily build one for your business.

Content management tools

Sales content management software lets you manage, share, and monitor sales content or documentation. These tools offer a central library for your sales collateral, which can be accessed by your sales team 24/7. 

Furthermore, content management tools let you track content usage, allowing you to identify which type of content is most effective so you can adjust your content marketing strategy accordingly.

Sales training and learning management systems

As you might have figured out from the name, these tools provide an online learning platform that offers training material and courses. These platforms enable your sales staff to improve their skills, understand new products, and stay updated on market trends. 

Learning management systems (LMS) also let you monitor the progress of each member of your sales team and suggest personalized learning material based on the skills of a particular individual. 

Sales automation tools

Sales automation solutions make it so that your sales team does not have to perform repetitive tasks and streamline your sales workflows. These tools empower your sales reps to automate sales workflows like sending follow-up emails so they don’t have to manually monitor when and whom they have to engage with.

You can use Zixflow to automate sales workflows to enhance time management for sales reps and improve efficiency. Its automation capabilities allow your sales agents to automate routine tasks, freeing up more time for important activities, such as building a relationship with prospects to sell more successfully.

Keep updating your process and set up feedback channels

Your job is not finished by just setting up a sales enablement process. You need to foster a mindset of continuous improvement and learning among your sales staff. Offer ongoing training and personal development in the form of webinars, presentations, and events. 

Next, you also need to have a feedback system so your reps can provide feedback for improvement. To do this, create feedback channels for your reps where they can share their experiences, challenges, and suggestions. 

For example, a survey form is one of the best and easiest ways to collect feedback from your sales team. It is simple to create and doesn’t require much time to fill as well. To create a form, you can use free Google Forms to build feedback forms and send them to your sales agents via email. 

Sales Enablement tips from experts

So, after looking back at some of the best practices for sales enablement, let’s take a look at tips from sales enablement experts who have years of experience in the field and used their knowledge to drive growth to their companies.

Mike Kunkle

Mike Kunkle is a sales transformation and enablement advisor, author, trainer, and speaker. He has years of experience in building and deploying sales enablement initiatives, training courses, and sales effectiveness campaigns.

Focus on a buyer-centric approach

Shift the focus from product-centric to customer-centric selling. Learn about your buyers' needs, issues, and challenges. Generate sales enablement resources that optimize and align with each stage of the sales funnel.

Stay agile and adjust according to trends

Sales enablement is a continuously changing field. That’s why it is necessary to stay flexible and adapt to the changes in market and customer behavior. Keep an open mindset, welcome innovation, and be willing to adjust your sales enablement program accordingly.

For instance, automation and sales cadence in the sales process has become quite a hot topic and you should also implement them in your sales operations. For that, you can utilize the sales cadence software of Zixflow which will let you easily build a sequence to engage your prospects automatically.

Scott Santucci

Scott is a renowned expert in sales enablement and sales transformation. He is the creator of Growth Enablement Ecosystems and has collaborated with numerous Fortune 500 businesses to create and employ sales enablement techniques.

Build a sales enablement strategy

Define clear sales enablement strategies that complement your company's sales goals. Ensure that you identify key challenges and opportunities in your sales process, and build your sales enablement strategy to rectify them.

Establish cross-functional collaborations

Establish solid relationships with other departments within your organization like marketing, customer support, and product management. Work together with these teams to collect insights, align approaches, and ensure a well-aligned methodology to offer value to the buyer. 

Tamara Schenk

Tamara Schenk is a recognized sales enablement thought leader, author, blogger, and speaker. She was the Research Director at CSO Insights, a division of the Miller Heiman Group. She specializes in sales enablement strategies, sales training, and content management.

Determine a sales enablement charter

Put in place a sales enablement charter that defines the purpose and goals of the sales enablement process. This charter needs to be aligned with your overall sales strategy and should act as a guiding framework for your sales enablement efforts.

Pay attention to sales content enablement

Develop a structured and readily available content management system to allow your sales staff to find the correct content at the right time. Create highly relevant content that revolves around customers’ problems. And make that it is recent and easily navigational.

Roderick Jefferson

Roderick Jefferson is a sales enablement consultant, speaker, and author. He has helped companies optimize their sales processes through sales enablement techniques, coaching, team alignment, and tools.

Develop sales messaging

Create and curate sales content that fits the needs of the buyers and provides assistance to sales reps directing through the sales pipeline. Also, supply your sales team with messaging guides and playbooks to allow them to ask effective sales qualifying questions.

Provide targeted training 

You should provide in-depth sales training to your sales agents based on their roles. Your training should encompass all the stages of the sales process and the expectations you have from your reps. For example, this can include product knowledge, sales approaches, object handling, and negotiations.

Andy Paul

Andy Paul is a sales acceleration expert and the host of The Sales Enablement Podcast. He offers actionable suggestions and tactics to improve sales performance, speed up the sales pipeline velocity, and boost revenue.

Concentrate on value selling

“Care enough to create value for your customers. If you get that part right, selling is easy.” – Anthony Iannarino

Let your sales staff focus on offering value to buyers instead of just selling your products. Train them to understand your customer’s pain points and offer your product as a remedy. Encourage your sales team to actively listen to buyers, ask meaningful questions, and personalize their messages based on the particular requirement of the prospect.

Encourage resilience and persistence

Sales can be challenging, so it is necessary to foster resilience and persistence among your salespeople. Encourage them to learn from setbacks and embrace rejection as a learning opportunity. Provide support and motivation to keep them focused during tough times.

Take control of your sales enablement with these tips and best practices

Sales enablement is a critical function that can significantly impact the success of your sales process. By implementing the correct strategies and programs, you can empower your sales staff to achieve better results.

In this article, I have provided you with some of the best practices and expert tips to further fine-tune your sales enablement process. By continuously evolving and adapting your sales enablement using these experts' advice, you can make sure that your program is effective in the long run.

However, you might also need assistance from a tool to help you put these tips into practice. That’s why Zixflow is a one-stop solution for all your sales needs. It is a powerful salesOS that lets you streamline your sales 

Get a personalized demo today and see for yourself how Zixflow can take a load off of your shoulders so you can focus on more important aspects of your business.