Tools and Technology That Can Boost Your Strategy
Sales enablement technology can come in many different forms. But first and foremost, you need a CRM and a content management system. A CRM can be any centralized platform, such as Salesforce or HubSpot, that you use to store customer contacts, record interactions, track opportunities, and manage marketing campaigns. A content management system, on the other hand, is the software tool you use to create, update, and share marketing collateral and assets like logos, templates, graphics, brochures, and fonts. Because your sales enablement team will need both platforms, they should ideally integrate to streamline sales productivity.
Sales Enablement vs. Sales Operations – What’s The Difference?
It’s important to note that sales enablement and sales operations have distinct tasks:
Sales Operations Definition
Sales operations, in contrast, refers to the administrative activities that support a sales team. A sales operations team might be tasked with:
- Recruiting, hiring, and training new sales employees
- Assigning sales territories
- Managing compensation structures
- Selecting applications for the sales tech stack
Enablement and operations are different functions, but they work together. Ideally, sales operations staff handle the logistics that help the sales department run, and sales enablement uses the tools provided by sales operations to implement strategy. Additionally, key stakeholders from sales operations can weigh in on sales enablement planning. Both operations and enablement teams may offer ongoing sales coaching and support to help reps move more customers through the sales funnel.
Best Way To Measure Sales Enablement in Your Organization
No matter what industry you work in, you need a way to assess the effectiveness of your sales enablement strategy. Otherwise, you won’t know if your efforts are working, and you won’t be able to identify what tactics should be refined or replaced. There are many different KPIs you can use to measure sales performance and enablement in your organization. A few common metrics include:
- Win rate: Simply put, your win rate is the percentage of deals you’ve closed over a set period. To calculate your win rate, compare the number of won opportunities against the total number of opportunities.
- Lead-to-opportunity conversion rate: Typically, companies define a lead as a sales prospect, whereas an opportunity is a possible deal with a clear dollar amount. A high lead-to-opportunity conversion rate can indicate that your marketing materials are working.
- Sales cycle length: Also known as deal velocity, sales cycle length measures the amount of time between the first contact with a potential lead and the final sale. Shorter cycles could indicate effective messaging that compels the customer to take action.
- Average contract value: Sometimes referred to as average selling price, this is the amount that customers typically pay for a specific product. This metric helps you understand how effectively you are communicating your product’s value, and assess how frequently reps are offering discounts during sales conversations.
How Brand Consistency Can Drive Sales Enablement
Strong, consistent branding helps you build consumer trust. With so many different brands vying for their attention, potential customers need to be able to easily understand who your company is and what it stands for. A strong brand identity uses colors, imagery, typography, and messaging to convey to consumers that you are reliable and deliver high-quality products or services.
Building trust with your customers helps develop loyalty and improve retention – customers are more likely to return to your business in the future and recommend your brand to their friends and family. By developing marketing materials for your sales professionals that convey your strong brand identity, you can align your branding efforts with your sales enablement goals.
Partner With Marcom To Improve Sales Enablement
If you’re struggling to implement a sales enablement strategy at your organization, Marcom is here to help. Our on-demand marketing platform, MarcomCentral, offers a centralized portal for organizing your brand assets, distributing collateral, and automating workflows while ensuring compliance. Plus, MarcomCentral integrates with the most widely used business tools, like Salesforce, Google Drive, and Slack.
Don’t let your sales or marketing teams waste time hunting for the assets they need. Marcom makes it easy to find the right sales collateral quickly and customize it while ensuring brand consistency. With an intuitive interface and countless integrations, MarcomCentral helps your sales leaders deliver the right content at the right time to close more deals. For more information about our sales enablement platform, review our case studies or contact us today.
