The reality of the sales enablement industry is that the term “Sales Enablement” is ever-evolving. Seasoned sales reps describe the current state of sales enablement as “confusing,” while C-level execs have an entirely different perspective.
In this scenario, the two often agree… or may disagree – but the gap between the definitions could still be costly and frustrating.
On the upside, it is possible for customers to get the right solution and operate on the same page as us – and that’s where the 3 Cs come in.
The 3 Cs set the precedent that drives the vision of sales enablement; and that means better interaction with customers, internal workflows, and customer-enablement processes. Let’s look at the list of the 3 Cs of Sales Enablement that will help you piece together your initiatives and what your sales enablement strategy should look like.
#1 Content Management
Relevant content is critical to sales success. Over 90% of customers choose the business that provides them with customized content as it correlates to each stage of the sales cycle. Customers do their homework for over 60% of their buying journey before ever contacting a sales rep. Put two and two together, and you will see that strong content management is a key aspect of closing business.
As a result, it’s important for sales reps to have access to the right collateral at the exact moment they feel that the customer’s needs match a content piece. This can happen on a sales call, or throughout other touchpoints in the customer lifecycle.
#2 Customer Engagement
Today, what counts most for customers is engagement and personalization. However, stats show that sales reps spend only a small portion of their time actively selling. Instead, they spend their time on tedious, time-consuming processes like trying to find the right content, prospecting and proposals, and administrative work. Yet, no matter who defines sales enablement, and no matter how different the definitions are within the organization, what customers want is an experience.
This is why organizations have to invest in the right tools in order to free up the time for sales reps and make selling their first priority. The average sales cycle typically lasts two months. This is an important element to consider when we talk about customer engagement. Sales reps need to have the time to nurture leads instead of spending time on not only administration and tedious, repetitive tasks, but also, many times – marketing processes.
#3 Coaching and Training
Onboarding new hires is one of the most important investments you will make. The better sales reps are trained, the longer they will stay with the company. What’s more is that ongoing coaching yields up to 50% more sales. Because creating a customer experience is so important, it becomes critical to train sales reps on best practices.
In light of this, new sales reps need the right tools for training and coaching. You should be investing in webinars, videos, and playbooks, and this needs to be stored in a centralized repository so that sales reps can be proactive instead of encounter problems in customer engagement during their experience.
The bottom line
The definition of sales enablement is ever-changing. But we have to set our sights on what sales enablement actually does. And when this is characterized by the 3cs, sales enablement will substantially improve your and your customers’ results.
Sales enablement is directly tied to the bottom line. Invest in your internal processes, and you will see how effective your selling process will become.
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