There is not a single day the topic of simplification, simplicity, or the imperative “make it simple” regarding sales force enablement is not discussed with great passion. And most of the time, it’s a relevant topic. Especially when it comes to sales force enablement. Who doesn’t want things to be simple? Salespeople prefer simple solutions and approaches, simple content assets and training services, simple tools, and simple value messages, etc. There are just a few small details most people overlook in the discussion: First, there is the macro view: The markets most sales organizations sell ..read more

Did you know that the women’s right to vote is a challenge that took more than 200 years and is still not achieved everywhere on the planet? The movement began in the 18th century. But most countries only allowed women to vote starting in the early 20th century – the UK and Germany in 1918 and the US in 1920 – after decades of very painful processes. Many countries in Europe and around the world only followed decades after WWII. I normally don’t write about gender equality and gender collaboration, simply because it’s not my research focus in my role as research director for CSO Insights. Toda ..read more

It’s like having a car. You bought it in the expectation of achieving certain desired results. But if you don’t drive it, you won’t get the benefits of owning it. And that’s not the car’s fault. Sales leaders have lots of expectations when it comes to sales enablement content management (SECM) solutions. Based on our CSO Insights 2016 Sales Enablement Optimization Study, improving access to content for salespeople leads the list with 57.4%, followed by reducing search time (33.1%), sharing best practices, improving sales and marketing alignment and increasing win rates (27.7% each), and reduci ..read more

“You can’t build a great building on a weak foundation. You must have a solid foundation if you’re going to have a strong superstructure.” –Gordon B. Hinckley That’s exactly the same for a successful sales force enablement function, program, or initiative. The better your sales force enablement foundation, the more successful your results will be. The data from our CSO Insights 2016 Sales Enablement Optimization Study shows the impact of an enablement foundation on sales performance. Today, we discuss the three pillars of a solid enablement foundation. These are enablers for enablement success ..read more

Sales enablement talent is not discussed very often. Usually, the discussions are about the sales talent that’s required in the digital age of the customer. But there is almost no discussion about the necessary talent, sales enablement leaders need to have to be successful. The challenge with sales enablement: only a minority moves the needle Only about one-quarter to one-third of sales enablement teams are effective and tangibly move the sales performance needle. In other words, most organizations invest in sales enablement, but don’t move the needle. No wonder that the current crisis hit sal ..read more

Did you ever imagine that a virus would be the ultimate trigger for organizations to focus on digital transformation? Probably not. Here we are, in the middle of a global COVID-19 pandemic that will forever change the way we live, the way we do business, and also the way we run sales enablement. Observations on sales enablement after being silent for a few weeks As I transitioned from one professional role to another over the last few weeks, I focused on observing, rather than actively participating in, the sales and sales enablement space. Here is what I found: The approach is under ..read more

Sales enablement is on the rise, no doubt. At CSO Insights, we have seen a very fast growing discipline over the last six years. In 2013, only 19.3% of organizations reported having sales enablement established in their organization. This “enablement rate” increased to 32.7% in 2016 and to 59.2% in 2017. Now, in 2018, the data of our 4th Annual Sales Enablement Study (requires membership) shows a leveling off in growth, with 61.0% of organizations having a sales enablement team. This 2018 number, 61.0%, is less than we expected because in 2017, 8.4% of organizations said that they planned to i ..read more

Modern buyers are changing faster and to a greater degree than sales organizations. Buyers are also consumers, and their experiences as consumers influence their B2B buying behavior. They’ve rapidly come to expect personalization, transparency and immediate fulfillment. They take their B2C shopping experiences, consciously or unconsciously, with them when they go to work, and their expectations change as rapidly as their consumer options change. A recent CSO Insights study found that more than 70% of buyers usually engage with salespeople only after their needs are already clarified. And 44 ..read more

A few weeks ago, Jonathan Farrington, CEO Top Sales World, interviewed Byron Matthews and me for the July edition of Top Sales Magazine to discuss the launch of our new book Sales Enablement: A Master Framework to Engage, Equip, and Empower A World-Class Sales Force. JF: Your book Sales Enablement: A Master Framework to Engage, Equip, and Empower A World-Class Sales Force seems to be the first strategic, holistic, and research-based book on sales enablement in the market. What was your motivation for writing this book now? BM: In a nutshell, it’s because buyers are getting better at buying th ..read more

Imagine this: Your marketing team has created new value messages for a product launch or update to support marketing’s online content and demand-and-lead-generation campaigns. Marketing will incorporate the new value messages in all customer-facing content assets they are creating for the sales force. In parallel, the product management team prepares product-training services for the same product launch. As you can imagine, their training approach is based more on the product rather than the business problems the new product can solve or the business results that can be achieved. Furthermore ..read more