Is your sales team ready to sell your product or service? Probably not. Sirius Decisions found that 82 percent of B2B decision-makers think sales reps are unprepared for a productive conversation with a customer. An effective sales enablement program can ensure that your sales team understands the product specs, benefits and differentiators, knows how it addresses customer challenges and fits in with their existing suite of products, and has the tools and resources to deliver what a prospect is looking for at the right time during the buyer’s journey.
Too often, however, sales enablement materials don’t get used, either because the sales team doesn’t understand them, doesn’t find them relevant or doesn’t believe they help them close the deal. Understanding the market, competitors and customers is essential. In B2B marketing, that research often extends to channels to market and the consumers on the other end. Only then can an effective strategy be conceived. Without either one, the sales team is just taking a shot in the dark.
When putting your sales enablement program together, do so knowing that today’s buyers are exploring their options online long before they contact a salesperson. Aligning sales and marketing is essential. Sales enablement technology platforms allow a marketing team to unify and coordinate training, market intelligence, content and content management, and communications.