We all know that marketing efforts are what attract your future customers, but at the end of the day, it falls on your sales team to turn those leads into customers. How do you ensure your sales team is equipped to close those deals? This is where sales enablement comes into play.
Sales enablement provides your sales team with the right tools, resources, and materials to accomplish their goal of converting leads into customers. These three elements are the pillars of sales enablement strategy and key to closing more deals.
Tools Your Sales Team Can’t Live Without
When you hear tools in the context of “sales team,” does your mind immediately think of a phone or email? You aren’t alone in that thought. These have been the main tools that sales reps have traditionally relied on to connect with leads and win deals.
Technological advancements have opened up a whole new world of possibilities and offer new ways to increase efficiency and decrease time spent closing deals.
A great CRM, for example, will put valuable information and contact insights in front of your sales reps in real time. According to Salesforce’s State of the Industry report, “81% of sales reps believe it is important to have a connected view of data across the entire customer journey.”
By being able to view the drivers and engagement points that a contact reached before being deemed qualified for the sales team, your reps can go into a conversation knowing where a contact’s interest lies and having insight into the best way to approach that contact. This, in turn, creates a more personal connection early on in the sales process.
Another benefit of a great CRM is the ability to automate parts of your sales process. Setting up templates for recurring communication with leads, automating outreach sequences, and having key sales rep tasks triggered by specific activities not only saves a great deal of time, but also helps ensure that leads are not missed or under-serviced.
Data is one of the most valuable assets to your sales team. Reporting tools can provide your sales team with data that influences the way they approach leads. It can also provide your sales reps with clear visibility into their own performance and goals.
Having the right tools in your sales team’s toolbox will better equip your reps to close more deals more effectively and more efficiently.
Resources that Turn Sales Reps into Trusted Advisors
This likely isn’t the first time you’ve had someone tell you that the buyer’s process has changed. By the time a lead has made it to your sales team, they are practically an expert on your product or service.
Your leads have done their research and educated themselves, so when they finally make it to a sales rep, they aren’t looking for someone to reiterate everything they’ve already learned. In fact, according to Salesforce, “79% of business buyers say it’s absolutely critical or very important to interact with a salesperson who is a trusted advisor — not just a sales rep — who adds value to their business.”
In order to be this person, your sales reps need to have knowledge of various industries, markets, and trends. Providing your sales team with a library of resources and information will better equip them to become that trusted advisor.
Materials that Close Deals
We say it often and we say it loud, “Content is key!” This applies to your sales team just as much as your marketing team. There is plenty of information available to your leads well before they reach a sales rep, so you need to be sure that your sales reps have content that specifically answers the remaining few questions a lead will have at the final stage of their Buyer’s Journey.
Compile a list of questions that your sales reps frequently hear and develop content that answers those questions. For example, most sales reps are answering questions about cost and pricing. Develop responses to these questions that can be instantly shared with someone at the appropriate stage of the sales process. By having such materials on hand, your reps are able to respond to questions quickly and with a consistent message across the organization.
Sales Enablement Creates Sales Success
Everyone wants to increase their chances of closing deals—but this isn’t something that can be accomplished unless your sales team is properly equipped. Ensuring that your sales team has the tools, resources, and materials they need has a measurable impact on their ability to close more deals.
To learn more about how you can bring sales enablement to your team, check out our guide: The Smart Guide to Sales Enablement