Sales training – what’s crossing your mind first? Product trainings? You are in good company. But that’s only one of several sales training categories. That’s why there are many different stakeholders, perspectives and target groups to be orchestrated. And that’s the reason why cross-functional councils can increase effectiveness significantly. At this point, we assume that… Read More
How to Enable Salespeople to Navigate B2B Buying Dynamics
Sailing requires a lot of capabilities. As a sailor you learn various mechanical principles – how the equipment works, and based on that, what to do on the sailboat. You have to become an experienced sailing practitioner to be able to sail the ocean. But these mechanical skills aren’t sufficient. You also have to learn… Read More
How To Equip Your Sales Managers (1) – “The Round Pegs In Round Holes” Framework
A few months ago, I started to write about one of the missing pieces in many sales enablement discussions – the sales managers. In case you missed it, you can check it out here: Sales Enablement and Sales Management – Enable Your Sales Managers First Now, I will discuss how to enable and how to equip… Read More
How to leverage the full potential of your sales enablement platform!
A few weeks ago, there was an interesting LinkedIn question regarding sales enablement platforms. It was called “So you’ve got a platform for Sales Enablement! What is the feature that really benefits or differentiates, that enables you more than yesterday?“ I wrote a response which was rather a blog post than a short LinkedIn response…. Read More
Is Sales Enablement Part of Your Digital Transformation Initiative? When —If Not NOW?
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 is shutting down, and will forever change, the way we live and do business. Observations on sales enablement after being silent for… Read More
Missing in Sales Enablement: Customer Core
Getting prepared for a five-mile/km run is one thing; getting prepared for a marathon is a totally different challenge. The context is different, the requirements and the success criteria are different. Basic running training will get you to the five-mile run. But just trying harder is never enough to successfully get you through a marathon…. Read More
Outcome selling: What is it AND why you should care – in 5 steps
Outcome selling, outcome-based selling, business outcomes, customer outcomes – everybody is talking about outcomes and how to achieve them. Why not provide some structure and clarity to add some value to the discussion? Let’s look at these five basics. First, let’s differentiate between outputs and outcomes. The Oxford dictionnary defines these terms: “Output is the… Read More
Performance Accountability – A Behavior of World-Class Sales Performers
If a taxi driver delivers excellent services, then you are a lucky person. In case your taxi driver also helps you out with coins that were part of his tip just to make sure you can pick up a baggage cart and catch your flight – then you have a taxi driver who cared more… Read More
Rethinking Renewals
A big deal is in the funnel; a must win, a secure deal – it’s a renewal. This one will make the quarter a great success. We all know this situation and the feeling when such a “must win deal” is lost. Hectic win/loss reviews are conducted to understand what has happened. Often, a competitor… Read More
Sales Enablement and Sales Operations – A Relationship With Great Potential
Your skeleton – what is it for? The bone structure provides a framework for the body. This framework supports the body and keeps the organs in their proper place. And muscles that are connected to the skeleton let us move our bodies. Sales operations is the skeleton in any sales organization, with a few core… Read More
Sales Enablement and Technology – The Change Gap
How many Microsoft Word or Excel features do you really use? Ten percent, 20 percent? Most Office users will never write a book and they will also never use more than the basic arithmetic. It’s similar with sales enablement technology, but it doesn’t need to be like that, if the change gap can be closed…. Read More
Sales Enablement and Technology – The Collaboration Gap
From a bystander’s standpoint, Formula 1 is a highly competitive sport. But F1 is also collaborative. The drivers of an F1 team work closely together with their mechanics to improve their cars’ performance. In parallel, the drivers compete against each other during the race. They know the fine balance between competition and conscious collaboration. Collaboration… Read More
Sales Enablement and Technology – The Execution Gap
Watching a film we are often impressed – apart from a great story – by the technique or style with which the artistic work was produced. We are impressed when a film is entirely professional in its execution. Execution – the act of doing or performing something, of carrying out a plan, a course of… Read More
Sales Enablement Grows Up. But Not Fast Enough
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, our annual… Read More
Sales Enablement– How To Work With Different Players In Your Sales Force
What are your target groups for your enablement services? “Sales people“ you may say, and as it’s me who is writing, you may add “sales managers“…But where is your focus within these groups? As always, there is no “one size fits all“, especially not if you equip complex selling scenarios. Based on my experience, SE… Read More
Sales Enablement: Customer Core Framework to Provide Perspectives
The Current State of Sales Enablement Part one assessed the current state of sales enablement. This insight was drawn from personal experience, research data and our work with clients. Often, sales enablement practitioners are not focused on four key elements: A Clear Customer Core Perspective Targeting Front Line Sales Managers A Foundation in Sales Operations… Read More
Sales Force Enablement – See you in Atlanta, Sept 17
The term “Sales Enablement” is used for almost everything that has to do with content, messaging, training, collaboration and technology to improve sales productivity and drive sales effectiveness. The function is rarely a strategic discipline that translates selling challenges into integrated, tailored sales execution plans. But this is exactly the kind of strategic approach that… Read More
Sales Force Enablement Technology: Defining The Functional Layer First
When designing a kitchen, you need to consider your available space as well as your cooking style and the types of meals you most often cook. This allows you to create your culinary masterpieces most effectively by optimizing the processes you follow. In cooking, just as in sales, technology matters, too. Choosing appliances, such as… Read More
Simplicity in Enablement and how to achieve it?
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” –Albert Einstein There is not a single day the topic of simplification, simplicity, or the imperative “make it simple” 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… Read More
Social selling is growing. Results, too?
Over the last couple of years, we at CSO Insights have identified critical success factors for social selling success. The first one is aligning the social strategies between marketing and sales. The second one is driving higher levels of social selling adoption across the sales force. Let’s begin with the alignment of social strategies between… Read More
The 2015 MHI Sales Best Practices Study – Last Call To Action To Share Data And To Receive Research
Three weeks to go until end of November! Three weeks to share your insights and to receive research in return – immediately after taking the survey and with first-access to the results in Q1/2015. For us at the MHI Research Institute, we start with giving and sharing our findings from the 2014 MHI Sales Best… Read More
The Challenger Sale – Missing a customer perspective?
Many passionate discussions on the relevance of The Challenger Sale are going on. I really like all the behavior-based research results on the challenger rep. It’s fascinating to learn, which sales behaviors are successful and why, and what those reps do differently: “Mediocrity comes in multiple flavors.” I think, the selling behaviors lead to the… Read More
The Enablement of Women in Sales
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… Read More
The Inability to Communicate Value Messages – Biggest Inhibitor to Sales Success in 2014
At the MHI Research Institute, we have asked this question in each of the past three years: What are the biggest inhibitors to sales success? Our 2014 data delivers a consistent message: The “inability to communicate value messages” is again the biggest inhibitor to sales success, as it was in 2013 (22%) and in 2012… Read More