Our Blog

Sales enablement is a cross-functional discipline that integrates and coordinates the customer-focused value chain (sales, marketing, service, etc.) for an adaptive & tailored buyer decision journey experience.

Although several challenges are mitigated by a sales enablement tool, many businesses tackle each challenge with point solutions on a case-by-case basis, and executive decision makers are often unaware of the broader front-line challenges being faced by the sales and marketing team on a daily basis.

Let’s examine why business managers and executives need sales enablement for long term business outcomes.

When you’re working the front lines of sales or marketing, integrated marketing communications challenges can be a daily hurdle.

Trying to plan the right content, map buyer personas, distribute material and coordinate IMC, analyze consumption, etc. tends to reveal obvious gaps in technological capability that aren’t mitigated by current marketing and sales stacks.

The challenge for many isn’t finding the right solution, but rather, convincing the key decision maker to invest in a tool or solution that you need. Today we look at 3 steps to earn executive buy-in for sales enablement software (and other purchases).

A quick google search reveals several tips and lists to earn management buy-in for a change of strategy or investment in new technology, but as I’m sure many have found, they can be self-serving, lack focused value to your specific situation, and don’t make it easier to have that important 'final' discussion.

Marketing teams are facing a communications crisis trying to coordinate the communications of a global sales force. Marketing automation software has made digital content marketing accessible to many, but limits digital content awareness to lead generation, stopping short of coordinating sales communications.

Integrated marketing communication strategies are both preferred and profitable, but seemingly out of reach with current practices.

Today we look at how you can create an integrated marketing communications strategy that includes, integrates, and coordinates the sales force.   

We’ve been talking a lot about the sales stack and how it forms a holistic engagement solution for your client-facing business units (sales, marketing, service, etc.) but we can sometimes get caught up in the terminology and forget that just because it’s called a “sales” tool, it doesn’t mean sales-only tool.

The sales process simply facilitates a buyer decision journey, of which marketing is a part. Today we expand on sales enablement technology to help marketing teams understand how and why ‘sales’ enablement is just as important for marketing.

Have you implemented CRM at your company but struggle to realize sales performance management benefits? You’re not alone! In fact, studies over the past year have shown CRM project failure rates that have ranged from 25% to 60% of implementations (Souce: Base CRM).

Today we conclude our CRM mini-series with insights into how to get the most out of your CRM software investment.

CRM implementation is still growing strong with small businesses now moving into the CRM industry; however, long time users of CRM are starting to become familiar with one of CRMs major hurdles: adoption.

A main topic of discussion at the Salesforce World Tour in New York was ‘adoption’ (Source: Ancile, 2015). With implementation at record highs, and sales adoption of CRM beginning to decline (Source: DestinationCRM, 2014), a spotlight is being cast on CRM ROI and effectiveness.

Today we examine the declining adoption rates, and offer our suggestions for greater CRM adoption.

In a recent article explaining the top 5 components of any sales stack, we listed CRM as the #1 sales stack technology for any sales process. In 2014 CRM adoption among sales organizations was above 83%, a near 100% increase from just 10 years prior.

But as small businesses (<$50 million revenue) begin to adopt CRM in mass, many lose sight of the fact that CRM is a holistic solution that enables the customer-focused value chain, not a point solution.  Those who fail to appreciate the investment as a broader sales architecture shift are also destined to squander ROI, experience fleeting adoption rates, and induce greater friction for those left using it.

Why should you care? Although business use has been rising, adoption by sales reps has now started to decline! Today we examine the implementation of CRM and offer best practices to ensure your CRM investment sees a measurable return.

Sales enablement is always changing and evolving, meaning that a definition that applied in the past may not accurately depict sales enablement today and tomorrow. As the sales stack becomes more crucial, the sales role more fragmented, and the sales support industry larger, a simple, applicable, and repeatable definition is required.

The sales stack is designed to enhance the sales process and reduce friction. Today we’re seeing more options for sales stack technology but also deterioration of the sales rep at the same time.

Purchasing sales stack technology must be a long term endeavor with strategic decision-making to ensure that the investment is worthwhile.

Today we’ll look at the most essential sales stack components for any business.

The sales stack is a hotly debated topic in the world of B2B. Every week someone has ‘the solution’ to your sales process and the pain points addressed are quite accurate when communicated on a point-to-point basis.

Affordable Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions are turning into an executive nightmare as business leaders try to edge out the competition by using the newest and most innovative solutions.

Let's take a look into world of the sales stack to help you find and fix challenges for long term technology enablement.