Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, many (if not all) companies are hyperfocused on boosting sales. A Google search for "sales enablement" yields millions of results—and a variety of conflicting definitions. Clearly, sales enablement can mean different things to different people. To some, it’s tools, tactics, and training. To others, it’s all about strategy, data, and analytics.  To us, it includes all those things—but it always starts with the story. Like any good book, your sales story should be a page-turner—keeping prospects hooked by engaging, inspiring, and making powerful emotional connections with them. But too often, the stories sales teams tell are fragmented, overly focused on product specs and features, or misaligned with marketing. The right story can make all the difference. And because research suggests that 50% of leads are qualified but not ready to buy, telling that story in the right ways at the right stages of the sales funnel is essential for converting new prospects into loyal customers. But an effective sales story involves more than delivering certain keywords to drive awareness, consideration, and decision as prospects move through the funnel. It should be a holistic, consistent thread that runs through all your communications to prospects—and one that’s laser-focused on the value you offer and the problems you can solve for them. Here are three critical steps to ensure that your sales team is telling a clear and compelling story about what you offer and why people will want to engage with your brand.

Just like face-to-face meetings, virtual meetings and events still begin with the basics.  Think about the demographics of those attending. Before you start planning the agenda and developing content, you must consider your participants. Who are they? What is the average age? What are their interests? What are common threads that bond them? Then, how will you get them to stay engaged? If you can’t envision them participating in something live, don’t expect them to do it virtually either. Ultimately, you need to determine what is going to make this meeting or event successful for your attendees"    With this as a starting point, this eGuide - created by the experienced staff at One10 Marketing - will walk you through the considerations and process that will guide you to creating a successful virtual event or conference.  

Get A Coach | Be A Coach the authors introduce a new framework for coaching that extends the benefits of this powerful tool to the masses. You will see how everyone, at every level of the organization, can get a coach anytime they need one, anywhere they are within the organization and for anything they are doing. Why? So that people can get better results in their job, more fulfillment in the workplace and more growth and development in their careers. For the organization there are also huge benefits: Facilitating knowledge transfer Fostering collaboration Closing the skills gap Establishing real time, on-demand learning

When you set out to target new business, you probably have an ICP in mind - your ideal customer profile. When you set out to recruit a new sales professional for your department, you should also have an ICP. In this case, ICP stands for ideal candidate profile. The individual you envision possesses nonstop energy and resilience, outstanding listening skills and can close deals faster than you can blink. Go ahead and blink. Then, pinch yourself. Because you are dreaming. These types of candidates don’t just sail into your organization. When you’re recruiting, you must look for candidates who are highly coachable. Using the right guidance with the right tools, over time, you’ll be able to develop your new rep into the polished professional you envision. Coachability is one of the top traits that sales managers consider when they’re hiring. In our Voice of the Sales Manager survey, respondents rated the most desired characteristics in their reps as follows: 1. Problem solver 69% 2. Confident 66% 3. Positive attitude / Optimistic 64% 4. Takes initiative 62% 5. Highly coachable 60% Click below to download this free White Paper from SalesFuel.

A #1 top-tier sales hired gun knows the value of selling directly to The Boss, and knows how to sell to The Boss whenever possible. Here's how: Click on the download button below to download this Infographic.

Sales Enablement For Marketers If you’re a marketer supporting a sales team, you’ve got a lot on your plate. Sellers are facing one of the most difficult buying landscapes in recent memory—and they need your help. To be effective, you need to align with sales, deliver the best content and other resources that will move deals through the pipeline, and make sure sellers can find and use these resources properly. "Sales enablement has never been more important than it is today." You crank out solution briefs, case studies, videos, blog posts, product guides, and more to support reps' interactions with prospects and help them be productive. You work closely with sales to learn which types of content are working to nurture leads and close deals. You keep your ears open to industry trends and one eye on the company roadmap to anticipate content needs and fill in any gaps. It’s a continuous process of creating and sharing those new materials with reps to allow them to reach customers and sell more effectively. But it can often seem like all your hard work is for naught. You need a better way. Find out how the right sales enablement solution can help you overcome these issues and turn your marketing into an engine that can turbocharge your sales growth for years to come.

Planning for the Next Normal Sellers are working harder than ever—and sales enablement has never been more important than it is today. The business of sales has been completely disrupted by COVID-19 and the resulting shutdown. At the start of the pandemic, you may have shifted overnight to virtual selling, with the expectation of returning to normal within a month or two. Experts now say we’re not going back to the way business was done. But the processes and tactics you put in place in the spring likely weren’t designed for the long term, and sales teams have often had to learn on-the-fly how to succeed when in-person meetings aren’t possible. It’s time to figure out what works in this new world and what doesn’t.

Mastering Virtual Selling Virtual selling—working a deal remotely when you can’t be there in person—is the new normal for B2B salespeople. But being a great virtual salesperson doesn’t mean simply conducting every meeting via video conference. Virtual selling means understanding a prospect’s mindset when you can’t meet in person, using all the tools and techniques available to close the deal. While the fundamentals are the same, you have new obstacles to overcome and new skills to master. Allego’s learning and enablement platform accelerates results for virtual teams. From our work with hundreds of thousands of sales professionals around the world, we’ve developed unique expertise in virtual selling techniques that can give you the edge you need to hit your targets. This guide distills that learning to help you and your team understand how to master virtual selling and stay ahead of your competition.

With highly technical products and a clinical sales approach, 3M needed to ensure that their more than 1,000 sales reps could deliver key messaging effectively. An integral part of their sales process involved reps having in-depth discussions with medical professionals that covered not only product knowledge, but also the supporting science and research.  Download this case study to learn how 3M addressed this challenge and the results. 

Why are some companies thriving in the current environment while others fall behind? The secret is modern sales enablement designed for virtual teams. Today’s winners are mastering virtual selling with an up-to-date approach to content, tools, and knowledge. Sellers are working harder than ever—and sales enablement has never been more important than it is today. At the start of the pandemic, you may have shifted overnight to virtual selling. But the processes and tactics you put in place in the Spring likely weren’t designed for the long term. Sales teams have had to learn on-the-fly how to succeed when in-person meetings aren’t possible. It’s time to figure out what works in this new world and what doesn’t. Sales enablement in 2021 will be very different from last year. But knowing how to pivot to a modern approach isn’t obvious. Download this eBook to learn the elements of modern sales enablement and how you can upgrade your current approach for long-term success. Get your eBook to learn: Best practices to accelerate results with virtual teams—and why traditional tactics are no longer enough 4 key capabilities of a holistic sales enablement solution How to build a powerful tech stack when your budget has been cut Plus, the 2021 Sales Enablement Checklist to help drive results next year and beyond   Don’t get left behind by relying on an outdated sales enablement approach. If you aren’t updating today, you don’t have a moment to delay.

Download this helpful infographic as a reminder of the 4 steps for leading virtual teams.  Outcomes of using Improv techniques to manage virtual teams Greater trust within virtual teams  Speed to deliver on business outcomes  Radical collaboration = quicker turnaround  Balance accountability with autonomy  Accountability and engagement on tough projects  Practical skills to manage difficult or negative conversations in a positive way  Techniques to improve empathy and patience

How much time, money, and effort is your company currently investing in its digital marketing strategy? Every organization knows they need digital marketing, but for many it is just not a priority. There is either no budget, no staff to manage it, or the organization simply does not have the knowledge or experience to implement an effective strategy. If having a digital marketing strategy is not a priority for your organization today, you need to make it one. Download this white paper to find out why.

Edmunds believes in the philosophy of making their sellers more effective versus enabling them to sell better. They achieved staggering results utilizing Rehearsal’s video-based practice and coaching platform. Not only does Edmunds have greater confidence that training is being delivered accurately and consistently, but those that practiced with Rehearsal doubled the revenue of those who did not. 

As a Sales Manager, your role is to manage sales AND lead people. This handy reminder includes simple models for building 2-way trust, actively listening, giving quality feedback, and coaching -- the essential ingredients for enablement and ennoblement that you'll need to lead.   Click below to download this Infographic.

Measuring the impact of learning and readiness initiatives on revenue is the billion dollar question. In today’s uncertain environment, the answer is even more important. Rapidly changing markets, disrupted supply chains, and increasingly knowledgeable customers mean that companies must upskill employees to compete. But the ability to optimize learning—and maximize productivity—takes deep insight into how employees think, learn, and perform, insight which many companies lack. Today, there’s a new breed of platform that combines learning, communication, and collaboration tools with analytics for a holistic view of learning and development’s impact on results. Workforce readiness technology allows organizations to move beyond assessments and scores to understand how to target activities that move the needle.

There are no best-sellers written about middle performers who stayed in their lane. But there are libraries written about the well-loved top performers. And bottom performers get plenty of attention, in part because sales managers would rather drag them along than replace them.  Here is why the next chapter in your company’s history should focus moving the middle.

Managing remote workers has always been challenging, particularly with sales teams where everything is measured on productivity and results. With more employees working from home than ever, sales managers must learn to manage a distributed workforce from a distance. For those organizations new to the world of a remote workforce, managing from a distance has presented unforeseen challenges.  So how do we know, then, if our sales team is cut-out for remote work? How do you gauge how well your team will adapt? We don’t have all of the answers today, but we can take a look at what successes and challenges remote sales teams have experienced, what new challenges organizations are seeing and how they are addressing them, and how sales managers can support, engage, motivate, and assess their newly remote workforce. We can use this information to help our salespeople adjust and thrive in a remote environment. 

The world of business has changed — especially for salespeople. The better you are, the more likely you are to get fired or retired - especially if you’re at the very top of your profession. Robert Workman’s Hired Gun II is the sales bible used by salespeople who want proven methods to defeat industry politics and stay at the top of your game. As a #1 salesperson, sales trainer and entrepreneur for over four decades, Robert shows you step-by-step how to ensure that adversity and politics don’t destroy your high-performance salescareer. He locks and loads both barrels with invaluable tools and secrets like: The risks of being the best and how to use them to your advantage. How to choose a mentor or coach who will provide the most value. Identifying internal company changes that aren’t in your best interest and leveraging them for your benefit. Using your single greatest asset to achieve top sales status and stay there.   Hired Gun II is the ultimate resource for top performing salespeople to maximize sales, crush the competition and use today’s hardball business tactics to your advantage.

It's not WHAT you do, it's HOW you think. Your Mindset Impacts Your Sales Results You've probably paid thousands for sales training, read every book on sales, and devour all the weekly tips sales gurus have to offer. You may have applied some of this knowledge fleetingly, but never achieved any results you could brag about. Deep down, you've wondered, 'I know what I should do, but why can't I seem to make myself do it?' What if you could discover what common beliefs hold you back, learned how to change them, and could create a process that would unleash better results and higher sales?   Download the eGuide: Mindset Matters and discover how certain beliefs impact your ability to be successful and improve in sales. Get actionable steps you can do now to develop a sales growth mindset and get the results you seek.

Companies around the globe have canceled sales meetings and training sessions and are enacting work from home policies to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Yet sales enablement professionals must get new hires up to speed and keep teams on track in a world where face-to-face meetings are impossible. Traditional training and sales enablement approaches won’t solve this challenge. But building a virtual training program when you’ve relied on in-person sessions can feel like an overwhelming task. Fortunately, there are proven tactics that organizations can employ to train across geographies and time zones. Use this guide to learn how the right strategy and technology can help you manage high-performing virtual teams.

Welcome to the 100 Sales Enablement Best Practices! We set out to curate best practices from sales enablement practitioners in the trenches so we could publish them for the benefit of the sales community. We invited the community to submit their best practice suggestions. As we reviewed all the submissions, it was difficult to find ones to exclude, as so many contributed valuable tips. When we narrowed the submissions to the 100 best practices provided by actual practitioners, we found found they naturally fell into five categories: Strategy, Leadership and Management, Training and Development, Content and Cadence, and Sales Coaching. While there were common threads, each best practice is a unique perspective on what all sales enablement leaders struggle with: how to provide sellers the right tools, skills, methods, content and processes to enable them to create more pipeline, nurture prospects, and improve win rates. We sincerely thank all those who took the time to submit their best practice. We hope you find these sales enablement best practices as valuable as we did. Mario Martinez Jr. CEO and Founder, Vengreso  

Are your prospects singing the blues like Ray Charles and telling you, "Hit the road, Jack, and don’t you come back no more!"  Or are they screaming like James Brown, "You got, you got, you got WHAT I NEED!" Listen up! If you’re constantly turning people off and getting nowhere...and you’re not rocking the right approach to connecting with your buyers...you’re going to be hitting sour notes and going broke in a hurry, my friend! Fortunately, there’s a way to change your tune to one that strikes the right tone with your prospects. And it involves embracing just a few mindset shifts and learning a simple but powerful 3-step formula we developed called the PVC Sales MethodologyTM — which stands for: • Personalization • Value • Call-to-action Leveraging the PVC Methodology will turn you into a rock star connector, prospector and seller! But before we dive into the details of the PVC Sales MethodologyTM, there are a few other things we need to cover as we set the stage for your success. So sit up, and get ready to learn how to strike the right chord with your prospects!

A sales rep turns a corner while driving to one of the biggest calls of the year when a jolt from under his car forces a change of plans: he just ran over a pothole and now needs to swap out his tire, except he’s never actually done a tire change by himself before. There’s no time to wait for AAA so he must figure it out himself. What does he do? In 2019, he calmly pulls up YouTube and watches a user-generated video demonstration of exactly how to perform the tire change on the make, model and year of his car, before turning around, grabbing his tools, and successfully executing the task himself. Within twenty minutes he’s back on the road driving toward the meeting feeling ready for anything. This is what it feels like to be ready in a world where you can pull a device out of your pocket and extract whatever day-to-day lessons you need from somebody else’s life experiences. Sales reps already use consumer apps like Waze to learn about open routes in real time based on other drivers’ experience of current road conditions, or Duolingo so they can practice and learn new languages using friendly competition with other would-be travelers. But what about the tasks involving the actual substance of salespeople’s work? What if our rep were to hit a different kind of "pothole" that day: one in the form of a text message from his internal champion letting him know that the company’s CFO would be joining the call unexpectedly? He doesn’t normally call on CFOs, and would need a five-minute debrief with a colleague to understand the pertinent discussion points to use, but no one is available right now. Click below to download this eBook.