In this interaction with CXOtoday, Snehashish Bhattacharjee, Global CEO, Denave, says the process of sales enablement not only includes methods that empower the sales team, but also practices that impact each step of the sales cycle. He also talks about the technology trends that are redefining sales enablement strategies and the how marketing teams can support the sales ream.
Excerpts
What are the key global trends that will define the sales enablement strategies in enterprises in the coming years?
Bhattacharjee: The global market presents a unique platform for sales enablement, which will be shaped by five significant global trends in the coming years. These are:
Mobility: Mobility is the fastest path to organizational change, cost efficiencies and increased productivity. Since the sales force is constantly on the move — be it on the ground for meetings or in office answering customer queries — mobile applications and solutions empower them to perform their job better. With mobile solutions, the sales force is equipped with tools and real-time information to understand the customer better, respond to queries faster, provide impressive demos, offer extensive product information, etc.
Cloud: Cloud solutions are another add-on to sales enablement as enterprises can make content, training, etc. accessible across any part of the world, in real-time. These solutions are highly beneficial for an enterprise and its sales force as they facilitate real-time communication, real-time collaboration, assisted context and information, remote and secure access to assets, and increased cost savings with a “pay-as-you-use” model.
Analytics: Analytics provides sales teams with high-value content, as it helps convert the huge quantum of data into actionable insights. Data-driven insights help improve sales and increase ROI. Enterprises can use analytics and content intelligence to tailor content to meet the buyer’s needs.
Technology-driven White space database generation: In today’s competitive business environment, everyone is gunning for the same finite set of customer database. However, there exists a huge gap between the addressed customer base versus what really is the addressable segment. If we are able to expand the database universe and look at the newly explored contactable database of SMBs globally, this will solve the worries of the organizations tremendously. And with access to certain tools and methodologies, converting them into sales closures would no longer be an unachievable target. The future of sales enablement will see leveraging technologies to generate white space database being a huge focus area.
Localization of voice activated instructions: As newer markets and cities are penetrated for deeper sales reach, access to smart sales force with good command of written official languages (English etc.) becomes more challenging. An emerging area of focus would be the use of voice-activated instructions, which can serve as a means of empowering technology usage at the grass-root level of the sales team. This would streamline sales process implementation across diverse geographies with multiple local language resources and therefore has the power to take strategy effectiveness to greater heights.
With fast evolving customer expectations, how can enterprises enable their sales teams understand and meet customer requirements?
Bhattacharjee: Buyers today are far more informed and can easily disengage with sellers who fail to provide value and relevancy.
Sales training therefore is a vital component in enabling sales teams to understand and meet customer requirements. As a powerful means of developing the sales force, it builds critical skills and knowledge for long-term success. The objective of training is to impart a simple message, ensure its consistency, and track the impact. Training can be deployed through various methodologies – classroom training, remote training, on-the-job training, e-learning, etc. – and each method equips the sales force to perform better.
Well-thought-out training content and its effective implementation have the power to transform the sales force, as well as provide customers with a consistent and standardized experience across the organization, across geographies.
What is the role of technology in increasing sales efficiency in organisations?
Bhattacharjee: Technologies such as mobility, analytics, cloud, etc. create an explosion of data, thereby enabling buyers and sellers to engage in more productive ways. A study by Salesforce Research showed that high-performing sales teams are 3 times more likely to use technology to optimize sales processes and free up time-to-sell. Technology empowers sales enablement in multiple ways including sales force automation, workforce automation, customer relationship management, knowledge management and so on.
Is marketing a sales enabler? How can CMOs and CSOs (chief sales officers) collaborate?
Bhattacharjee: A critical factor in the effectiveness of sales enablement is the alignment between the marketing and sales operations. Without the support of the marketing department, sales enablement will be challenging. Since it’s in the day-to-day operations where successful sales enablement takes place, some of the key operations that demand the alignment of sales and marketing include:
Accountability: Joint accountability for reporting, incentives and structures is an absolute necessity
Lead Qualification and Management: Marketing is responsible for the initial qualification of leads and lead generation with a handoff to sales who manage the leads, nurture them and close the deal
Sales Readiness: While the sales team is the one which is equipped with the skills to make a sale, it is the marketing team which is responsible for training the sales team and providing the necessary support tools and knowledge to ensure that they are ready for selling
Feedback: Marketing handles key customer, product, competitor, and industry and market intelligence while the sales team is responsible for customer experience feedback.