Sales Enablement Market and Trends Survey Revealed Edge CobleResearch Analyst, Sales Enablement Strategies
© 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 2
Executive Summary
• Key issues from our 2014 sales enablement study• Reps are spending too much time on non-core selling activities
• Onboarding programs lack key skills, knowledge and tools training
• Reps are overwhelmed with internal communications
• What you will walk away with• Findings from our 2014 sales enablement study
• Best practices for reducing the time reps spend on non-core sales activities
• Key areas to focus on within sales enablement
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Who We Work With: B-to-B Executives
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What We Provide
SiriusPerspective:
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Review of 2014 Sales Enablement StudyWe are continually monitoring the evolving sales enablement function.
38%
24%
9%
15%
15%
Company Revenue
<$100M
$101M - $500M
$501M - $1B
$1.1B - $5B
>$5B
Se-ries1
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
4%10%
19%
67%
Sales Channel
Outside/Field sales force
Third-party channel partners
Inside sales force
Retail
Other
Sales Enablement: The Evolution Continues
SiriusPerspective:
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Where Does Sales Enablement Reside?Since 2012, there has been a 19 percent increase in the sales enablement function reporting to the sales organization.
26%
38%
18%
18%
2012
MarketingSalesBU HeadOther
24%
45%
15%
15%
2014
SiriusPerspective:
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Changes in the Sales Enablement BudgetThe average sales enablement budget doubled between 2012 and 2014 from $1.2 million to $2.4 million.
47%
19%
17%
8%6%3%
2014 Budget Source
Under the sales operations budget
Under a marketing budget
Sales enablement has its own budget
Under the sales training budget
Other
N/A
SiriusPerspective:
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Changes in Sales Enablement AllocationIn the past two years, there has been a 69 percent increase in sales enablement technology spend.
Other
Product/Solution training
Content development
Sales effectiveness (e.g. skills) training
Systems/Technology/Tools
Personnel
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
5%
11%
12%
12%
16%
44%
5%
9%
15%
14%
27%
31%
2014
2012
Percentage of Department Spend
SiriusPerspective:
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Top Sales Enablement Initiatives for 2014While skills training is the top initiative in 2014, sales enablement leaders realize that tool investment is also very important.
Improve the use of social media by our reps
Implement/Expand rep certification programs
Develop our first line sales managers
Deploy/implement a new sales methodology
Improve your onboarding process
Sales Asset Management solution purchase
Improve the selling skills of our reps
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
6%
7%
10%
12%
15%
23%
27%✓✓
SiriusPerspective:
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It’s All About Improving Productivity
Effectiveness (quality and results)
Eff
icie
ncy
(ca
pa
city
)
Sales Productivity
Yield Per Rep
It’s the job of sales enablement to ensure maximum yield from every hour worked by every salesperson.
SiriusPerspective:
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Sales Enablement: The SiriusDecisions DefinitionReps possess the skills, knowledge, tools and assets to maximize every buyer interaction.
SiriusPerspective:
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Whiteboarding EnablementWithout a centralized sales enablement function, the intended means of increasing sales productivity remain inefficient.
SiriusPerspective:
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I
• Onboarding
• Skills and Methodology Training
• Product and Solution Training
• Certification
• Content
• Assets
• Communications
• Management Development
• Technology
Deliverables
The Field
The Case for Centralized Sales EnablementMany functions strive to increase sales productivity, but best intentions do not always create best practices.
I
Sales Operations
Communications
HR
Sales Training
Product Marketing
Field Marketing
Demand Creation
Account-Based Marketing
Social Operations
Inputs
SiriusPerspective:
© 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 15
I
Sales Operations
Communications
HR
Sales Training
Product Marketing
Field Marketing
Demand Creation
Account-Based Marketing
Social Operations
Inputs
The FieldI
• Onboarding
• Skills and Methodology Training
• Product and Solution Training
• Certification
• Content
• Assets
• Communications
• Management Development
• Technology
Deliverables
I
• Orchestrates
• Synthesizes
• Creates
Sales Enablement
MeasurementFeedback
Sales enablement is evolving into a centralized function responsible for delivering the means for sales productivity to the field.
The Case for Centralized Sales Enablement
The Sales Challenges Companies Face
SiriusPerspective:
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Lack of quality leads from marketing
Our offerings do not have competitive differentiation
Our reps lack the required knowledge
Our reps lack the necessary selling skills
Lack of useful/relevant content from marketing
Inability to manage today's more educated buyer
Our reps spend too much time on non-selling activities
Rep's ability to connect our offerings to client business issues
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
21%
24%
24%
29%
32%
35%
65%
71%
Top Business Issues for Sales in 2014Reps spend too much time on non-sales activities, which limits the time required to fully understand the needs of the client.
SiriusPerspective:
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2012
2014
0 2 4 6 8 10
Average Sales Cycle in Months
The Lengthening Sales CycleIn just two years, companies have reported a 24 percent increase in the sales cycle.
With increasing quotas and lengthening sales cycles, sales enablement must focus on improving the rep’s productivity.
SiriusPerspective:
© 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 19
(customer service calls)
LEVERAGE/DELEGATE
(expense reports, travel)
MINIMIZE
(prospecting, sales calls)
MAXIMIZE
Categorize how reps spend their time to shine a light on inefficiencyand lost productivity.
Mapping Sales Productivity
CoreSelling
Activities
Non-CoreActivities
Internal Direct Engagement
(research, proposals)
STREAMLINEThe Enablement Quadrant
Sales Enablement: Three Best PracticesOnboarding
SiriusPerspective:
© 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 21
38%
50%
12%
Formalized Onboarding Process
None
Completed within 3 months
Completed within 6 months
Onboarding − Current StateThirty-eight percent of companies still lack a formal onboarding process.
Series10%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
30%
70%
New Rep Source
Internal External
SiriusPerspective:
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Onboarding and Certification Best PracticesCompanies that have a robust onboarding and certification program shorten the time to rep productivity.
Sales Enablement: Three Best PracticesSales Communication
SiriusPerspective:
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Limited amount of information
Other
Information quality
Decentralized management
No regular cadence
Overwhelming amount of information
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
6%
12%
18%
26%
44%
62%
Biggest Communication Challenges
Sales Communication − Current StateWithout a centralized sales enablement function managing communication to the sales force, reps get buried in email.
59%
41%
Centralized Sales Communication
Yes
No
SiriusPerspective:
© 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 25
• Conduct a time-and-motion study• Catalog by purpose
• Personal development
• Internal operations
• Information transfer
• Deal-specific
Auditing Sales CommunicationUnderstanding the communication landscape is the first step to fixing the problem.
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The SiriusDecisions Sales Communications Grid
Non-Urgent Urgent
SalesRelated
Non-SalesRelated
New RFP
process
Product recall
Snow policy
Company reorg
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The SiriusDecisions Sales Communications Vehicles
Non-Urgent Urgent
SalesRelated
Non-SalesRelated
SiriusPerspective:
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Through centralized coordination
Sales Communications Sales enablement must take the role of air traffic controller for all sales communication.
Managing the chaos
Sales Enablement: Three Best PracticesContent Finds the Rep
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The Sales Closet vs. the Digital Closet
Sales content circa 1995 Sales content circa 2014
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The Sales Playbook: Updated and Dynamic
Sales Process Stages
Discovery
• Email Templates• Social Media• Newsletters• White Papers
Thought Leadershi
p
Agreement
on Needs
• Product Spec Sheets
• Analyst Reports• Product Collateral• Intro Messaging
Solution Knowled
ge
SolutionDevelope
d
• Presentations to Technical Buyer
• In-Person Demos• Case Studies• Internal Blogs
Value Story
SolutionAccepted
• Proofs of Concept • Competitive Tools• SME Access• Executive Briefings
SolutionValidatio
n
Business
ValueAccepte
d
• ROI Tools• Client References • Proposals• Presentation to
Financial Owner
Financial Justificatio
n
Decision
Made
• Welcome Kit• Orientation• Training• Customer
Newsletter
Onboarding
Solution Vendor SelectionEducation
Loosening of the Status
Quo
1.
Exploring Possible Solutions
3.
Committing to a
Solution
4.
Justifying the
Decision
5.
Making the
Selection
6.
Committing to Change
2.
SiriusPerspective:
© 2014 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved 32
While creating a playbook, take some time to audit your sales content.
The Sales Content Audit
Testimonials
Videos
Brochures
White papers
Case studies
Presentations
Content Types Evaluation Criteria
Influence on buyer’s perception
Close matchesRepurpose
Same standards as product/service
Depth and differentiation
Criteria for usage
Influence
Quality Relevance
Value
In Conclusion
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Key Action Items
• Re-evaluate your sales enablement structure and funding• Relentlessly focus on rep productivity• There is no shortcut to onboarding salespeople• Act as the communications air traffic controller• Make sure that content finds the rep
Thank you!@gecoble
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