1. Sales enablement fails when there is no alignment with the executive team
The strategies that sales enablement has to execute on are not always looked upon favorably across the organization. In some cases they can be seen as ruthless enforcers of the sales process.
A big part of the role of sales enablement is to track progress amongst the sales organization. This tracking might not be seen as a positive by individuals or sales managers that are struggling. That’s why it’s important to have the sales executive team support the sales enablement teams efforts and help shape the messaging around their actions.
Without the support from senior management, sales enablement is guaranteed to fail and be short lived.
2. Sales enablement fails when there is no credibility with the sales team
Since sales enablement is on the front lines helping the sales team improve in their sales skills, it’s normal to question their credibility. That’s why it’s recommended to have the roles of sales enablement to extend into sales coaching and leading by example in prospecting and in customer facing opportunities.
The material being taught by sales enablement needs to be constantly inspected. Is the content working in application? If not, then it needs to be further tailored to the organizational needs. Adjusting the messaging and content based upon the sales enablement teams actions in the field demonstrate credibility that the salespeople are learning from a team that has proven experience.
However, many organizations don’t have sales enablement ROI tied to sales performance, which is a reason why they ultimately fail to gain any credibility with the sales force.
3. Sales enablement fails when their ROI is not tied to sales performance
Sales enablement, like all roles in an organization, has a certain job function. At the end of the day, sales enablement activity should result in salespeople getting better at their jobs. That means more revenue and more profit to the bottom line.
It’s not enough to have happy employees. If that was the goal, the organization could just bring in people to give massages to their employees or provide them with more sales contests and higher commission rates in their compensation plan.
This is another area businesses fail in implementing a sales enablement strategy. Without clearly defined goals for the sales enablement team, the whole thing can fall apart fast.
4. Sales enablement fails when there is no reporting or feedback with management
Communication is critical when it comes to sales enablement. They are responsible for the tracking, analysis and reporting of the data to the sales, marketing and human resources teams. Without communication and feedback mechanisms in place, processes can’t be adjusted and coaching can’t be administered where it is most needed.
The sales executive team needs to understand how the strategies are working by region, by team, and by individual salesperson. Are they effective? How could they be improved? Where do they need to add more support?
The marketing team needs to see the sales efforts in regards to certain strategies, tools and promotions. Are their efforts helping them? How could they help them be more aligned?
The human resources department needs to understand the individual performance of the salespeople in the company. Are there certain sales managers that need more assistance with their sales teams? Are there conflicts going on that need immediate attention? How can they better align with the sales executive team to provide the right documentation to coach in or out salespeople that are underperforming?