Market and consumer needs are constantly evolving and with it the need to change the sales and marketing approach. Reports from DemandGen indicate that opportunities for sales can increase by 20{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} if prospective leads are nurtured carefully[i].

Organizations at present find that almost 67{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of the sales personnel never meet their targets[ii]&[iii], either due to lack of productivity, proper tools, or the right content.

This is where sales enablement tools come in. They bridge the gap from lead prospecting to closing the sale and help boost revenues and profit.

Empower your sales reps through technology

37{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of sales teams win less than half their potential sales2 leads either due to lack of proper content or persistent follow-ups.

A well-defined sales strategy backed by the right content and presentation can increase your chances of meeting your sales quotas by 33{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616}.

A comprehensive Sales Enablement platform (SEP) serves as an integrated multi-functional system that allows for content management and integrated communications. More importantly, CRM integration and predictive analytics help improve sale pipeline management.

Sales enablement solutions – Arm your teams with the tools to succeed

There is a wide range of sales enablement platforms available in the market today that address the keys issues of marketing and sales automation, Business Intelligence, CRM, and more. Although their core features would be similar, they each have extra features that will fill the gaps to suit your unique business needs.

6 most important features of sales enablement tools that will help grow your client base, increase customer retention and improve sales.

1. Content Management – Research indicates that 88{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of sales opportunities are missed[iv] because sales teams waste 30{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of their time looking for internal resources and content to share with their potential customers. Furthermore, almost 90{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of the accumulated goes unused according to an IDC survey[v]. Tools such as Microsoft Dynamics, Sales Force Sugar CRM provide the sales teams with real-time data and help the teams deliver the right content at the right time. 95{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of the buyers tend to choose a vendor that provided them with the right content at each stage of the buying process1.

2. Marketing Automation – A study by the ANNUITAS group indicates that an organization that uses marketing automation to nurture their prospective leads experience a 451{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} increase in qualified leads1. Sales enablement tools such as Mindmatrix or SharpString helps teams identify leads that require immediate attention, the content they require, and provide overall help in personalizing the prospective asset. Real-time prospect tracking can increase customer retention and research by Bain & Company indicates that even a 5{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} increase in customer retention would help boost profits anywhere from 25 {ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} to 95{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616}1.

3. Sales Management – Forrester Research shows that 25{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} marketers who adopt mature lead management process have better response and follow-up rates1. Customer & sales enablement tools such as the Pipeliner or Sales Seek integrate marketing and sales functions to provide customized sales pipelines with visual intelligence that help close more deals.

4. Sales Analytics – Studies by Marketing Sherpa indicate that only 25{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of leads are legitimate and require a follow up1. Sales personnel waste almost 50{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of their time on unproductive prospecting. Advanced analytics in sales enablement solutions such as 6Sense, Amacus or Infer[vi] use predictive modelling that prioritize leads and provide intelligence on talking points based on the customer needs.

5. CRM – According to market research by CSO Insights, Sales reps spend less than 33{ed162fdde9fdc472551df9f31f04601345edf7e4eff6ea93114402690d8fa616} of their time on core selling1. Automating repetitive, mundane tasks would divert more time to nurturing leads and selling products or services. Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, and CRM Next are sales enablement tools that encompass features of cross departmental team collaboration, managing workflows, automating marketing & content generation, and more, to boost productivity and sales.

6. BI – Business Intelligence tools offer key insight that helps drive better decision-making. Oracle[vii], SharpSpring and Spectate are three organizations that offer BI tools for sales enablement.

With these smart predictive tools, never loose an opportunity again. Let your sales teams be best equipped to handle all customer needs.

Citations

[i] “107 Mind blowing sales statistics that will help you sell smarter” – Scott Tousley

[ii] “10 things every sales manager should know about sales performance”  – TAS Group

[iii] “The cost of missing quota” – Janelle

[iv] “Sales execution trends” – Qvidian

[v] “7 Signs you need a sales enablement solution” – Shelley Cernel

[vi] “Top 70 sales enablement tools to boost your business” – Knowledge Tree

[vii] “Top 54 sales enablement tools” – Fergal Glynn

References:

1. State of Inbound Sales Report [2016] – Hubspot’s 8th Annual report
2. Sales Enablement plan – Knowledge Tree

• Inside Sales Metrics & Comp – The Bridge Group, Inc.

1. “What is sales enablement? 3 definitions that help tell the story” – Brendan Cournoyer
2. “Sales Enablement tools grow up, as forrester releases first wave report” – Barry Levine
3. “10 surprising stats about sales rep performance” – Leslie Ye

• “5 ways Sales enablement tool adds value to an account-based selling strategy” – Shelley Cernel
• “18 sales enablement software tools to boost productivity & sales” – Twila Grissom