Welcome to week three of our Trendsday blog series! Each installment has discussed a current sales trend; this week we are covering sales enablement.

LinkedIn defines sales enablement as “equipping your sales team with strategic resources it needs to excel, from tools to technology to content and beyond.”

That’s a solid definition! Let’s break it down to its core components so we can better understand why sales enablement has become essential to the modern sales team.

Tools and Tech

Every builder needs the right tools in his belt to craft a sturdy structure. In the same way, a sales team needs intelligent and intuitive tools to close deals and satisfy customers’ needs.

Enablement tools vary, but they are increasingly becoming more tech-based. Sales software is a hot industry. Combine that with a marketplace that is interwoven with ever-shifting world of social media, and it becomes essential to have an effective sales enablement program for sales teams.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a great example of a sales enablement tool that revolutionizes the way salespeople approach lead generation and conversion. Soundboard’s Chrome and Edge extension works alongside LinkedIn to create better engagement conversations with prospects.

Sales tools are an important factor in keeping yourself or your team organized and motivated. Navigating the world of online sales, especially on social media, can be disorienting and chaotic.

So, having software that can keep track of sales goals, generate leads, keep notes on those leads, etc. is extremely helpful for teams of all sizes.

Ask yourself: Do you currently have all the tools in your toolbox to succeed as a salesperson or sales manager?

Content

Two basic types of sales content exists: content about your company, and content about your customer. Most salespeople make the mistake of merging the two.

Too often salespeople approach online content with this line of thinking: “my content is about both because my company offers a product customers want and need.”

Even if your customers do want and need your product, this is the wrong approach. Why? Because the last thing customers are looking for is a steady stream of sales pitches on their newsfeed and in their inbox.

It’s a simple fact that customers are going to spend more time consuming content they care about than reading or watching content trying to sell them something.

Proper content for sales enablement consists of a healthy balance of both types. Think of them as of having an inverse relationship.

At the beginning of the sales process, content should be largely about content that is attractive to the consumer; content that interests them and catches their eye; as you engage more with them, however, you want to start sharing more content related to your product.

As your relationship with a prospect grows, then you’ve earned the right to less about them and more about your company’s products and services.

Though sales enablement has been on a steady rise for years, many sales teams suffer in the content department.

Soundboard provides content that relates to your customers. We curate articles and videos from thousands of sources on virtually any topic. And with features like Conversation Trends and our browser extension, pursuing leads and sharing smarter has never been easier.

No matter how you choose to share content, you need to have some sort of system set in place so that your team can stay organized and strategic in the way they share content to attract customers.

And Beyond

Sales Enablement is still an emerging trend. Meaning, we have yet to figure out how it can and will evolve to serve the needs of companies in the midst of a tech boom.

One of the ways we see sales enablement and engagement heading is toward AI systems, which we touched on in last weeks post.

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming a staple of the sales industry, and we’re already seeing it adopted in sales enablement systems.

Forbes says, “AI […] can determine whether a lead is actively researching a specific tool or solution. Intent and buying signals allow sales reps to better prioritize the leads with the highest buying propensities.“

AI not only filters the market to find more suitable customers, but it empowers sales teams to connect with leads and prospects with personalized content.

Soundboard’s latest feature, Conversation Trends, takes trending industry data (AI) and provides articles that are centered around those trends. Not only that, but Soundboard also gives you what to say with curated captions so you can share relevant content with leads and prospects.

This is just a small example of how AI is re-paving the way sales teams operate day-to-day. The future is bright for sales enablement!

That’s all for this Trendsday! We’ll see you next week, when we tackle yet another sales trend on the rise.

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