Conversations, not content: How sales enablement lost its way

Steve Mayernick, Head of Product marketing, Guru

Transcript

1. Conversations, Not Content: How Sales Enablement Lost Its Way Steve Mayernick Director, Product Marketing & Sales Enablement
3. Sales Enablement is booming • According to a CSO Insights Survey, 59% of the respondents had a dedicated enablement function. That number is up from only 19% in 2013 • Over $66B is spent annually on sales training and sales enablement technology in an attempt to support sales reps. (Hubspot)
4. But there’s a disconnect. • 77% of survey respondents say salespeople don't understand their company's value to prospects (Source: CSO Insights) • 71% of sales reps say they don't have enough knowledge to move deals forward (Source: TOPO) • Only 58% of sales reps are making quota (Source: CSO Insights)
5. Despite being first defined in 2008, few actually have a clear understanding of what sales enablement actually is.
6. Sales enablement is a strategic, ongoing process that equips all client-facing employees with the ability to consistently and systematically have a valuable conversation.
7. The power of conversations • Salespeople spend just one-third of their day actually talking to prospects. • 41.2% of buyers say the phone is the most effective sales tool. Yet... • 85% of prospects and customers are dissatisfied with their on-the-phone experience
8. Content as a crutch
9. What’s changed? 2009 • Desktop is king • We adapted rep behavior to fit software design • Ship code every quarter • Sellers use content to educate buyers • Web browser king • Software adapts its design to fit rep behavior • Ship code every week • Buyers 60% down the buyer’s journey by the time they talk to you 2019
10. © 2019 Guru Technologies, Inc. Content is just a piece of the equation Content that is sent to prospects Process Knowledge • Ex: How to prospect at this stage Conversational Knowledge • Ex: How to combat this objection Product Knowledge • Ex: What this product feature does External Knowledge and Collateral • Ex: Case studies, white papers, decks
11. © 2019 Guru Technologies, Inc. The Seller / Buyer Journey SDR - Prospecting Persona Tips Qual. Questions AE - Discovery & Demo Disc. Questions Product Snippets Demo Plays AE - Negotiation Discounting Procedure AE - Discovery & Demo Custom Deck Product One Sheet Case Study PDF AE / CS - Success Troubleshooting Product Details AE / CS - Success Onboarding Guide PDF Rollout Deck Internal Knowledge External Collateral
12. Measuring Conversational Success • Cohort analysis is critical • Time to second deal • Deal velocity • Number of calls held per closed-won opportunity • Scorecard sales calls using conversational intelligence
13. The conversational toolkit for reps Live Chat Conversational Intelligence Real-time Knowledge Management
14. What’s next for enablement? 1. The rise of the customer facing teams and enablement opportunity 2. Conversational tools to help drive rep productivity “in-the-moment” 3. The role of real-time knowledge for “just-in-time” enablement”
15. Content is king — for content marketers, but conversations are the lifeblood of sales.