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
   

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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)
   

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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)
   

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5. Despite being first defined in 2008, few
   actually have a clear understanding of
   what sales enablement actually is.
   

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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.
   

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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
   

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8. Content as a crutch
   

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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
   

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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
    

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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
    

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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
    

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13. The conversational toolkit for reps
    Live Chat Conversational
    Intelligence
    Real-time Knowledge
    Management
    

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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”
    

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15. Content is king — for content marketers, but
    conversations are the lifeblood of sales.
    

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