Three Benefits to Investing in Sales Enablement Software

Today, more then ever, recruiters and sales professionals rely on technology to help them engage customers and candidates and improve their productivity and effectiveness.

Research from Aberdeen Group found that organizations with a dedicated sales enablement function including supporting sales enablement software experience:

• 32% higher team sales quota attainment
• 24% higher individual quota achievement
• 23% higher lead conversion rate

And with more and more sales reps struggling to make quota, and the sales enablement software market on the rise, these sales productivity statistics are expected to rise as more and more companies adopt sales enablement software.

In a nutshell, sales enablement and sales enablement software have become table stakes for the modern sales leader.  Without it you'll fall behind.

If you and your business are still waffling over sales enablement and the value of sales enablement software, consider this point from a Forrester Research report which states,  “the cost of inaction is higher than the financial investment in sales enablement tools.”

A compelling business case can persuade your organization to invest in a sales enablement solution sooner than later.  Here are three benefits to investing in sales enablement software.

1. Increased Sales Productivity

At the end of the day, this is what it's all about. Increasing selling time. I speak with dozens of staffing industry CEO's and sales leaders every month and every single one tells me that improving sales productivity is a top priority for 2021. It's no surprise when you consider this data from Hubspot:

• Salespeople spend just one-third of their day actually talking to prospects.
• Salespeople spend 21% of their day writing emails
• Salespeople spend 17% entering data
• Salespeople spend another 17% prospecting and researching leads
• 12% of a salesperson's time is spent attending internal meetings

Forrester Research found that sales enablement software reduces the amount of time salespeople spend on these repetitive activities by 23%, enabling them to focus more on higher value activities such as buyer research, outbound prospecting, ROI discussions, and supporting buyers with thought leadership across each stage of the buyer journey.

How much more business could your reps and recruiters close if they got 25% of their day back?

2. Accelerated Time To Results (Quota Achievement) 

The same Forrester Research report found that sales enablement tools accelerate time to quota achievement quicker than those without sales enablement software.  The report also found that sales enablement software reduces new hire ramp time on average by 24%.

With the right solution, this number can be even higher. Consultis, for example, cut new hire sales ramp up time by 50% by leveraging a sales enablement platform in which they could create custom learning learning paths and leverage video and AI powered coaching to certify their learners were "conversation ready"

A highly structured and engaging new hire ramp up process also drives employee engagement.  Engagement breeds success and successful salespeople equates to employee retention making them far less likely to bolt for another job. 

3. More Meaningful Sales Conversations

Improving sales productivity is really important but it is also just part of the equation. You also need your salespeople and recruiters to improve their effectiveness.  In order to improve conversion ratios such as discovery calls to job orders' or candidate interviews to job offers, your people must be equipped to excel at engaging buyers (and candidates) at each stage of the buyer's journey and candidate journey.

Sales enablement platforms help reps prepare for and "remain sales ready" for each of the touch points across the buyer journey by validating they possess the right knowledge, skill and messaging including "what to say," "what to do," and "what to show" to ensure they succeed before they engage the buyer or candidate.

Once they’ve been certified as “conversation ready,” you and your reps will have the confidence in knowing that they're ready and able to engage in highly relevant and consultative dialogue that today's empowered buyer's have come to expect. 

There are different types of sales enablement software. Check out my blog post to help identify and understand which sales enablement software is right for you and your organization.

For a complete and thorough guide on sales enablement, check out our latest eBook, The Staffing Leaders Guide to Sales Enablement