In the world of B2B sales, missed quotas are more common than most would like to admit. In fact, recent research shows that only 19% of B2B sales managers say at least three-quarters of their reps are hitting quota.
But sales leaders don’t have to settle for that reality. With the right strategies in place, they can improve performance across the entire team.
Hiring the right sellers for the right roles is the first step. But it’s only one part of the equation. To drive consistent performance, organizations also need to build sales enablement programs that properly equip sellers to engage buyers throughout the sales cycle and ultimately, win more deals.
Still, not all sales enablement programs deliver the same impact. While some drive real gains in productivity and performance, others miss the mark. What sets the high-performing sales enablement programs apart?
In this post, we’ll explore five essential components every successful sales enablement program needs to deliver real impact.
What is a sales enablement program?
Before we dive into the key components of a sales enablement program, let’s take a step back to define what a sales enablement program is.
A sales enablement program is a strategic initiative designed to equip sales teams with the tools, content, training, and support they need to engage buyers more effectively and close more deals. It’s about ensuring sellers have the right resources at the right time, aligned with each stage of the buyer journey.
Sales enablement programs typically involve a range of activities, such as developing a content strategy, building sales training and coaching programs, and implementing technology solutions like customer relationship management (CRM) systems, sales automation tools, revenue enablement solutions, and analytics platforms.
When done well, a sales enablement program can help sellers ramp faster, stay productive, and adapt their approach to meet the ever-evolving needs of today’s buyers. For sales leaders, a sales enablement program also provides the visibility and consistency needed to ensure sales performance isn’t left to chance.
How to align your sales enablement with sales process development
Aligning sales enablement with sales process development involves integrating the tools, content, and training provided through sales enablement into the various stages of the sales process. This helps ensure that sales reps have the resources they need to effectively engage with prospects and customers at each stage of the process, ultimately improving their performance and increasing the likelihood of success.
Here are some steps organizations can take to align sales enablement with sales process development.
By aligning sales enablement with sales process development, organizations can better support their sales reps throughout the sales process, ultimately improving their performance and increasing their chances of success.
How to align enablement efforts with the buyer’s journey
This is probably a broken record that sales enablement leaders are very familiar with hearing. While its importance is easy to understand, executing it well is not.
No matter where you are in executing them, here are the important steps organizations can take to align their sales enablement efforts with the buyer’s journey:
By aligning sales enablement with the buyer’s journey, organizations can provide buyers with the information and resources they need to make informed decisions, ultimately improving their chances of closing deals and increasing customer satisfaction.
How to align sales and marketing teams together
Does an aligned sales and marketing team sound like an impossible dream?
It’s not the easiest feat but if you look at alignment as something to be done in the phases outlined below, you can break off the broader initiative into more achievable and realistic blocks of work.
Here’s where to start:
By aligning sales and marketing teams, organizations can improve lead generation and conversion, increase revenue growth, and improve customer satisfaction. It requires a commitment to collaboration, communication, and a shared understanding of the goals and objectives of both teams.
Elements of great sales enablement programs
The components below are absolutely essential for a successful sales enablement motion.
1. Sales onboarding and training
A good sales onboarding program is designed to equip new sales hires with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to be successful in their role. It should provide a comprehensive introduction to the company, its culture, products/services, sales processes, and best practices.
Here is a checklist of what to make sure is included as part of your onboarding and ongoing training program:
- Set clear objectives and expectations by outlining what they are expected to achieve and how performance is measured.
- Role-specific training provides new hires with a deep understanding of their responsibilities and how to execute them effectively.
- Sales reps need to have a thorough understanding of the company’s products/services and the industry they operate in. Onboarding programs should provide in-depth training on these topics.
- Onboarding should provide training on the company’s sales processes and tools, including CRM systems, sales scripts, and objection handling.
- Sales onboarding should be evaluated based on metrics such as ramp-up time, quota attainment, and sales productivity to continuously improve the program’s effectiveness.
By incorporating these key elements, a good sales onboarding program can ensure that new hires are well-equipped to succeed in their role, ultimately contributing to the organization’s overall success.
2. Role-playing
This is a powerful and effective way for reps to practice and improve real-world selling behaviors while allowing sales leaders to get a firsthand look at how learning is applied. And the more often they’re done, the more productive your sellers will be. According to our 2024 State of Sales Productivity Report, reps at top-performing companies perform an average of 13 role-plays per year.
Reps at top-performing orgs perform an average of
Here are some examples of sales role-plays to try with your team. Remember that not every seller might need role-play practice for each one of these scenarios. Take a look at call recordings to see where some reps fall short so they can be coached to improve:
- Cold calling role plays: A salesperson practices calling a prospect for the first time and delivering a persuasive pitch.
- Discovery call role plays: A salesperson practices asking questions to understand the prospect’s needs, pain points, and goals.
- Objection handling role plays: A salesperson practices responding to common objections and concerns that prospects may raise during the sales process.
- Demo role plays: A salesperson demonstrates how the product or service works and highlights its benefits to the prospect.
- Closing role plays: A salesperson practices asking for the sale and overcoming any final objections or concerns the prospect may have.
- Cross-selling/up-selling role plays: A salesperson practices offering additional products or services to an existing customer.
- Negotiation role plays: A salesperson practices negotiating price and terms with a prospect to close the deal.
These role plays can be customized to the specific industry, product, or service being sold. They provide a safe and supportive environment for salespeople to practice their skills and receive feedback from their manager or trainer.
Many organizations are also incorporating AI role-plays into their sales enablement programs. AI role-plays allow sellers to practice in realistic scenarios with an AI buyer – giving them a safe environment to refine their skills. Reps receive immediate, targeted feedback, which they can use to fine-tune their approach before applying it in real-world selling situations.
3. Content
Sales content plays a crucial role in sales enablement. It refers to any material or resource that sales teams use to engage with prospects and customers throughout the sales cycle. Here are some ways in which sales content is used in sales enablement:
- Sales playbook: A sales playbook is a comprehensive guide that outlines the company’s sales process, best practices, and key messaging. It provides sellers with a roadmap for how to navigate the sales process and effectively communicate with prospects.
- Sales training materials: Sales training materials, such as e-learning modules, videos, and quizzes, can be used to provide sellers with the foundational knowledge they need to be successful in their role. This can include topics such as objection handling, lead qualification, and negotiation.
- Sales collateral: Sales collateral, such as sales decks, one-pagers, and white papers, can be used to support sellers during their sales conversations with prospects. They provide reps with the messaging and talking points they need to effectively communicate the value of the product or service.
- Sales tools: Sales tools, such as CRM systems, sales enablement platforms, and lead generation tools, can be used to streamline the sales process and make it easier for new hires to manage their pipeline and stay organized.
- Personalization: Sales content can be personalized for specific audiences or buyer personas. This can include customizing messaging, using specific examples or case studies, and tailoring content to the prospect’s stage in the buyer’s journey.
Centralizing sales content is key so sellers can always find what they need. Even better is using a sales content management system that leverages AI to recommend the right content based on factors like deal stage and buyer engagement. That helps sellers spend less time guessing and more time delivering content that resonates.
4. Coaching
Sales coaching is an essential component of sales enablement. It involves providing personalized feedback, guidance, and support to sales teams to help them improve their skills and increase their effectiveness in selling. Here are some ways in which sales coaching is used in sales enablement:
- Skill development: Sales coaching can be used to develop and improve specific sales skills, such as prospecting, objection handling, and closing. This can help sales reps become more confident and effective in their sales conversations.
- Sales process improvement: Sales coaching can also be used to improve the overall sales process, by identifying areas for improvement and providing guidance on how to address them. This can lead to increased efficiency and effectiveness in the sales process.
- Goal setting and accountability: Sales coaching can be used to set goals and hold sales reps accountable for their performance. This can help to ensure that sales reps are aligned with the organization’s goals and that they are working towards achieving them.
- Performance feedback: Sales coaching can be used to provide regular feedback on sales reps’ performance, identifying areas of strength and areas for improvement. This can help sales reps to continuously improve their skills and performance.
- Coaching culture: Sales coaching can help to create a coaching culture within the organization, where sales managers and leaders prioritize coaching and development as a key part of their role. This can lead to a more engaged and motivated sales team and improved sales results.
By using sales coaching in sales enablement, organizations can ensure that their sales teams have the support and guidance they need to improve their skills and achieve their goals. It can also help to create a culture of continuous learning and development, which is essential for success in today’s fast-paced business environment.
Sales managers are typically the ones responsible for coaching their reps. While manager-led coaching can be highly effective, it’s also time-consuming, and feedback often comes too late to make an immediate impact.
Today, many organizations are turning to AI to deliver real-time sales coaching. For example, AI tools can analyze sales calls or role-play recordings and provide instant feedback on things like pacing, tone, and talk-to-listen ratio. Sellers can use this feedback to improve their approach right away.
5. Analytics
It’s important to close the loop on all these sales enablement efforts. This means tracking certain KPIs over time to gauge whether sales enablement training, coaching, and other approaches are helping to improve seller performance.
By evaluating both individual and team performance metrics, as well as how they correlate to revenue, you can diagnose any issues or gaps within your enablement program. And when you’re able to locate where the problems are, you can make changes, like creating additional training materials around a certain topic or assigning role-plays to reps with specified selling scenarios. AI makes it even easier to make sense of this data and understand how to take action on it.
Benefits of a sales enablement program
A strong sales enablement program can drive measurement improvements across multiple areas of the organization. Let’s take a look at some of the key benefits.
1. Accelerates rep ramp time
An effective sales enablement program streamlines onboarding by giving reps structured training, relevant content, and clear guidance. This helps new sellers get up to speed quickly and start contributing to revenue growth sooner.
2. Boosts sales productivity
Sales reps only have so many hours in the day, and it’s important that they make the most of each one. A well-designed sales enablement program centralizes all resources and content. That means sellers can spend less time searching for what they need and more time building relationships and closing deals.
3. Improves buyer engagement
Modern B2B buyers expect relevant, personalized experiences throughout the purchase journey. A sales enablement program ensures sellers have content and messaging needed to engage buyers effectively – wherever they are in the sales cycle.
4. Ensures consistent messaging and sales execution
Buyers expect seamless experiences, whether they’re doing research on their own or speaking with a seller. A sales enablement program helps align sales and marketing around a unified strategy. This ensures reps deliver consistent, on-brand messaging every time.
5. Provides data-driven insights for continuous improvement
Modern sales enablement platforms provide visibility into what’s working and what’s not. These insights empower organizations to optimize their strategies and scale what’s driven results.
Is your sales enablement program preparing your reps to close more deals?
Modern sellers face more challenges than ever before. Sales enablement – when it’s done right – can help sellers overcome these challenges and close more deals.
But creating a sales enablement team doesn’t guarantee results. It’s imperative to build and deliver programs and initiatives that’ll actually prepare your sellers to close deals. It’s also critical to incorporate five must-haves into your sales enablement strategy: sales onboarding, role-playing, content, coaching, and analytics.
Today, leading revenue organizations turn to Mindtickle to build and deliver sales enablement programs that ensure sellers have what it takes to crush any deal. Mindtickle’s integrated revenue enablement platform incorporates all the key ingredients of sales enablement – right from one integrated platform.
Sales Enablement with Mindtickle
Ready to why the best revenue organizations are choosing Mindtickle to build impactful sales enablement programs?
This post was originally published in September 2022, was updated in April 2023, May 2024 and June 2025.
