Modern B2B organizations only want to invest in solutions that’ll deliver value to the business. In fact, 66% of B2B buyers say that a seller’s ability to convey ROI greatly impacts their likelihood of buying.
Yet, many sales reps continue to focus on selling the features of the product, rather than its value. This approach isn’t effective at driving sustainable growth.
Revenue organizations must transform their teams from feature sellers into futures sellers. But leading an upskilling transformation is no small feat.
At the Sales Enablement Summit in San Francisco, Teri Long, VP of Revenue Enablement at Mindtickle, sat down with Aneet Narang, Head of Revenue Enablement at PayPal to discuss how PayPal is reimagining the role of sellers from features to value. Throughout the conversation, Long posed three key questions. In this post, we’ll explore Narang’s answers to each question.
Question #1: How did you access the current state to inform your initiative?
Before developing a new initiative to support sellers, Narang knew the team must first take a long, honest look at their current state. “Enablement is looked at like a change agent, but nobody wants to change,” she explained. “My enablement team was doing whatever leaders wanted them to do, which I think is the case for a lot of us.”
Narang and team needed to assess what was working and what wasn’t. This involved working with partners, doing research, and talking to folks throughout the organization. “There was a lot of questioning and challenging we had to do,” she explained. “In order to understand the current state, we had to go a bit deeper and ask questions on what we’re doing and why we need to be doing things better or differently.”
Rethinking their approach to enablement required executive buy-in. Narang and her team needed to convince leadership why the transition from feature sellers to future sellers made sense. “Often, the leaders and the C-suite get convinced not to the what, but the why,” she explained.
Narang also knew that gaining the support of sales managers was critical. “We could do 100 things for reps. But none of us can scale for every single rep to be doing what we want them to do without getting managers involved,” she explained. “They have skin in the game and take responsibility for what their team is and isn’t doing.”
Question #2: How did you create a strategic plan for upskilling teams, and how did you position that plan to leadership?
After assessing the current state, the PayPal team was ready to create a strategic plan. “Whenever we talk about taking time away from selling, there is always resistance,” said Narang. “The idea that we had to run with senior leadership was around development versus upskilling.”
The first step was to develop ideal rep profiles defining the skills and competencies needed for success. PayPal created IRPs for each customer-facing role, as each role requires different skills.
Long emphasized the importance of creating different IRPs for different customer-facing roles. “Most organizations get stuck in the rut of ‘I know what a seller does, across all of my sellers. A BDR is the same as an AE is the same as CS.’ But really, they’re all different,” said Long.
In addition, PayPal varied IRPs based on geography.
Once IRPs were established, each team member was measured against them. This exercise provided managers with insight into each member’s strengths and weaknesses.
Now, the enablement team at PayPal delivers just-in-time learning, self-service portals, and other training that’s focused on the skills sellers need to be successful. “One of the biggest learnings is that we weren’t doing a great job bringing our tools and systems together,” said Narang. “This wasn’t a big surprise to the reps, but it was a big surprise to the leadership to see how much work we were throwing at them and then expecting them to be program managers and to be sellers at the same time.”
Today, the company also uses IRPs to ensure hiring managers are hiring for the right skills. “There were a lot of aha moments for different teams. They saw value coming to them when they actually saw these competency frameworks come to them in such a simple way” said Narang.
Question #3: How are you using AI to reinforce and accelerate new skills?
Technology is key in PayPal’s journey from feature to future sellers. “For us, technology is like a teammate,” said Narang. “It’s more than an assistant.”
PayPal is focused on building a toolkit that enables reps to understand the buyer’s needs – and deliver experiences that meet those needs.
Increasingly, buyers are doing their own research. When (and if) they reach out to a seller, it’s for decision-making. PayPal aims to ensure their sellers are equipped to serve as trusted advisors. By leveraging artificial intelligence to support repetitive tasks, sellers have more time to engage with buyers.
Long emphasized how AI can support sellers. “Don’t replace the good people, replace the tasks,” she said. “Help accelerate the work sellers are doing.
Today, there are a number of AI tools available. The best approach is to start small, then build from there.
The team at PayPal has also recently launched AI role-plays to provide sellers with opportunities to practice their skills in dynamic, realistic scenarios. “This practice is even better than standing in front of a mirror and recording your pitch because the AI bot is actually going back and forth with you when you’re trying to sell them a product,” explained Narang. “They’re going to bring a perspective that this merchant probably would bring when you’re actually going and negotiating with them. I’m excited and looking forward to seeing how that’s going to build and change how people pitch.”
Five tips to turn feature sellers into future sellers at scale
Long and Narang closed the session by exploring five practical tips for transforming your team from feature sellers to future sellers.
#1 Maximize your toolkit
Harness every resource at your disposal – platforms, processes, and people – to drive measurable results and accelerate outcomes.
“At the end of the day, the whole idea for us is technology as a teammate,” said Narang. “Of all the tools that we have, how do we consolidate some of them? But then how do we leverage the ones that are truly going to make us ready for that future?”
Narang also stressed the importance of leveraging data. “The power is not about knowing that we have data,” explained Narang. “The power is how we leverage data and use it to make us smarter and better.”
#2 Expand your support network
Combine human mentorship and tech-driven coaching solutions to create a continuous, data-informed development ecosystem.
“We know so much about the behavior, so much about the buyers,” said Narang. But how are we bringing it together and stitching it together? That’s where I feel enablement has such an amazing role to play, to be that liaison between product and sales and marketing.”
#3 Learn from the frontlines
Move beyond the boardroom, immerse yourself in key interactions, and be the catalyst for change and action. “Make sure you’re spending time in the field,” said Long. “A ‘listening tour’ is a transformational approach. But most leaders in the space don’t do it because it’s hard, time consuming, and you have to be kind of vulnerable.”
#4 Elevate your leadership profile
Position yourself as a transformative force. You can do so by aligning your strategy with business objectives and driving cross-functional impact.
#5 Leverage AI for strategic advantage
AI is all around us. Be sure you’re integrating it to gain deeper insights, personalize enablement efforts, and enhance decision-making for faster, impactful outcomes.
TLDR;
Transforming feature sellers into future sellers isn’t just a goal; it’s a necessity for sustainable growth. As PayPal’s journey shows, success requires clear strategies, robust tools, and leadership alignment. By leveraging insights, focusing on skill-building, and integrating AI, your team can be empowered to deliver value-driven sales that meet modern buyer expectations.
Watch the full session
Watch the entire session with Teri and Nareet at the Sales Enablement Summit in San Francisco.
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