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Sales is the core of all product and service-based companies. An effective sales team and a robust sales enablement strategy is important to drive sales and growth for the company, and the need for the same has seen a sharp rise of 343% in the last 5 years (Source: G2).

Only through a good sales plan and strategy can the sales team stay focussed and help in better turnover and overall company growth, 49% to be precise as per reports.

Sales enablement is the process of enabling the sales team with the tools and resources that will successfully help them achieve higher and better sales numbers with higher customer satisfaction.

Using sales enablement strategies, customers are 36% more satisfied with the sales process and are highly likely to return for a repeat purchase.

In this blog, we discuss how to implement successful sales enablement strategies that are relevant in 2023.

10 sales enablement strategies for companies in 2023

A good and effective sales enablement strategy helps salespeople to achieve their sales goal by double the usual quota, 33% better identification of leads and needs of customers, provides them with relevant tools that make sales easier and fosters growth in customer relationships and repeat purchases by the customer.

With these 10 strategies, the sales team can be enabled with the right knowledge and tools to strengthen and drive sales:

1. Clearly define buyer personas

Buyer persona means that every buyer or the specific target audience of your product and service has typical buyer behavior. Studying this behavior and the buying pattern helps in identifying your target audience.

Also, it helps in understanding your product's needs, wants and desires and, therefore using the right approach and method to pitch the products or services to them.

Many different software, such as marketing automation software and Sales - CRM platform helps in identifying the right clients and customers for your product and services. These softwares uses a special AI and ML method to identify customers with similar buying behavior and use this insight to target the right clients and customers online.

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For example, Twilio used a brilliant buyer behavior and persona study when they introduced their product management suite. They understood that the buyers of the communication suite were different from those who bought product management softwares within a company and, therefore reworked on their target audience and strategy to launch the new product in the market successfully.

2. Provide comprehensive training

The sales team is at the forefront of the business, and a well trained and well equipped sales team is the essence of the brand image. By training the sales team with the right sales techniques, methods and training material, the sales team has the guidance and ability to handle any customer queries, and convince and convert the right leads into prospective clients for the future.

Training material for the sales team, such as the materials mentioned below, can train the salespeople effectively:

  • Ebooks
  • Training manuals
  • White papers
  • Case studies
  • Sales playbooks etc.
  • Training exercises with mock scenarios, online assessments, webinars and other interactive sessions can also be very useful for sales training.
For example, the Audi Car Sales team engages in various competitions across dealerships around the world. In these competitions, sales personnel engage in rigorous brand training and compete for prestigious titles & awards, ultimately pushing brand loyalty, knowledge and spirit forward.

3. Content creation and distribution

In continuation to the point mentioned above, the right kind of sales material and training material is important to set the sales team up for success. Creating content that can be used for training sales personnel and content that is to be shared with the customers to enlighten them of their pain points and how our product or service can be of use to them is of utmost importance.

The right content will nudge the customers into the brand’s direction urging them to check the company website, brand ad, click on product or service catalog etc.

Using below marketing techniques a list of leads can be captured and the content can be distributed via phone marketing, online and digital marketing, social or email marketing modes -

  • landing pages
  • Subscription forms
  • Push notification
  • Multichannel marketing techniques, etc.
For example, Twitter was able to push their sales and usage further by simply publishing their most used geographics and demographics location, which was an effort to pique the ethnic and local pride amongst those living in the USA. This gave Twitter a better media push, with many publications covering this content creation.

4. Implement sales technology

Sales technology is one of the most popular ways to do away with traditional sales methods and transform better sales numbers and conversions using digital aids.

Sales technology includes all the digital tools and softwares that help in capturing leads, nurturing leads, developing a pipeline of leads, using a sales and marketing funnel to prospect leads and convert them faster and better. Sales technology makes it easier to target leads more efficiently.

Some of the most used and popular sales technology aids include -

  • Sales prospecting softwares
  • Lead enrichment and nurturing tools
  • Sales analytics, call analytics and metrics
  • Outreach platforms such as email/ SMS/ or social media based marketing tools
  • Live chat feature etc.
For example, Walmart is one of the classic examples that spent 11 billion dollars to revamp their sales technology. They partnered with Google voice-enabled software services and Microsoft cloud computing to help drive their sales using modern supply chain, logistics, frontline sales and retail multi-channel marketing approaches. 

5. Sales playbooks

Sales playbooks are an excellent form of sales enablement method and help with equipping your sales team with the right handbook that guides them through the entire sales cycle. From the very first encounter, the playbook outlines -

  • How to look for leads
  • How to prospect them
  • How to eliminate their pain points
  • What pitch will work for each type of customer
  • The best product showcase method or demo method for a client
  • After-sales support, etc.

It helps a new hire or a novice salesperson familiarise themselves without wasting time finding help. There are different kinds of playbooks, for example, on how to find and prospect leads, for demo and showcasing, rebuttals, sales closing, after-sales support, etc.

For example, Torrent Pharma is a leady pharma-based company that faced difficulties during and post-COVID due to its inability to train and assess staff. Using structured and effective digital learning methods, including sales playbooks, they were able to jump back on their sales by training and guiding sales staff with everything they will need during sales meetings. `

6. Collaboration between sales and marketing

Using the marketing automation software, sales can be pushed forward and better. There are many softwares in the market that help in propelling sales by combining marketing techniques such as -

  • Email automation that helps in creating awareness amongst customers about the brand
  • SMS CRM and phone marketing to help recapture abandoned carts
  • Giving extra off or discounts for new customers
  • Social media and online ads that target the right segment of customer etc.

Combining the power of marketing helps in pushing sales forward. It helps sales personnel to close sales better and faster by the way of marketing communication methods.

For example, Apple, the tech giant, has one of the most vivid marketing campaigns that integrates well with the sales process in a way that they complement each other. Even with the thump in sales around 2020, their successful marketing campaigning (using ‘Shot on iPhone, accessibility features etc) helped them back on their feet around 2022. 

7. Regular performance assessment

Any implementation requires continuous assessment to check for flaws and learning gaps. A project management approach can help identify if the implementation is working out how it is supposed to.

Any gaps or inefficiency in the training module or material can be identified, mitigated, and bridged. One of the essential ways to assess performance is using sales software that can record the performance of employees.

Softwares help in:

  • Recording performance over time
  • Match them with industry standards and benchmarks
  • Prepare analytical reports using metrics
  • Provide graphs and insights to easily help map performance.

8. Feedback loop

The feedback loop is a new technique that helps look for feedback both within and outside the organization to identify customer and employee grievances, pain points and issues that prevent them from excelling (as an employee) or associating with the brand (as a customer).

The feedback loop technique is more like an introspective way of looking at an organisation's issues.

There are two kinds of feedback loops:

  • Negative feedback loop

This kind of feedback loop helps organizations address customers' grievances and, therefore, helps create better products and services for them. By listening to customers' wants, marketers and sales personnel can be better equipped to deal with them specifically.

  • Positive feedback

The positive feedback loop is an internal method of improving employee issues and concerns and helping this intelligence to boost turnover and sales and, therefore, grow the company.

For example, Shopify presents a fresh take on negative and positive feedback loop systems that encourage brands and companies to conduct these loops with their customers to strengthen their brands and push sales forward. With the increase in sales post-pandemic, the feedback loop technique helped Shopify bring more customers around and sustain growth.

9. Sales enablement tools

Sales enablement tools are extremely popular in the market. There are many different types of tools that can be used to enable sales personnel, such as:

  • Sales training softwares
  • Content preparation and management tools
  • CRM softwares
  • Marketing channel tools
  • Sales analysis tools
  • Program management tools

These types of tools are available in plenty in the market. This softwares helps sales people learn about their customers, target the right customer for your specific product and service, use the right material or content to provide them with facts that convince the customer, and ultimately close the case.

For example, Pepsico, one of the largest FMCG companies, successfully included a robust sales enablement technology that helped 13000 reps to push sales across the USA post the pandemic stage.

10. Continuous learning and adaptation

Every implementation strategy is incomplete without continuous updates, feedback and adapting to newer trends as and when they come. Managers must engage sales employees in continuous learning effort by keeping up with market trends.

Sales employees must stay constantly engaged and keep up with the competitors and the latest trends in the market that move the customers. Adapting to new techniques and tools can help stay relevant in the market and stay on top of the game.

Conclusion

With these 10 effective strategies, sales teams are better able to cater to their customers and help them identify their needs and provide them with the right material to convert leads better. Prospective leads can be better nurtured and converted to customers using these strategies.

Customer retention rates and repeat purchases are higher when the sales team has a clear goal and are equipped with the right tactics and tools to help convert their leads.

Using the 10 strategies listed above, sales personnel can work efficiently and hope to achieve better chances of closing deals by identifying and converting leads using the right approach and method. These strategies are relevant to the market trends in 2023 and can help drive better sales and customer satisfaction in the new era.

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