Sales Enablement - A Revenue System, not a Training Day

Sales Velocity isn’t more activity done faster with dramatic moments led by a few hero A players. As sexy as that might sound, velocity starts with a coherent plan, executed consistently and flawlessly across the team. How do you do that? Alex explains.

Many B2B tech categories are challenging places to be; products and positioning are becoming easier to copy, there is an increase in well-funded competitors, buyers are sensitive to pricing, value propositions are being lost in a sea of jargon-ridden benefits, and buyers are becoming ever more informed, with their AI assistant by their side.

In this environment, it is extremely difficult for salespeople, particularly those new to the business, to cut through the noise and engage the buyer with a relevant proposition. Salesforce research shows that poorly trained and equipped salespeople spend only 30% of their time selling, which has a considerable impact on pipeline velocity and opportunity conversion.

The companies that win are the ones that enable their sales teams to execute with precision, repeatability, and confidence.

How do we do this?

Well, over my career, I have built and run dozens of successful sales enablement programmes, and from my experience, here are 5 tips for building yours:

#1 - Map the Accounts

Have a clear understanding of the ideal customer and buyer journey, including defining target segments, decision-makers, common pain points, and typical objections.

#2 - Write the script

Establish a unified value narrative, where every salesperson is able to clearly explain the problem the product solves, why it matters now, how the solution is differentiated, and the value it delivers.

#3 - Build a programme

Successful enablement doesn’t happen by itself, so you will need to create and deliver onboarding and regular training programmes that ensure sales are on top of the latest releases, the market, and the competition.

#4 - Capture feedback

Close the feedback loop by getting feedback from sales on:

• What is working (or not working)?
• What are they hearing in the marketplace?
• What new objections are they coming across?
• Why are you winning and losing?
• What are the anecdotes, war stories, and quotes from successful deals?

Ensure that a program is defined for regularly sharing this with marketing and product teams.

#4 - Measure what matters

Don’t swallow the happy pill and get taken in by chasing vanity metrics, but instead measure and lay out what matters - win rates, deal velocity, ramp up times, average deal size etc.

Conclusion

Sales enablement isn’t a content dump or a training day; it’s a system that makes selling easier, faster, and more consistent as you scale.

B2B tech vendors that invest in sales enablement don’t just improve sales performance; they build a more scalable, resilient revenue engine.