New York Revenue Enablers Have Spoken…

We had the honour recently or sponsoring and attending a gathering of some of New York’s finest Enablement and Rev Ops professionals - what a lovely bunch! When registering, they were asked about the top three challenges they were facing in enabling reps - we’re big believers in a problem shared being a problem halved so let’s take a look at the results:

1. Tracking Efforts to Revenue

The most common theme (and this should be no surprise) is connecting the dots between Enablement efforts and actual revenue. It can be like finding a needle in a haystack - we know Enablement’s work impacts sales, but proving that direct link to business success can be a real head-scratcher.

So what can be done about it? Getting friendly with right data and metrics is our golden ticket. Walking backwards from those strategic business goals to identify the lagging and leading indicators that would indicate you are on the path to success and understanding the competencies that underpin these provides the opportunity to pinpoint the areas that need to be measured. It also enables you to speak the revenue language that will resonate with your stakeholders.

2. Being a Strategic Player and Getting Stakeholders on Board

Enablers can sometimes feel like their gig is seen as a backstage support act rather than the rock stars they are. In many organisations, Enablement has been rooted in onboarding and, as Gartner pointed out recently, has an over-reliance on training. The fact that many Enablement functions still rely on vanity metrics (see earlier point) means that getting senior revenue leaders to see the strategic potential of Revenue Enablement can feel like an uphill climb.

The answer has to be to learn to speak their language. As we said above, it is important to showcase how your activity can directly boost the bottom line. Using the right tools (hint: e4enable Zero) you can not only quantify the impact of your activity but also highlight other levers and the revenue potential in focusing on other core competencies.

3. Staying Nimble in a Changing and Competitive Arena

In a world where change is the only constant, staying on our toes is a must. But helping our sales team adapt lightning-fast to changing buyer behaviours and increased competition is a real challenge.

Buyers are doing more of their own research than ever before they will consider engaging with a rep so the skills those reps need have to adapt to deal with this. Relationship building, active listening, communication of benefits and differentiation and deep product and technical knowledge are likely to be some of the competencies that are more important so it is vital to make sure that your competency framework has evolved to reflect this and that you are focusing on the right areas.

Being able to react to skills gaps and blockers in a timely way is also important. You don’t want to have to wait months before results have taken a dip to realise that a gap in communication skills was causing a low call to meeting ratio for example. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, making sure you are measuring the right leading indicators is the key here - don’t wait for the lagging indicators to tell the story. (Here’s a free guide if you need more support in this area.)

4. Getting Everyone on Board with Enablement’s Brilliance

Even with the coolest tools and resources, getting our sales squad to fully embrace them can be tough.

When it comes to engagement, ‘What’s in it for them’ has to be the mantra at the front of your mind because it’ certainly at the front of theirs! Any time spent away from building pipeline and closing deals can be seen as a distraction by sales reps so it is important that you are seen to be delivering the support that each specific individual needs, at the time they need it and delivered where they operate most. It is also important to communicate the value of the activity, share success stories and the meaningful measures of improvement that have been achieved in other areas.

5. Choosing the Right Enablement Tech to Drive Revenue

Picking the right enablement tech can feel like browsing through an endless buffet – so many choices, but which dish will satisfy your hunger? The challenge isn't just about measuring our efforts; it's about finding tech that actively helps you to move the needle. Sure, we’ve got tools that measure views and completion rates, but (as we know by now), vanity metrics are a thing of the past.

Enablement professionals are on the hunt for tools that go beyond tracking engagement. Think platforms that directly equip them with real-time insights into the areas that are impacting results and need attention. Many are also looking for orchestration tools that can bring intelligent analysis to the abundance of data they already have from their often complex tech stacks - which tools are actually impacting results? where are the trends? (Sounds familiar 😉) Finding tech that can help you to influence revenue outcomes – that’s the golden ticket!

In a nutshell, these challenges might seem like mountains to climb, but there is a common thread in the ingredients that will help to get us there. By getting savvy with data, showing off your strategic impact, and remaining focused and personalised in your execution will help you to overcome these hurdles.

As we approach the start of a new year, let’s turn these challenges into stepping stones to greater success!