Sales enablement part 1

Written by Ellipsis Technologies on June 12, 2024

Sales Enablement and the Complex Process of Inbound Marketing

In the past couple of years, digital sales have been in constant refinement of the cyclical internal and external process of matching various customer approaches. Even though both SDR (Sales Development Representative) and SALES ENABLEMENT can be acknowledged as different processes, they have something in common: the pursuit of excellence in digital sales.

Indeed, SDR embodies something we particularly pursue today due to COVID-19’s impact on business. We need to achieve as many leads as possible to capture not only digital sales but also brand and product awareness and ‘existence’. Existence? Yes, you heard that right. We find most of our potential customers on platforms such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and others. But we are not alone in this: our competition is also ‘fighting’ for brand recognition. Therefore, our SDR must be well thought out, carefully planned, and most importantly, executed with a sensitive touch in our approach to customers. Remember, everyone wants a piece of your cake.

Basics of SDR

To summarize, without repeating what has already been said, in our opinion, the SDR components, processes, and KPIs in excellence on the matter can be found in Active Campaign’s blog titled “Sales Development Representative (SDR) and What the Job Is Like”. However, what’s most important and sometimes overlooked is that internal communication is also key to success.

The SDR qualification process has two components:

1. Learning
2. Educating

When does Sales Enablement come in?

Once we get our SDR running and well-defined, Sales Enablement comes into play. Both marketing and sales teams need to coordinate to get both the inbound and outbound efforts in good shape. In our opinion, sales enablement is the closure of a 360° cycle in which inbound and outbound campaigns need to be brought together to get:

• Good quality leads
• Relevant content
• Qualified leads
• In-depth knowledge about our customers

Depending on the organization, many stakeholders need to be well-coordinated to execute a well-planned strategy:

Top Use Cases for Sales Enablement Platforms

• Sales Enablement Platforms (central hub)
  • Customer-Facing Selling
  • Relationship Selling
  • Seller Onboarding
  • Continuous Education
  • Coaching
  • PRM/Channel Enablement
  • Inside Sales/SDR
  • Sales Manager Processes

Source: Gartner

We have found this article in HubSpot particularly insightful: Sales Enablement 🔗.

In our part II on the matter, we can bring more concrete action plans and conclusions on these two disciplines.