Sales Readiness is Propelled by Sales Enablement: Here’s How
Sales readiness is the determining factor for whether or not a sales rep is prepared to sell. Do they have the right tools and skills? Do they have access to updated and relevant sales materials? Basically, sales readiness is the realization of sales enablement.
Sales enablement strategies and technologies prepare the sales team for maximum sales performance. According to the Miller Heiman Group, only 32% of buyers feel that sellers exceed their expectations. So without the proper training and coaching, will the sales team ever truly be ready to head into the field? Continue reading as we define sales readiness and discover how it can be propelled by sales enablement tools and techniques.
What is sales readiness?
Sales readiness is the result of providing sales reps with the tools and knowledge they need to head into the field and sell. Think of it almost like parenting — without the potty training. You prepare your sales reps for the real-world based on your experiences, expertise, and education. This sounds a bit similar to sales enablement right? Well, there is one main difference.
Sales readiness vs. sales enablement
Sales enablement is the act of provisioning sales reps with the content and tools they need to sell more effectively and at a higher velocity. Whereas, sales readiness is a measurement of how well-prepared a sales rep is to sell once they’ve been enabled. With the right content management practices, sales and marketing alignment, and seamless content searchability, sales enablement will make an impact on its own. But, with practice, coaching, and collaboration, sales reps can enhance their sales readiness and increase win rates.
The difference is that sales enablement is an entire practice spanning across multiple teams. Sales enablement is designed to be implemented with a sophisticated suite of tools. Whereas, sales readiness is something an individual sales rep can impact through leveraging the tools they have available to them to wisely refine their selling skills over time.
Ultimately, sales enablement keeps reps prepared with the right materials, sales readiness keeps reps prepared with the right knowledge.
Why is sales readiness so important?
To make an impact on a potential customer, sales managers must ensure their sales reps have the right skills for the job. Basically, if sales reps aren’t prepared and trained, their sales performance will be poor and sales will suffer. An effective sales readiness program will:
- Reduce ramp up time
- Improve sales productivity
- Shorten the sales cycle
- Increase win rates
With the help of sales readiness tools like analytics, sales managers can measure and assess reps’ skill sets and performance. This results-oriented approach allows sales managers to not only boost sales performance but to bolster win rates. Insights can illustrate where a sales rep is excelling and where they may be struggling. For example, say a sales rep has a low conversion rate when it comes to cold calling. Sales managers can take this knowledge to provide more personalized coaching to improve upon the rep’s skills.
In addition, a sales readiness program calls for continuous coaching sessions. These one-on-one sessions help sales managers assess and reinforce certain skills in their reps. Having a readiness program in place before hiring new reps is a great way to build and maintain specific sales behaviors from their start date on. Also, ramp up time is reduced by enabling sales reps with the program they need to quickly and effectively begin selling.
How do sales enablement tools impact sales readiness?
Sales enablement and sales readiness are like peanut butter and jelly. One can’t — or shouldn’t — exist without the other. These two strategies join forces to maximize sales performance with the following:
Marketing and sales team alignment
To ensure consistent messaging across departments, it’s important to align the marketing and sales teams. Sales enablement software provides both teams with visibility into all stages of the buyer’s journey. This way, sales reps are able to see which marketing content is resonating with buyers. This helps reps gain a deeper understanding of the buyer’s needs and wants. Similarly, with sales enablement tools, the marketing team is equipped with data to create content that provisions the sales team with relevant materials that focus on selling value. By having this data and strong internal communication part of your sales readiness program, your sales team will be able to better serve their prospects.
Content management and clarity
As stated previously, sales enablement tech gives sales reps easy access to all content housed in one central location. In addition to sales materials, a sales enablement platform will serve as a singular hub for coaching videos and documents. This boosts sales readiness by providing sales reps with the helpful materials they need to practice their sales strategy.
For example, interactive presentations make virtual sales training fun, engaging, and much more memorable. Clickable elements and videos tell a story that helps sales reps grasp new information and retain it. These videos can be located within the sales enablement platform, ready to be played whenever necessary.
Personalization tools
Sales enablement software allows sales managers and reps to track prospect behavior. With these behavioral insights, reps are better able to serve up content specifically tailored to a prospect’s needs. For instance, let’s say when given a sales presentation on pet insurance, a prospect is only engaging with content regarding dog health insurance. From here, a sales rep can make the data-driven decision to personalize the next sales interaction with only health insurance plans for dogs. Thus, sales enablement software propels sales readiness by providing the insights to effectively engage prospects on a personal level.
Insights on top sales reps
Touched on briefly before, sales managers can use data from a sales enablement platform to track sales rep performance. These insights can showcase which content top sales reps are sharing with their prospects and when. Then, sales managers can take these new found best practices to coach the rest of the team. By leveraging the sales enablement platform’s analytics, sales managers can boost sales readiness throughout their team with data-driven coaching. For example, let’s say a top sales rep is consistently converting prospects by sharing a specific case study during the consideration stage. Based on the success rate, the sales manager is obligated to teach the rest of the sales reps to use this case study during the same stage.
Final Thoughts
An effective sales readiness program is easy to accomplish if you have the right sales enablement tools to support it. Prezentor is the ultimate sales enablement platform that drives sales readiness. With personalized coaching and selling tools, your sales reps will exceed expectations, increase win rates, and drive revenue.
Are your sales reps prepared to sell? Boost sales readiness throughout your sales team and schedule your demo with Prezentor today.