Sales Enablement

• Sales reps are looking for new ways to prospect within the restrictions of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Social media can be used to create opportunities to engage and nurture prospects while staying compliant
• Using the SiriusDecisions MEAD Model enables sellers to map buyer behavior and needs to specific social media activities

• Internal emails take up too much of sales reps’ time, which makes them picky about what they read
• There are 10 surefire ways to ensure that your email will get deleted before it’s read
• If important information is listed elsewhere, don’t send an unnecessary email to reps

• Compared with the reps they lead, first-line sales managers often receive significantly fewer opportunities to develop competencies specific to their role
• Ad hoc and reactive manager enablement leads to inconsistent results and processes that lack scalability and repeatability
• A lack of effective sales manager enablement drives high-performing managers and their reps out the door

• The art of selling is also a science, with advances in analytics helping organizations be much more scientific in their selling efforts
• Analytical engines can provide sales reps with great insights into buyers’ likelihood to buy
• These same engines drive proactive recommendations to reps on what to do or share with buyers

• All factories, regardless of their end products, must manage a mix of resources, raw materials and process constraints
• B2B content factory teams face increased complexity as they work to support requirements associated with new audiences, assets and channels
• The SiriusDecisions Content Factory Model, to debut at SiriusDecisions Summit 2018, provides a construct for optimizing content factory operations

Account-based marketing (ABM), demand generation, social selling, channel marketing, go-to-market strategy, marketing mix, campaign execution and almost anything that today’s B2B marketer worries about hinges on having relevant content that engages your buyers. My colleague, Ryan Skinner, defines content marketing as: A marketing strategy where brands create interest, relevance, and relationships with customers by producing, […]

• Advanced technology capabilities and higher B2B consumer expectations have led to more complex content strategy requirements
• Different content strategy approaches are needed for content marketing, campaign content and Web site content
• B2B content leaders need to facilitate cross-functional collaboration for an audience-centric content strategy across these three areas

• Companies survey sales to get insights on what can be done better, but surveys are not enough
• Sales reps are on the front line of interactions with customers and have valuable feedback to share with the rest of the organization
• Creating a systemic, always-on program can capture sales insights and drive improvements in sales experience and outcomes

When was the last time you noticed that a colleague was excited about sales training? After having created many a training deck myself, I frequently feel badly about my inability to muster enthusiasm and prioritize time to invest in skills development. When today’s prospects and clients have high expectations for highly personalized consultative interactions, how […]

• Sales learning has long been executed manually and repetitively
• Organizations are seeking ways to more effectively deliver learning to high-performing and Millennial sellers
• Sales learning and coaching solutions are growing in popularity and influence

• New sales hires are a highly valued commodity, and the imperative to get them selling immediately is understandable
• Acclimating and orienting salespeople to their new environment requires time, patience and planning
• Many organizations fail to resist the temptation to throw new hires into the sales equivalent of the deep end of the pool

The definition of CRM has changed. Yes, that is a big statement to make, but it’s an important one. CRM grew from a customer data repository into functional applications, first with sales automation and then to support customer service and marketing. Today’s enterprise software vendors cannot rest on “core” CRM functionality; their buyers demand a […]

• With an ever-increasing need for more content for a growing number of audiences, maintaining brand consistency and solution details is no easy task
• Consistency sins abound in B2B organizations – from the use of outdated product names to mix-ups in logos
• By addressing content consistency with a cross-functional process from the context of the content lifecycle, redemption is possible 

• Maximizing the value of your sales force automation system requires value delivery for end users and the company
• Sales operations should conduct an annual audit of data entry requirements and mandatory fields
• Reducing data entry time has benefits in terms of sales productivity and data quality

• Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” is often interpreted as advice to always take the less-traveled path, but others suggest it’s more about second-guessing choices made in the past
• Many sales enablement leaders are focused on innovative tactical choices, but second-guessing tactical decisions distracts from a strategic focus on sales effectiveness
• SiriusDecisions has outlined a range of responsibilities that sales enablement leaders can leverage to pull back and separate the forest from the trees

• SiriusDecisions Technology Exchange (TechX) will reveal the strategy behind building a best-in-class sales and marketing tech stack
• TechX attendees will gain insight into key emerging technologies through real-world examples of how they are being used
• TechX attendees will learn best practices for engaging technology providers

• Sales playbooks have been around for a long time, and remain relevant for many contemporary sales organizations
• For more complex and customized selling interactions, guided selling goes beyond playbooks and optimizes sales asset management environments
• Determining the appropriate degree of guidance for a team is a crucial sales enablement function

ABM … Account-based marketing … A – Bee – Em. Unless you have been living under a rock, you can’t have helped but notice the hype around ABM.  And some of the confusion too. But here’s the thing about ABM – it does produce results for both marketing and sales.  May not be this quarter, […]

• B2B buyers control the buyer’s journey, and the content experience must adapt to individual interactions
• A data-driven approach to content and delivery mechanisms provides a personalized experience tailored to the individual buyer
• Content assets and delivery mechanisms respond and adjust to individual profiles, previous interactions and known preferences