Why Focusing on Sales Enablement Will Help You Weather Slow Periods

During economic downtime or slow periods in your business, when you are forced to scale back some initiatives and rethink your budgeting decisions, it’s tough to decide which areas of your business deserve extra attention.

It can be tough to prioritize. Sales are down, so you want to focus on getting customers through the door. But you know that sales are likely to be down no matter what for the time being, so investing in marketing might make more sense.

But what if there was a middle-ground? A way that you can power up both your sales and marketing efforts, in unison.

There is, and it is what is known as “sales enablement content.”

We’ll start by covering what sales enablement content is exactly and then look at reasons why investing in sales enablement content makes so much sense during a slow period for your business, such as an economic downturn.

What is Sales Enablement Content?

Sales enablement content is just what the name implies — content that is created for the purpose of helping you to close sales.

Sales enablement content can include but not limited to content that:

• Answer objections. Create content that answers common objections that your sales team runs into throughout the selling process.
  
  
• Show customer success. Who else have you helped? Case studies and customer success interviews can be a great way to give your sales team a leg up.
  
  
• Product info. Before your customers can get a “yes” internally, they need to have hard facts in their hand.
  
  
• Answer common questions. Your sales team knows what your customers tend to ask before they become customers. Give them collateral for answering those questions well, everytime they are asked.

Those are just a few examples. There is no limitation to what can be considered “sales enablement content” as long as it enables you in the act of selling.

Further — that kind of content had a place throughout the funnel. Those same assets will find uses throughout the nurturing process.

Source: AirCall

Your Sales Team Will be Sharper

When you answer common objections and questions with sales enablement content, you standardize answers to your most important questions throughout the sales process.

Sales reps without a standardized answer will range in effectiveness. Some will be better at explaining concepts than others. But when you take your best answer and standardize it across every sales rep, every time the question is asked.

Your sales team will be closing deals more regularly, making the most of limited opportunities when things aren’t going full-speed.

It’s an improvement that every business wants to make at some point, so why not now? While things are slow and your teams have some extra time on their hands to start a new project. Your company will be better for it over time.

Source: Foundation

You’ll Put Yourself In Position to Capitalize When Things Pick Back Up

Sales enablement content isn’t going to lose effectiveness over time, unless your offering changes. A one-time investment in sales enablement content will pay off for your company for years to come.

So when things do start to pick back up, you’ll be there, and more effective than you were before.

Additionally, launching your sales enablement content while things are slow gives your sales teams the opportunity to learn how best to use it. Understanding when to deliver that kind of content is just as important, and will be something that your teams familiarize themselves with over time.

With the right content on hand, you’ll be there to grab whatever market share is available after things begin to pick back up and demand increases, and your sales team will be uniquely positioned to close new deals.

Improving Testing and Optimization Based on Content

Sales Enablement content serves as an excellent place for testing and optimizing your sales processes.

Some of the things that you could test or analyze include:

• What content do people engage with before they buy? What sales enablement content to people interact with before converting? What pieces are actually leading to real, verifiable sales?
  
  
• When should each piece be delivered? Understanding the right time to deliver a specific piece of content in the sales process is just as important as having it. Do you wait for a prospect to ask the right question? Do you customize when they engage with that content for each prospect? Or do you always follow a set process that allows you to systemize more easily?
  
  
• How much do you want to automate? Some sales teams automate the distribution of sales collateral throughout the early buying journey. Get it in front of customers so they can make an informed decision, is the idea. But automation isn’t right for every sales teams. If there is some room for automation, then sales enablement content can play a big role.

Content that helps to generates sales gives you a powerful variable for testing. Having it on hand isn’t always enough, you have to know how to use it effectively to get the most out of it.

Nurture While You Sell

Sales enablement content really focuses on giving the customer what they want. The things that they need to know, when they need to know them.

Many customers are less concerned about when they need to get answered, and more concerned that they are answered before they buy.

That’s a common disconnect when it comes to sales enablement — that it can, at times, have such a strong place in the marketing nurturing process as well.

By answering common questions and objections early in the buyer's journey, you can ensure that the leads that get your sales teams are more educated and more ready to buy.

A One-Time Investment for a Lifetime of More Sales

Sales enablement content is a one-time investment that can yield a lifetime of sales improvement. Yoru buyers will be more educated. Your sales processes will be more standardized.

Your team will have a better idea of how to approach certain engagements. In the end, you’ll be more effective, provide better experiences to your prospects and customers, and position yourself to weather slow periods well.