What Is Sales Enablement? [Infographic]

Sales enablement is certainly a popular buzzword right now. Among the sometimes-vague sales terms that get tossed around, sales enablement may be one of the worst offenders. Sometimes, it’s a code word for a sales operations group; other times, it’s code for sales training. CRM can come into it, as can other technology. So what does “sales enablement” really mean?

Although there are still some different definitions floating around, I like this one:

Sales enablement is a systematic approach to increasing sales productivity, by supporting reps with the content, training and analytics they need to have more successful sales conversations. ~ Brendan Courmoyer, Brainshark

Basically, sales enablement is a collection of tasks and tools that are intended to improve the execution of key sales activities – activities like making sales calls, pursuing opportunities, managing major accounts, and targeting top prospects.

The recent study from Demand Metric seeks to further define “sales enablement” by the different kinds of tasks involved. It also show the benefit that comes from an effective sales enablement program. For instance,  75% of survey respondents reported that sales enablement made a moderate or significant contribution to their sales forces, and 88% with effective sales enablement functions classified their organizations as “very strategic.”

The Truth About Sales Enablement, courtesy of DemandMetric