The State of Sales Enablement

Buyer acumen, it's the stuff buyer-centric sales organisations run on. If you trust the research around the topic, unfortunately, most organisations still leave the development of buyer acumen up to chance. Our guest in this week's episode has spent over 30 years refining his buyer-centric Sales Enablement approach. In our conversation, he shares his advice on how to be intentional about capturing buyer acumen as a foundation for effective Sales Enablement. Please welcome SparxiQ's Vice President of Sales Effectiveness Services and the author of the Building Blocks of Sales Enablement, Mike Kunkle.  These are some of the questions we're discussing:How do you define buyer acumen?How would you describe the levels of buyer acumen in the organisations you deal with?What does best practice in sourcing buyer acumen look like?Which aspects of buyer acumen can't be easily taught should hiring sales managers look for?What can businesses do to retain buyer acumen within the organisation as an asset?What are some of the ways buyer acumen can be operationalised across the business?Here are some of the resources referenced in this episode:Mike’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikekunkle The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement Book: https://bit.ly/BBofSE (Paperback and Kindle)Sales Effectiveness Straight Talk Webinars: https://bit.ly/MikeKunkle-OnDemand (60 Free Recorded Webinars)SPARXiQ Blog: https://sparxiq.com/author/mikekunkleMike’s LinkedIn Articles: http://bit.ly/MK-LinkedInArticlesMike on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mike_kunkleConnect with Felix Krueger online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hfkrueger/Where to find The State of Sales Enablement:Website (subscriber exclusives can be found here) - http://thestateofsalesenablement.com/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-state-of-sales-enablement-podcast/Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-state-of-sales-enablement/id1558307853Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4ceCJYJLuCbTNbRTriOFpe?si=avn_E9EGSNu3gmHfoqJ_6g

Another month, another action-packed episode of This Month In Sales Enablement! Devon and Felix catch up to discuss the latest news in the world of Sales and Sales Enablement, industry research, social media buzz, and the key insights from recent State of Sales Enablement podcast episodes. Here are some of the resources referenced in this episode.Sales Strategy Execution with Tyler Lindley (podcast):https://www.goffwd.com/sales-strategy-execution-with-tyler-lindley-interview/Sales Leadership Transformation with Anthony Sork (podcast): https://www.goffwd.com/sales-leadership-transformation-with-anthony-sork-interview/The Sales Industry Can Be a Stressful Place (MEDDIC LI Post):https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6919610103134359552/Finding Find Joy in Any Job (HBR podcast):https://hbr.org/podcast/2022/04/find-joy-in-any-job-why-am-i-unhappy-at-workCSOs and Sales Leaders Top Priorities for 2022 (Gartner): https://emtemp.gcom.cloud/ngw/globalassets/en/sales-service/documents/insights/the_chief_sales_officer_1q22.pdfZoom Launches Call AI For Sales:https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/13/zoom-launches-ai-powered-features-aimed-at-sales-teams/Why Your Agile Coaching Isn’t Working—and How to Fix It (BCG): https://www.bcg.com/en-au/capabilities/digital-technology-data/agile/how-organizations-can-get-agile-coaching-rightSteffaney Zohrabyan's job board: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/steffaneyzohrabyan_salesenablement-salesenablement-leadership-activity-6919277772943093760-QluW?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_webTodd Caponi's post on cold outreach etiquette: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/toddcaponi_is-it-hypocritical-for-a-sales-leader-to-activity-6914271186520584192-dVyl/?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web

Culture eats strategy for breakfast. You might have heard this quote before. When it comes to company culture leaders and their approach to leadership make all the difference. Our guest in this week's episode heads up a business that specialises in leadership development and executive coaching. In this episode, we'll discuss how sales leaders can transform their leadership approach to achieve sustainable high-performance environments. Please welcome the MD of Sork HC, Anthony Sork! These are some of the questions we're discussing:Why do organisations care about developing their leaders?What are the qualities of an effective leader?Which common leadership mistakes do you come across and what can managers do to avoid them? What sort of leadership style patterns have you come across? For example across certain industries or functions such as sales?What are typically the steps involved in transforming the leadership culture within an organisation?Here are some of the resources referenced in this episode.Connect with Anthony Sork online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonysork/Connect with Felix Krueger online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hfkrueger/Sales enablement resources brought to you by FFWD: https://www.goffwd.com/learnSork HC: https://sorkhc.com.au/Where to find The State of Sales Enablement:Website (subscriber exclusives can be found here) - http://thestateofsalesenablement.com/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-state-of-sales-enablement-podcast/Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-state-of-sales-enablement/id1558307853Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4ceCJYJLuCbTNbRTriOFpe?si=avn_E9EGSNu3gmHfoqJ_6g

A few weeks ago SSE host Felix Krueger was invited by Nick Ziech Lopez to join the Mind the Gap podcast. We spoke about where Sales Enablement is at in 2022, what it takes to be truly strategic about enablement, and the most common mistakes made by organisations new to Sales Enablement. This one is a great episode for CEOs and sales leaders who haven't started a sales enablement program yet but are keen to understand how they can leverage the approach for their business. Here are some of the resources referenced in this episode.Connect with Nick Ziech-Lopez online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-z-lo/Connect with Felix Krueger online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hfkrueger/Sales enablement resources brought to you by FFWD: https://www.goffwd.com/learnMind the Gap Podcast: https://www.enablix.com/mindthegap/Where to find The State of Sales Enablement:Website (subscriber exclusives can be found here) - http://thestateofsalesenablement.com/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-state-of-sales-enablement-podcast/Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-state-of-sales-enablement/id1558307853Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4ceCJYJLuCbTNbRTriOFpe?si=avn_E9EGSNu3gmHfoqJ_6g

The translation of a sales strategy into daily behaviours makes or breaks GTM success. Our guest in this week's episode is a master translator who creates strong feedback loops between SDRs and senior executive leadership.Please welcome, the founder, sales coach and podcast host of The Sales Lift, Tyler Lindley!These are some of the questions we're discussing:Who is Tyler Lindley?As a sales leader, how do you relate back the strategy that has been developed to the day-to-day of the sales team? How do you change behaviours in the sales team to make those strategies happen?Are frontline sales managers equipped with the tools to be coaching effectively? Do they understand what coaching is all about?Do you think the feedback loop between senior leadership and sales reps on the ground is designed effectively? Is there a lot of information being passed on from the sales reps to senior leadership?Here are some of the resources referenced in this episode.Connect with Tyler Lindley online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylerlindley/Connect with Felix Krueger online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hfkrueger/Sales enablement resources brought to you by FFWD: https://www.goffwd.com/learnClaim your free Sales Enablement assessment valued at $1000: https://www.goffwd.com/podcastThe Sales Lift (consultancy and podcast): https://thesaleslift.com/Where to find The State of Sales Enablement:Website (subscriber exclusives can be found here) - http://thestateofsalesenablement.com/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-state-of-sales-enablement-podcast/Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-state-of-sales-enablement/id1558307853Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4ceCJYJLuCbTNbRTriOFpe?si=avn_E9EGSNu3gmHfoqJ_6g

There are hardly any topics in B2B sales that are more polarising than social selling. Our guest in this week's episode has successfully launched high-performing social selling programs for many of her enterprise clients. Today she will share her 8 Stages of Rolling Out a LinkedIn & Social Selling Program. Please welcome, the CEO of Social Sales Link, Brynne Tillman!These are some of the questions we're discussing:What are the steps involved in getting a social selling program off the ground?Do you see those activity-related KPIs are then related back to revenue down the track?What are the next steps after sales leaders have worked through the KPIs?Do you see that a lot of organisations have a clear idea where their buyers are based on the granular data available?What do you do once you have the tech stack sorted?What is the purpose of a playbook?How long does it typically take until sales teams see the benefits of a social selling program?Here are some of the resources referenced in this episode.Connect with Brynne Tillman online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brynnetillman/Connect with Felix Krueger online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hfkrueger/Sales enablement resources brought to you by FFWD: https://www.goffwd.com/learnClaim your free Sales Enablement assessment valued at $1000: https://www.goffwd.com/podcastGet Magical (free app for templates): https://www.getmagical.com/Where to find The State of Sales Enablement:Website (subscriber exclusives can be found here) - http://thestateofsalesenablement.com/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-state-of-sales-enablement-podcast/Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-state-of-sales-enablement/id1558307853Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4ceCJYJLuCbTNbRTriOFpe?si=avn_E9EGSNu3gmHfoqJ_6g

In this special episode, VP of Enablement & Learning Development at Persado, Devon McDermott, joins me as a co-host for the very first edition of This Month in Sales Enablement. We discuss the key insights from this month's interviews, equality in sales, salary benchmarks, and talent retention. Everything you need to know about Sales Enablement in one spot!Here are some of the resources referenced in this episode.Get to know our new co-host Devon McDermott (interview)Channel Partner Enablement With Devin Holub (interview)Sales Enablement Transformation at ACI Learning with Bill J. Mathias, Jr. (interview)B2B sales intelligence firm Apollo.io raises $110 mn in Sequoia-led round (business-standard.com)State of Sales Enablement 2022 Survey (Sales Enablement Pro)Women in ICT Awards (arnnet.com.au)Sales Enablement Salaries (Sales Enablement Collective)Twitter Bot - Pay Equity (Politico)Christina Brady’s Post (LinkedIn)Avoiding the great resignation in sales (customerthink.com)Managers Put in the Work to Retain Your Salespeople (Reddit)Sales Enablement resources brought to you by FFWD: https://www.goffwd.com/learn/Connect with Felix Krueger online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hfkrueger/Connect with Devon McDermott online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devonmcdermott/Where to find The State of Sales Enablement:Website - http://thestateofsalesenablement.com/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-state-of-sales-enablement-podcast/Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-state-of-sales-enablement/id1558307853Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4ceCJYJLuCbTNbRTriOFpe?si=avn_E9EGSNu3gmHfoqJ_6g

When it comes to strategic sales enablement skills, effective stakeholder management is a superpower that is key to alignment... and ultimately success. Our guest in this week's episode has been an extremely successful enabler throughout her career which is why I can't wait to share her tips for effective stakeholder management with you. Please welcome the VP, Enablement & Learning and Development at Persado and my co-host of This Month in Sales Enablement, Devon McDermott!These are some of the questions we're discussing:What is your definition of stakeholder management? Why does it matter so much in the sales enablement context?What does the stakeholder landscape typically look like on both ends of the scale? Who are the key stakeholders for enablement?Where would it make sense for a sales leader to focus most?What are some of the other channels you can utilise to maintain that alignment across the broader stakeholder group within the organisation?How would you say your approach to stakeholder management has evolved throughout your career? What were some of the key learnings along the way?Do you have any advice on how you can train your stakeholder management muscleWhat are key principles one should follow when you try to manage your stakeholder management successfully?How methodical are you with trying to create that understanding within your team?How do you communicate the great work that you are doing to ELT? What sort of metrics do you focus on?Here are some of the resources referenced in this episode.Connect with Devon McDermott online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devonmcdermott/Connect with Felix Krueger online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hfkrueger/Sales enablement resources brought to you by FFWD: https://www.goffwd.com/learnClaim your free Sales Enablement assessment valued at $1000: https://www.goffwd.com/podcastWhere to find The State of Sales Enablement:Website (subscriber exclusives can be found here) - http://thestateofsalesenablement.com/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-state-of-sales-enablement-podcast/Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-state-of-sales-enablement/id1558307853Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4ceCJYJLuCbTNbRTriOFpe?si=avn_E9EGSNu3gmHfoqJ_6g

This week's episode features a sales transformation story of a business that went from random acts of enablement to a well-oiled enablement machine. The enabler leading the charge will talk us through the journey of his high-growth organisation in all detail. This case study will provide a unique insight into the power of sales enablement and should be considered an inspiration for organisations that truly want to optimise revenue performance. Please welcome, ACI Learning's Global Head, Sales Enablement Services and Revenue Operations Bill J Mathias Jr.These are some of the questions we're discussing:Looking back at the time you started at ACI Learning, what did sales enablement look like?What are some of the key areas that you were considering as being the future of your sales enablement team?What are some of the challenges that you didn't expect to come across you had to deal with? How did you tackle those challenges along the way?How do you manage to maintain those relationships and create the alignment in such a fragmented stakeholder environment?As a training and professional development company, how do you utilise that skillset to train and enable your sales staff?What does your sales tech stack look like? Where are you looking to invest this year?Do you see that content plays a bigger role in communicating and engaging buyers throughout the sales process?What is next for your company? What does the future hold? Where do you want to take sales enablement in ACI Learning?Here are some of the resources referenced in this episode.Connect with Bill Mathias Jr. online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wmathiasjr/Connect with Felix Krueger online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hfkrueger/Sales enablement resources brought to you by FFWD: https://www.goffwd.com/learnClaim your free Sales Enablement assessment valued at $1000: https://www.goffwd.com/podcastWhere to find The State of Sales Enablement:Website (subscriber exclusives can be found here) - http://thestateofsalesenablement.com/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-state-of-sales-enablement-podcast/Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-state-of-sales-enablement/id1558307853Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4ceCJYJLuCbTNbRTriOFpe?si=avn_E9EGSNu3gmHfoqJ_6g

What's harder than enabling your own sales team? That's right - enabling multiple sales teams across a complex partner ecosystem.Our guest in this week's episode is an expert in channel sales enablement. She will talk us through the most common challenges she encounters, strategies to scale partner enablement effectively and how to go about launching a new partner enablement program.Please welcome Ring Central's channel sales enablement strategist Devin Holub!These are some of the questions we're discussing:How do you effectively enable people without having to sit in the office and having those relationships?How do you go about establishing mindshare? How do you build it?How do you manage that balance between sale and personalisation?Are there other areas that you focus on to support your partners?How do you go about assembling those tools and content for enabling partners?If you had a clean slate as a business leader, how would you establish a partner enablement program?Here are some of the resources referenced in this episode.Connect with Devin Holub online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinwholub/Connect with Felix Krueger online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hfkrueger/Sales enablement resources brought to you by FFWD: https://www.goffwd.com/learnClaim your free Sales Enablement assessment valued at $1000: https://www.goffwd.com/podcastWhere to find The State of Sales Enablement:Website (subscriber exclusives can be found here) - http://thestateofsalesenablement.com/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-state-of-sales-enablement-podcast/Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-state-of-sales-enablement/id1558307853Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4ceCJYJLuCbTNbRTriOFpe?si=avn_E9EGSNu3gmHfoqJ_6g