Glossary
Sales Enablement as a Service (SEaaS)
Sales Enablement as a Service (SEaaS) is an umbrella term that encompasses all the services that a company’s sales team needs to provide an excellent impression and experience for the consumer. Many groups within the organization provide these aids, which include marketing, human resources, learning and development, and other aspects.
Successful companies often choose a third-party service to assist in delivering much-needed resources to the sales team. That’s why it’s so important to consider investing in a sales enablement-as-a-service solution.
Why Is Sales Enablement Necessary?
When a business has a well-established sales enablement initiative, the sales and marketing teams have all the knowledge and tools they need to generate revenue while still remaining in line with the organization’s values and goals. They will have the power to influence the customer experience in a positive way.
Multiple teams must function altogether for effective sales enablement. They must generate all the resources necessary for sales, including training content, support for landing deals, knowledge of the tools needed, and the use of technology.
A Miller Heiman Group research study shows us that having a sales enablement plan in place raises your business’s chance of success by 10.2%.
Why the “as a Service” Model?
Because it’s such a complicated concept to implement effectively, selling sales enablement-as-a-service is a popular option for many companies. In these arrangements, the client business pays a regular (usually monthly) fee for a third-party to assist in managing sales enablement policies, protocols, and costs.
The result is a flexible solution that can integrate well with your organization’s current technology and operations.
Elements of an Impactful Sales Enablement Service
Since enablement involves the work of several departments, SEaaS providers usually package their services into a few categories.
- Content. Conducting and analyzing case studies helps the sales team focus on what it can do to boost customer engagement and impressions.
- Training. Teaching sales representatives about the company’s products and services goes a long way to ensuring that they can pass on that knowledge to the clients.
- Dealing. Both strategy and competitive intelligence go into making sure the sales team can stay in close touch with the customers’ needs and preferences.
- Technology. Digital tools are a necessity for the sales team to progress.
Any type of sales enablement training you are considering should include the above touchpoints.
Taking Steps Toward Sales Enablement
SEaaS companies package recurring services like the ones listed below. While you could complete some steps with internal teams, external assistance is often beneficial to accomplishing sales enablement efficiently.
Initial Setup
First, sales enablement calls for analyzing the current sales processes, analyzing what parts of the organization are underperforming or doing well, and providing solutions for weaker areas.
Doing so involves understanding the target audience, setting up routine workflows, and finding ways to track success and key performance indicators for the sales team.
Work done in this stage, which can last a few months, becomes the foundation for future sales initiatives.
Maintenance
Sales enablement is not a “set it and forget it” process. Ongoing maintenance and optimization is a necessary component of SEaaS. In this stage, the company makes recurring efforts every month to improve on its coaching, competitive intelligence, and sales operations.
Campaigning
While this final stage of sales enablement occurs less often (generally every other month), it’s still vital for using insights from earlier stages to improve the sales process.
Campaigning includes responding to customer complaints, comments, and questions, as well as analyzing progress and measuring success. Different teams may also work on cross-selling.
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