Software providers sometime lacking in terms of sales enablement activities especially when providing enablement materials to license as well as services/consulting sales.
Both groups are relevant and important to the overall success of the companies in terms of revenue generation as well as customer retention and satisfaction. Within SAP we have build up a group of sales enablement specialists that is managing license as well as services enablement activities and have set this as their key priority. Following are some key observations as well as success factors which made this team successful:
- Know your target group: Being within sales enablement for the last three years, one of my key observations was that you need to know your target group. What are typical pain points when selling to the customer? What do sales expect in terms of sales enablement materials? What content do they need? Those are just a couple of key questions I personally faced during my job. Also, and this seems to be most important, you have to have a profound knowledge about typical sales processes and cycles.
- Be relevant: In my position it is always key to have a deep understanding, not only on specific sales processes, but also on the product or services. Having a good understanding about your portfolio, means to be relevant to sales as well as being a trusted advisor when it comes to creating relevant sales enablement materials. In order to gain this knowledge, regular trainings, following social media discussions are relevant to your daily job.
- Expand your network: Connecting with sales is key to your success. Keep in touch and connect with colleagues from the field. Learn more about their challenges, integrating them into your materials and – if possible – attend customer meeting to have a “live” feeling on what is happening in the market.
- Services is not the same as license: In terms of customer interaction, positioning, license sales cannot be compared to services/consulting sales. Having a holistic view in mind, makes your relevant to your internal sales colleagues. Build up your knowledge around your service and software portfolio.
