This One Thing Could Be Sabotaging Your Sales Enablement Program

Communication is a Critical Part of Your Sales Enablement Program

A communications plan is an important component of any sales enablement program. If you have a well-thought out and executed strategy, your reps will be ready to pitch the key points with buyers effectively. 

It’s important to strike a balance and develop a communication plan that keeps your sales team well informed, without overwhelming them. You want the information they receive from you to be digestible so their attention is focused on what matters most: closing deals! Consider developing informational emails with key company updates about once per week or putting together an email newsletter for every two weeks. 

What Makes a Great Communications Plan

1.) Communication Inputs

Communication inputs are teams that frequently have information to communicate to the field. Currently, these groups may be communicating on an ad hoc basis when they have something they need to share with the team. This isn't always efficient or effective for a few reasons:

• not all of them will know how best to reach every member and some people who rely solely on email might miss messages hidden in their inboxes never knowing what was withheld from them.
• Business hours could also limit communication because many times emails go unanswered until after work causing missed opportunities during normal working hours.
• To solve these issues, designate one person as your point person so everyone knows exactly where and how we can get updates directly without passing through other channels first, which slows down efficiency.

2.) Communication Audiences

You’ll also want to make a list of the audiences your team communicates with. This will be an inventory of all teams and roles, as well as who in those groups may need updates on company news or other messages from you (e.g., marketing).

3.) Communication Channels

To make sure all your audiences are aware of new products and developments, you'll want to communicate with them in a number of different ways.

• Emailing newsletters offers an easy way for teams across the company to stay up-to-date on happenings.
• Alerts from sales enablement software provides companies with a centralized hub where managers can see what's happening at every level (this is especially helpful when it comes time for quarterly or annual reporting);
• Text messages allow those who may not be near their computers often enough a chance to access interesting information without having to constantly check email. Make sure that no matter which channels they prefer, everyone gets timely updates delivered right into their inboxes!

4.) Communication Cadence

Next, you need to determine how often you want your team members to stay in the loop on important information. 

• Monthly: Email newsletter to the entire field compiling all the latest information from all contributing teams.
• Biweekly: Send an email tailored specifically for sales managers, who are then able to share with their team as needed.
• As needed: communicate with your team to let them know when new and updated information is available.

5.) Measurement 

It’s important to measure the effectiveness of your communications on an ongoing basis. That way, you can see what elements of your communications plan are working — and make changes to the components that aren’t.

Email marketing software allows you to see who in the field is opening and reading your communications. You can then use this information to improve the effectiveness of future communications.

Develop an Effective Sales Enablement Program 

For most organizations, the communications plan is an important step to take in order for sales enablement programs to be the most effective. It requires a lot of hard work and careful planning but it will help you achieve your goals more quickly than if you had not taken such steps. 

With an effective communications plan, you can ensure your sales team is always armed with the right information to generate leads and close deals. The following components will help you create a strategy that helps your business grow.

• Which communication channels do you use for lead generation or customer retention? (videos, slide decks, emails, etc...)
• How are your audiences segmented in order to tailor content effectively?
• When are messages sent out (e.g., daily, weekly)
• How often during those periods should they be delivered – e.g., every hour, twice per day)?
• Have you evaluated whether there’s room to improve on current measurement metrics?

Contact Us Today

If you want professional guidance, feel free to contact us anytime! We are happy to answer any questions or provide more information about our consultation services in order to give your team what they need for success at every stage of their selling process.

Why Your Business Needs a Communications Plan

One of the most overlooked parts of any successful sales enablement program is the communications plan. Without one, you're not going to get very far in your goal for increased revenue and customer satisfaction. To create an effective strategy for communication, it is important to decide what channels are the most appropriate for this kind of information delivery. (i.e., email, social media) Then, creating an outline with specific goals based on desired outcomes such as increasing website traffic or providing more training videos.