Technology rules everything around us (TREAU), and that’s no different for salespeople. But there are two levels of needing to know technology for salespeople, which is why technical enablement is essential.
If you’re a salesperson selling a technical solution, then technical sales enablement refers to all the processes of enabling selling that technical solution. Then there is technical sales enablement, which refers to enabling all salespeople with company technology.
Enabling them with company technology could be the tech that IT provides, the training to use the technology, and any other technical tools to do their sales work, whether they’re selling toothbrushes or complex technical solutions.
Technology runs everything including an effective team sales process.
For this post, I’ll focus on technical sales enablement, specifically on training salespeople to use company technology to do their jobs better. That’s because it doesn’t matter if you’re selling toothbrushes or computer systems; every salesperson has to use company technology effectively to work together and be successful at selling as a team.
In today’s competitive marketplace, sales teams must work together, document their communications in their CRM, and follow other procedures properly for using company tech to maximize the benefit of everyone.
Knowing how to use the company technology correctly will empower salespeople to excel. In this blog post, we’ll dive into training and equipping sales teams with the technical knowledge to collaborate effectively, align with organizational goals, and drive revenue.
Get ready to discover how technical sales enablement, specifically training employees on company technology, can revolutionize your sales strategy and propel your team to new heights of success no matter what they sell.
The Role of Technology Training in Sales Enablement
Technology is essential for sales enablement, providing sales teams with the tools and resources to engage with customers effectively and close deals. But it’s not just about providing the tools and software. They also have to be trained on the tools and software.
Tools and software without training are useless. But it’s not enough to simply train how to use the software (click here, click here, etc.). It’s necessary to train how to use the software in the context of how to work with clients and sell better.
Effective selling increasingly relies on technology to streamline sales processes and enhance performance. One of the critical aspects of technical sales enablement is using customer relationship management (CRM) systems. These platforms allow salespeople to track customer interactions, manage leads, and gain valuable insights into customer preferences and behaviors.
Training salespeople on technology allows them to more effectively do their jobs and help the organization thrive.
Unfortunately, throwing salespeople into a CRM is a recipe for disaster. With no proper training or process that everyone uses, the CRM can become a hindrance rather than a help. When the company initiates the best process and trains to use the technology with that process, the sales teams can better work together to understand their customers’ needs and tailor their approach accordingly.
Technology facilitates collaboration within sales teams by providing communication tools such as video conferencing platforms and project management software as long as everyone is trained to use it. These tools enable remote collaboration, allowing team members to share knowledge, strategize, and stay connected regardless of their physical location.
Sometimes, it just comes down to finding the best practice that increases sales and then training everyone to use that strategy. I heard a story where the company’s enterprise social network was used to help field reps for a cereal company share and collaborate on better ways to utilize their store space to maximize sales in creative ways.
How cool is that?
The Definition and Importance of Technical Sales Enablement
Technical sales enablement equips sales teams with the necessary technical knowledge and resources to sell effectively. It becomes a bit hazier whether you’re talking about equipping them with the skills to use the technology they have in any sales context or the knowledge of the technology they’re selling in a technical sales context.
That’s why we’re breaking it down a bit further into training salespeople to use company technology in the context of technical sales enablement.
The importance of training in technical sales enablement cannot be overstated, similar to how the importance of training for sales enablement, in general, can’t be underestimated. In today’s highly competitive and highly technical landscape, customers expect clear and consistent communication no matter how many salespeople they talk to.
Technical sales enablement is all the steps of enabling salespeople to do their job better with the knowledge as well as skills in company technology.
Technical sales enablement is critical because salespeople must use technology consistently to provide consistent information and help to customers. The expectations are high therefore, the need for consistent training is also high.
By investing in technical sales enablement programs, organizations can ensure that their sales teams have the expertise to serve customer pain points consistently. It also allows salespeople to maximize their sales as a team rather than individually.
That means technical sales enablement enhances the sales team’s alignment with organizational goals. This alignment helps drive revenue growth and fosters a culture of collaboration between sales and other departments within the organization.
The Benefits of Technical Sales Enablement
Implementing technical sales enablement strategies can yield numerous benefits for both sales teams and organizations.
Time for us to explore some of the benefits:
Increased Sales Effectiveness: By providing salespeople with comprehensive training in the technology they need to use for their jobs, training in technical sales enablement enables them to address customer concerns more effectively. This leads to increased customer satisfaction and higher conversion rates.
Improved Customer Engagement: When sales teams work together using company technology how they should, they can engage in consistent conversations with customers no matter what salesperson helps the customer. This will build customer trust because your team is seen as working together rather than fighting each other.
Enhanced Sales Efficiency: Technical sales enablement equips salespeople with the tools and resources to streamline their workflows. This includes training for and access to CRM systems, automation tools, and digital content libraries that help them work more efficiently. It’s nice to know what to do!
Better Sales Team Collaboration: When people know what to do and are expected to do it, they’re more likely to do it! By fostering collaboration through technology, technical sales enablement enables every salesperson to contribute to the team equally and effectively.
Critical Components of a Successful Technical Sales Enablement Strategy
A successful technical sales enablement strategy encompasses several vital components that work together to empower sales teams. The organization must provide the right technology and systems to enhance sales efforts. But there also must be a healthy dose of training. But there’s a little more to each of these.
- Technology: You can’t have technical sales enablement without technology. That is, as long as the correct technology is identified and how it should be used to maximize the sales process. This is all something that can’t be built within the silos of IT; it must be in collaboration with the business and high performers.
- Training Programs: Providing comprehensive training programs that cover how to use the technology correctly in the flow of work is essential. The key is that the training of the technology must be as much in line with the work as the technology itself. That means realistic scenario-based learning and the how and why of everything. If there’s no reason, then nobody will do it unless it’s easier.
- Accessible Knowledge Base: When salespeople need information, they need it now. And it should be extremely easy to find. Having one central repository rather than information scattered in different systems and folders will make it easier for sales to do their job.
- Collaboration Tools: Implementing collaboration tools such as project management software and communication platforms facilitates seamless communication and knowledge sharing among team members. This encourages collaboration and helps overcome geographical barriers. It also makes for a more seamless experience for customers.
- Continuous Learning Opportunities: Encouraging a culture of continuous learning is vital for ongoing success in technical sales enablement. This can be achieved through regular training sessions, webinars, or even incentivizing employees to pursue certifications or attend industry conferences.
It takes a lot to make technical sales enablement work successfully. These key components will help salespeople know what to do and how to do it right.
Implementing Technical Sales Enablement in Your Organization
With the right key components of technical sales enablement effectively in place, you’re ready to implement it in your organization. These steps will help you do that and take full advantage of technical sales enablement and the technical training that helps it succeed.
- Assess Current Sales Processes: Evaluating your sales processes and looking at top performers will help you identify areas of improvement and how technology and technology training can make a significant impact. Look for gaps in how people are working vs. how they could work more effectively.
- Develop a Training Plan: Design a comprehensive training plan that helps employees come up to speed on the best process for using the technology to maximize sales effectiveness. Knowing your current sales process vs where it should be will help you understand the best training plan.
- Invest in Technology: Identify technology solutions that align with your organization’s needs and budget. CRM systems, content management platforms, and collaboration tools are examples of technologies that can enhance technical sales enablement. Just remember you can’t forget to help employees come up to speed on new technology and the processes for them.
- Measure and Evaluate: Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the impact of your technical sales enablement efforts. Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of your strategy and make adjustments as needed.
Working with a good instructional design consultant can help put your needs and goals into perspective when and if training is the answer. Sometimes, training isn’t the answer, so an instructional design consultant should know and help guide you appropriately.
Measuring the impacts of technical sales enablement is essential for your organization, so I should dedicate a section to it. So, onwards to that section.
Measuring the Impact of Training for Technical Sales Enablement
Just like most training, there should be a measurement of impact when possible. The only time it’s challenging to get a good measure is when a system is new or you’re onboarding new staff. In the case of a new system, measurements are possible by comparing performance data before the transition to data after, keeping in mind that there’s a ramp-up period.
Measuring the impact of technical sales enablement training is crucial to determine its effectiveness and make data-driven decisions. These are some metrics you can use to assess the impact of your training for technical sales enablement:
- Compare: If there were many errors in data and documentation, which sparked the need for technical training, then comparing the results to the issues before is helpful. That will help tell you if the training was effective.
- Conversion Rates: Measure how many leads successfully convert into customers after implementing technical sales enablement training. This metric indicates the effectiveness of your sales team in closing deals when they’re using technology effectively. While this can’t be isolated from other methods, it can be used to guide figuring out how well things improved.
- Customer Satisfaction: Conduct customer surveys or gather feedback to gauge customer satisfaction levels before and after implementing technical sales enablement training initiatives. This will help you understand if your efforts are positively impacting customer experiences.
- Sales Team Performance: Track individual and team-level performance metrics such as quota attainment, revenue generated, and average deal size. Compare these metrics before and after implementing technical sales enablement training to assess improvements.
A compilation of several measurements will tell a story you can piece together and understand how well training worked. Every piece of the puzzle tells a valuable piece of the story.
Wrap Up
Training is essential for employee development of internal company skills, but it’s also crucial for technical sales enablement. Unless employees know how to use the technology and the company-specific processes with that technology, salespeople and the company will have limited success.
A good training strategy for the technology salespeople use empowers salespeople to do their best selling and represent your company well. Organizations can enhance their sales effectiveness, improve customer engagement, streamline workflows, foster collaboration, and drive revenue growth by equipping them with the necessary knowledge, resources, and tools.
Most modern organizations rely on an effective sales force and that relies on technology and good training on that technology.
To unlock the power of technical sales enablement in your organization, invest in comprehensive training programs, leverage technology solutions and documented processes that align with your needs, foster a culture of continuous learning, and regularly measure the impact of your efforts through relevant metrics.
When companies embrace technology and train employees to maximize its effectiveness, it will revolutionize your sales strategy and propel your team toward new heights of success. We specialize in getting your employees up to speed with the technology and the processes they need to do their jobs. That means we can help your salespeople do their best work ever.
Schedule a free consultation to discuss your challenges or projects so we can help you improve the use of technology in your organization.