Video is at the top of the list in the quest tofind the magic bullet that can help the middle 60 percent of salespeoplereplicate the results of the top 20 percent.
The availability of engaging and valuable salestraining content has long been a priority investment for most companies,whether they rely on traditional classroom training or provide access to moredynamic learning methods and tools. In recent years, sales enablement hasbecome a critical piece of the enterprise sales puzzle, yet there is nostandard blueprint for achieving a successful results-based sales-enablementprogram. Time and real-world experience, however, are providing a clearerpicture of what the modern sales force requires in order to be most effectiveand efficient.
Defining sales enablement
Sales enablement, simply put, is a function thathelps sales teams to be more productive. The relatively new role of the salesenablement professional is a hybrid of sales and marketing that allows a salesenablement rep (or team) to better relate to the experiences of thesalespeople, thereby making it easier for the rep to provide the sales teamwith relevant, engaging content for each stage of the sales process. Eachorganization may approach the role differently, but at its core it’s designedto provide salespeople with the tools required to increase effectiveness andclose more leads as a result.
While there is no standardized method forproviding sales enablement or delivering content to sales teams, experience hasshown that mobile access to high-impact content is essential and thatcollaboration, feedback, and real-time coaching are equally as important to theprocess as product training and classroom learning. Salespeople need mobility,so sales enablement must reach them on devices that are with them most often, suchas tablets and smartphones. You need to follow up in-person training withmaterials to help reinforce learning; and you measure progress not only by whatcontent learners are viewing, but by how they are implementing it. This meansthat sales enablement not only needs to create strategies and content, but alsomonitor their effectiveness by tracking the sales team’s success.
Video: the new document for sales
Video is just one of several content forms youcan apply to the eLearning environment at the enterprise level. However, it isby far the most effective means for training and enabling the salesprofessional—whose unique, high-pressure, and deadline-sensitive role requiresjust-in-time access to knowledge, content, and best practices—as well as providinglearning reinforcement through ongoing practice, coaching, and feedback.
As Jim Lundy of Aragon Research recently stated:“When we say video is the new document for sales, we say this because video canmake the difference in getting a lead to convert or a prospect to act.”
Video reaches professionals on the devices thatthey use in the field (tablets and smartphones) at the right time and in theright place. Just-in-time video learning not only pushes information tolearners, but also makes it easy for them to seek the content, best practices,and field insights they need when they’re most motivated to learn—typically atdeal time. This type of learning drives knowledge absorption and retention moreeffectively than traditional learning, and it enables professionals to accesscontent at the times that they choose—when they are in the best environment andmindset to learn.
Far more than the traditional, static sales meeting,mobile video enables real-time collaboration across sales teams and allows teammembers to provide guidelines for using sales assets, share best practices,build new sales assets, and develop product training. Video is also the mosteffective platform for providing coaching and feedback, including pitchrehearsals and role-play assignments with managers and peers, along withinteractive tools to enhance productivity. Virtually any topic or exercise thatcan be covered in an in-person sales meeting can be shared via video, andwithout the typical meeting tangents, distractions, and expenses.
Taking the plunge to use more video
In his Aragon Research blog post referenced above,Lundy observes, “The challenge for sales professionals is that there is a gapin UX [user experience] when it comes to leveraging video: Often there isn’tthat much video content that can be used, and the content that is availablecannot be tailored.”
But those gaps are quickly being filled in byintuitive platforms that make it possible for sales professionals to create andshare compelling videos that positively impact both sales training and salesenablement efforts.
As an example, one of my company’s clients, aglobal technology-enabled staffing and recruiting service, rolled out the Allegoplatform to 150 sales and service professionals in an effort to share bestpractices and collaborate more effectively in a geographically distributedenvironment. Before this, sales reps had limited access to see “what ‘good’looks like” when it came to corporate messaging or product sales presentations.Those best practices are now captured in short videos and shared across theteam.
Each week, salespeople share their insights by creatingand sharing one- to two-minute videos with titles including “What worked for methis week” and “Top challenges this week.” The sales reps watch videos of topperformers on their team delivering key sales messages and demonstrating asolid pitch. They can reference those videos on demand for their owndevelopment anytime, anywhere, applying the videos for their own benefit inclient situations that have similar challenges.
Further leveraging video to support transfer oflearning from training to the sales environment, the same client dedicated achannel in Allego for new hires to revisit and reinforce content that had beendelivered during an onboarding boot camp. Retention of this foundationalknowledge increased significantly as new team members, now in the field, builttheir sales skills with deliberate practice of the sales messaging. Reps couldalso request and receive in-video feedback and coaching from managers andtrusted peers, reducing the need for in-person training at HQ or in the field.
Critical to the success of any sales-learningplatform implementation is ongoing and active participation by the sales enablementprofessional. In this particular customer example, the VP of sales enablement createsclear assignments and each sales manager creates and distributes weekly videosto his or her team via Allego, communicating the top three things each repneeds to focus on for the week. While many users were initially camera-shy, thebenefit of being able to collaborate globally and get immediate access to bestpractices and key objection handling, and also review success stories orchallenges, has resulted in a highly engaged team across the organization.
This is only one example of an organization’suse of just-in-time video learning to drive sales productivity. Over time,expect to see video as the foundation for many sales enablement efforts, simplifyingthe collection, curation, and sharing of valuable content from the field.
