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What does a sales enablement manager do?
A sales enablement manager helps sales reps boost productivity and improves their workflows to generate more revenue. Some organizations may have a full sales enablement team.
Organizations are continuously adjusting their sales and go-to-market strategies to maintain a competitive edge and increase revenue. However, changes in sales strategies can be daunting.
Transforming a sales strategy can require changes in target clients, products, services and sales team members. To assist in this process, sales enablement managers play a key role that organizations should consider, as they can spearhead the change and then manage and analyze results.
What is a sales enablement manager?
Sales enablement managers can help update and readjust sales strategies. They oversee, manage and support the sales team throughout these changes. A sales enablement manager must have the people, management and operational skills to deliver results.
Salaries for this role can vary, depending on the size of the organization and sales objectives. However, the typical annual salary range is from $70,000 to $140,000, and some cases may include commission.
What does a sales enablement team do?
Organizations that have 15 or more sales representatives may require more than one sales enablement manager and need an entire sales enablement team. That team would have the following responsibilities:
- Create content. To support sales representatives, the sales enablement team must ensure reps have all the necessary content for the sales process. This includes case studies, presentations, instructions and other relevant material for the customer.
- Develop standardized sales processes. The sales enablement team can create or optimize existing standard operating procedures to ensure all sales reps have a standardized approach. This can create consistency across the department for internal systems and customer interactions.
- Create training and onboarding activities. With standardized processes, sales enablement teams can better train sales reps, ensure all training programs include this information and instruct reps on how to use relevant tools.
- Review sales reps' performance. To ensure changes in the sales strategy create the desired outcome, sales enablement teams should analyze reps' overall performance and identify points where the group may need to adjust. This requires sales enablement teams to have adequate KPIs and sales data.
- Communicate the state of the market. Sales reps may not have adequate resources or time to perform market analysis, so sales enablement teams can research the competition and gain insights into customers' needs. They can educate sales reps with findings and tactics to gain a competitive advantage and better understand their customers.
5 traits of a sales enablement manager
A sales enablement manager should lead the sales enablement team and increase revenue and sales. People in this role should possess the following traits:
- Sales experience. A successful sales enablement manager must have experience in selling products or services. This experience ensures managers can speak to their teams from experience and understand challenges sales reps may face.
- Leadership and management experience. Being a manager goes beyond assigning tasks and holding people accountable. A sales enablement manager should lead, mentor and motivate the team. To do so, they need strong communication and leadership skills to be clear and effective when sharing their vision.
- Problem-solving. For most businesses, increasing sales is a top priority. When an organization faces slowing sales, a sales enablement manager can find solutions to change that. Problem-solving skills can also be applied to other areas, such as staffing or customer issues.
- Analytical skills. Sales enablement managers can use analytical skills to evaluate sales data and market trends. If they can identify ways to make decisions based on data, they can be more effective in making positive change.
- Knowledgeable in sales automation tools. Sales enablement managers should understand the value that different sales tools bring to the table. Whether a CRM tool, AI or other software, the manager should understand how the right tools can support the team.
Overall, a sales enablement manager should bridge the gap between sales reps and other departments within the organization. This role focuses on supporting the changes needed to gain more sales and enhance the team's overall effectiveness.
