GREAT POV from Gal Aga on Enablement 👇
"Last year, I spoke to the CRO of a $120M ARR SaaS who KILLED their Sales Enablement tech budget and moved back to Google Drive. Here's what went wrong (and why he called SE a "big lie"):
CONVO RECAP:
CRO: The entire concept of Sales Enablement is a big lie.
Me: Ok, you got my attention… elaborate?
CRO: Look at the tools and the ways people fill this role. I need my AEs to multithread, run better calls, build champions better, etc. But we’re paying [Top 3 enablement vendor] for sooo many bells and whistles, and what we end up with is basically a glorified Google Drive.
Me: What do you think went wrong?
CRO: These tools are solving for the wrong problem. Content Management isn't Enablement. It is a marketing/sales alignment problem, not a sales effectiveness one. Many of the Enablement folks are more L&D experts and marketers, so the enablement tech giants focus on them instead of the core problems in sales.
Me: So, what is Sales Enablement in your mind?
CRO: Solving for better deal execution, a better workflow with our buyers, and insights about deals (not just how content is being used). And sales experts should run this. Our team ends up downloading and emailing content to clients, ignoring the tech. I don’t need to pay $70,000 for what is essentially GDrive.
MY THOUGHTS:
Yes, this is a spicy take, but I think there's a lot of truth in it...
We’re not enabling Sales if we’re not improving their actual process with buyers.
We’re not enabling Sales if we’re not enabling Buyers.
Years of ‘Growth At All Costs’ made us lose sight of what matters.
Enablement should NOT be about:
- how well the enabler knows how to train people
- how many case studies and ebooks we build
- how well we organize information internally
- how fast our team can find this information
Enablement SHOULD be about:
- how well the enabler understands the seller & buyer’s world
- how many critical buying supporting assets we build
- how well reps deliver relevant, digestible information to buyers
- how effectively our team can help buyers make decisions
We could get away with it when sales were the source of knowledge.
When we lived in a ZIRP, hire fast and just get reps out there, era.
When buyers weren't a group of 11 confused stakeholders, each using ChatGPT to form their own opinions, navigating 100 vendors, facing CFOs in every deal.
But it’s a different world now…
69% of sales teams MISSED 2024.
And if you think sales is complex, you’re missing the point—Buying is.
Sales is hard because buyers are failing.
Because buyers are confused and stuck in indecision.
And sellers who don’t help get ghosted.
Sales Enablement should FIX THAT.
Content Management and L&D are not enough.
We should solve the actual buyer-facing process.
The enablement profession and sales deserve better."
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👋 P.S. Thoughts enablement leaders?
Make sure you give Gal a follow btw!
