D.C. Chapter of Sales Enablement Society Builds Towards the Future

The meeting of the D.C. chapter of the Sales Enablement Society at Interfolio was an eye-opening experience. The room was full of over 25 sales enablement practitioners that were incredibly enthusiastic about the opportunity to share their experiences and learn new things from their peers.

This was my first time in attendance and I was blown away by everyone’s commitment to pushing the boundaries on what sales enablement can accomplish. People were warm and welcoming and were interested in not just sharing their own stories – but also actively listening to others’ experiences.

After some warm introductions and welcomes from Jen Burns we all quickly divided into groups. Our task was to create a visualization of just exactly what sales enablement is/accomplishes. Our building tools? Lego. That’s right Lego.

My team assembled the creation you see as the accompanying picture to this post. We wanted our sculpture (eat your heart out Michelangelo) to represent the way sales enablement really affects the entire organization. We tried to convey the way Sales leverages sales enablement to create greater pipeline, Marketing maintains control over everything, and the rest of the organization funnels into a central hub that ultimately helps close more deals.

After everyone finished assembling their masterpieces we went around the room and heard an explanation from each group. Hearing everyone’s thought process really drove home the fact that sales enablement can be thought of in many different ways. But the one constant theme that emerged was that everyone see sales enablement as a concept that affects every single part of an organization.

We then came back together from our groups to start a new discussion. We watched a video that explained the “Hero’s Journey” about the ways heroes are created and the challenges they face. This video kicked off a discussion about how there are no heroes when it comes to sales enablement. Some people can do a lot of heavy lifting but true sales enablement success requires a full team effort and complete buy-in.

As the discussion evolved we touched on the way the Sales Enablement Society has grown. The group is growing bigger by the day and is now a full-fledged organization. With that status comes the responsibility of properly onboarding new members. To do this we decided that there needs to be clear guidelines when joining the group. The idea that was floated out was to have new members go on the Sales Enablement Society portal and reach out to current member. They would then interview them to learn why they joined in the first place, why they continue to be active, and what they’re looking to get out of the society. By understanding one person’s Hero’s Journey, a deeper understanding of the power of this society is possible.

After a night full of stimulating conversation, pizza, and some beverages, one thing really stuck in my mind. Early in the night we discussed that at the outset of his presidency JFK pushed the country to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. That goal was accomplished in July of 1969. It took roughly 8 years to fulfill the president’s vision.

Sales enablement has now been around for 9 years but lacks a solid definition and centralized body. The contrast of these situations highlights that the work the Sales Enablement Society is doing is incredibly important. Finally sales enablement is moving forward with clear goals in mind and will soon be seen as an integral part of any organization.