We’ve written extensively about what sales enablement is: whether it’s a platform or a practice, how CPQ vendors play a role, understanding basic sales enablement tools, etc. And it seems the true definition of sales enablement remains elusive, as every company takes a different approach to executing, and/or every vendor has a different platform for supporting it.
Today, let’s look at sales enablement’s “personality” (for lack of a better term), the qualities ascribed to it (no matter who’s talking), and then reflect those back on what we do here at iQuoteXpress, configure price quote solutions (CPQ), and how the nature of sales enablement also provides the meaning of CPQ.
Sales enablement is iterative
Every definition of sales enablement, at one point or another, gets into “the steps,” or “the process.” That’s because it is a process above all else, a repeatable, scalable process — often, but not always, fueled by or embedded in business technology — that can be rolled out across the enterprise and optimized enterprise-wide at any given moment.
CPQ is iterative as well, with the iterative steps built right into its name: Configure (create the quote: choose a sales proposal template, insert the products); Price (attaching pricing); and Quote (put that completed quote in front of a customer).
Whether you’re using iteration to define CPQ or sales enablement, the point of iteration is predictability and repeatability. An iterative process is easier to analyze and therefore easier to share and improve upon. (Iteration simply for the sake of iteration? That’s actually called irritation.)
Sales enablement is strategic
Strategy is all about the Big Picture: where a business will be in 5 years rather than the end of the quarter. This isn’t to say that the end of the quarter doesn’t matter. It’s repurposing how a business should view quarterly numbers — not as a be-all-and-end-all, but as stepping stones toward long-term growth.
A sales enablement process must be developed with that long-term strategy in mind. E.g., is your business getting a new CRM system next year? It may make sense to create sales enablement processes to suit that system rather than your current one.
Your CPQ serves a strategic purpose, too. Yes, driving more revenue, closing more deals (obviously). However, consider something as simple as the sales proposal templates you’re using therein. There’s an opportunity in every template to serve a higher strategy: consistent brand messaging, for example, ensuring you’re using this real estate to build a relationship, and not simply close a deal. Each sale you make should be setting up the next sale, and what you put in your proposal can help seed that ground.
Sales enablement is a discipline
Discipline is a loaded word: people think punishment, but it’s also 1) a branch of knowledge and 2) a focus on following a code or process. For our purposes — the meaning of CPQ and the meaning of sales enablement — we’ll stick with the last part: following a code.
Enacting a sales enablement process or platform matters little if it’s not followed to the letter. Typically, this means more than simply directing sales reps to embrace the new way of doing things, “or else!” It means training, it means change management programs, and it means reporting.
In this case, the definition of CPQ (as a discipline) exactly mirrors that of sales enablement. Reps must be trained in the software, managed as they change old use of it, and reports can and will be created to ensure its efficacy and complete adoption by all reps. The difference is that, while sales enablement can be a philosophy or a paper-based process, CPQ is always a technological platform with the “code to follow” and reporting tools built-in. It’s a preconfigured discipline for improving sales conversions.
Want to learn more about how CPQ solutions can further sales enablement in your organization? Contact us for a demonstration.
