Study: B2B Orgs Gain Performance Advantage Post-Sales Enablement Investment

There has been notable growth in sales enablement impact on revenue, according to new research from Highspot, a sales enablement platform, and Heinz Marketing.

More than 75% of companies using sales enablement tools have seen an increase in sales over the past year. Of those companies seeing growth, roughly 40% reported an increase greater than 25%.

The study, titled: 2017 State Of Sales Enablement Report, surveyed more than 550 marketing and sales professionals to learn more about how businesses are using sales enablement to drive sales performance. Performance growth can also be attributed to the growing investment in the practice. The study shows sales enablement budgets increased at 47% of companies in 2016, and more than 30% cited gains greater than 11% year over year. In addition, companies with a sales enablement strategy are more than twice as likely to experience a less complex sales process. However, a majority (65%) stated they are experiencing a more complex sales process.

Other key findings from the report include:

• The number of internal stakeholders involved with the sales process (87%) is the biggest factor to sales complexity, followed by complex internal processes to closing deals and longer sales cycles (80%).
• More than half (52%) of companies with sales enablement teams are more likely to have a sales process that is “tightly aligned” with the buyer’s journey, while 67% of those without a sales enablement team are more likely to have a “lightly aligned” sales process; and
• Businesses practicing sales enablement rate their performance significantly higher on key sales drivers, such as training/onboarding and access to content, compared to companies without sales enablement.

“2017 is the year that sales enablement becomes table stakes for successful B2B companies,” said Matt Heinz, Founder & President of Heinz Marketing, in a statement. “If you aren’t investing in sales enablement to make your marketing and sales teams more successful, you’re literally leaving money on the table—and putting it directly in your competitor’s pocket.”