Sales enablement is essential for the success of your team. It empowers sales reps with the knowledge, tools, and resources needed to build customer relationships and close deals.
But how can you be sure that your sales enablement program is working to help the sales team meet targets and drive overall business growth?
In this post, we'll explore the importance of measuring sales enablement success, show you how to do it, and even how to improve every KPI.
What Are KPIs for Sales Enablement?
Measuring sales enablement is a crucial aspect of determining the success of your sales enablement program. By identifying the right KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), you can track the progress and impact of your efforts and make data-driven decisions to improve your results. Here are some of the things you might track to measure the impact of sales enablement:
1. Length of the Sales Cycle:
The length of the sales cycle is the time it takes to move a prospect from initial contact to a closed deal. It includes all the touchpoints, activities, and interactions between the salesperson and the prospect.
Measuring the sales cycle length helps organizations understand the time it takes to close a deal and identify any bottlenecks or inefficiencies in the process. By shortening this time, companies close deals faster and increase revenue.
Using Kompyte’s 2-way Salesforce integration or a csv upload from any CRM, you can see the length of your sales cycle, and even see how that changes bases on whether or not reps are using sales Battlecards.
See your sales cycle progress as well as the impact of using sales Battlecards (or not).
How to shorten sales cycles:
- Identify qualified leads - focus on leads that have a higher chance of becoming a customer. This could involve reviewing your lead scoring, and refining advertising campaigns.
- Clear up bottlenecks - find out where deals commonly get stuck. Is it before the call, after the first demo, in negotiations?
- Personalize your approach - customize your sales approach to each customer with personalized communication.
- Provide value from the beginning - building trust and providing value with a free trial or consultation or valuable content.
2. Deal Size
Deal size refers to the total value of a sale. It can be measured in several ways, such as the dollar value of a single deal, the average deal size, or the total value of all deals closed.
Measuring deal size is important for understanding the potential for growth and revenue generation. This metric can also indicate the effectiveness of cross-selling and upselling strategies.
How to increase deal size:
- Upsell and cross-sell - offering bundles or volume discounts is a great way to increase deal size.
- Offer additional services and products - providing services such as installation, training, or ongoing support can be a one-time increase or an ongoing additional revenue stream.
- Share success stories - case studies can help increase the perceived value of your product or service.
- Offer flexible financing or payment plans - you may also be able to offer a custom solution that better meets the needs of the customer at a higher price.
3. Productivity
Do you have goals for calls made, meetings scheduled, or any of the other tasks that come before a call?
Measuring productivity can reveal where processes (such as sales call preparation) need to be made more efficient or where new technology could be useful and can usually be done inside your CRM.
How to increase sales productivity:
- Make call prep faster - providing sales Battlecards or playbooks can help your sales reps get ready for a successful call quickly.
- Limit meetings - if it could have been an email or a Slack message, it should have been. Consider not only the time spent during meetings but also the time to prepare and the “switching” cost for all involved.
- Have a weekly plan and goals - when everyone knows what is expected of them and what is most important to accomplish this week, they don’t waste time wondering what to do next.
4. Win/loss Rate
The win/loss rate is the ratio of the number of deals won to the number of deals lost. It provides insight into the competitiveness of the sales team and helps organizations understand their strengths and weaknesses compared to their competition.
By tracking the win/loss rate, companies can identify areas for improvement and make adjustments to their sales strategy.
Win/loss rate at the level of each competitor can reveal where you need to improve your Battlecards, or where you may need to consider changes to the product roadmap.
How to increase win rate:
- Focus on qualified leads - spend your time on leads that have a higher chance of becoming a customer. If you find you’re spending time on leads that are never going to purchase, you may want to review your lead scoring rules and refinine your advertising campaigns.
- Build relationships and understand customer needs - asking open-ended questions, actively listening, and then responding to their unique needs.
- Be an expert at overcoming objections - your sales Battlecards should address common objections and give simple ways to overcome each one.
- Be clear about your value proposition - always highlighting the unique benefits and how it solves your prospect’s problems. When your team finds something that works, make sure everyone is using it. Make sure this is on your Battlecards.
- Differentiate - understanding your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses and how to subtly position your company as the better choice is key. Battlecards should highlight this information, too.
5. Quota Attainment/Overall Sales Revenue
Quota attainment measures the sales team's ability to meet their sales goals and objectives. It is typically expressed as a percentage of the total quota achieved.
Measuring quota attainment helps organizations understand how well their sales team is performing and identify areas for improvement. It can also track individual sales rep performance and adjust their sales goals and objectives. This basic but crucial number is best accessed in your CRM.
How to increase overall sales revenue:
- Addressing all the other KPIs in this post will contribute to quotas reached (or exceeded!) and increased sales revenue.
- Individualized attention to each sales representative can go a long way to increasing revenue. Find out who is struggling, where, and step in early to help them succeed.
6. Marketing Collateral Performance
Marketing collateral performance refers to the impact of marketing materials, such as guides, articles, scripts, infographics, and white papers, on new contacts, MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads), and SQLs (Sales Qualified Leads).
Measuring the performance of marketing collaterals helps organizations understand which materials are most effective in attracting new prospects and driving sales. Depending on what is available to you, you might be able to track this using UTM parameters and Google Analytics or with something like Tableau.
How to improve the performance of marketing collateral:
- Good communication - work with the marketing team to let them know what you need, what prospects are asking, which leads are the most qualified, etc.
- Improve your CTAs - calls to action that motivate are key to generating contacts and leads with marketing materials.
- Review your email nurturing sequences - if you are sending email sequences to people downloading marketing content, are they set up in such a way to educate and help as well as encouraging a demo or sales call?
7. Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
The employee net promoter score can be used to measure the sales team's overall satisfaction with their work and the company.
It provides insight into the team's morale and motivation and helps organizations understand what changes they can make to improve the work environment. This metric can track the impact of changes made to the sales enablement program. You can use a survey provider like Lattice or set up your own Google form.
How to improve your eNPS:
- Good communication - ask your sales reps what they need to better do their jobs and do your best to provide it.
- Collaborate - goal setting and quotas should be a team effort. When employees help set the goals, they have buy-in and added incentive to reach them.
- Improve overall working conditions - do your reps value flexibility, the ability to work from home, more focus time? Find out and do what you can to accommodate their preferences.
8. Onboarding Time
Onboarding time refers to the time it takes for a new sales rep to become fully productive.
Measuring onboarding time is important for understanding the efficiency of the onboarding process and identifying areas for improvement. By reducing the time it takes to onboard new reps, companies help them start selling sooner.
This number is a little harder to measure and track with software, but make sure you are tracking when a rep started, when they made their first sale, and when their sales numbers indicate they are fully trained.
How to improve your onboarding time:
- Have a process - as basic as it sounds. What should they know and what progress should a rep have made at a week in, a month, a quarter? Set expectations and then arrange the training and support that will get them there on time.
- Focus on the most critical skills - this could be tailored to each person’s needs and could include prospecting, objection handling, and closing techniques.
- Consider an onboarding buddy or mentor - having a peer you can approach without fear that they’re “bothering” someone can shorten onboarding time and help new team members gain confidence quickly. Give these “buddies” an incentive to provide support, since it will require a commitment to spending time they’d otherwise spend on selling.
- Use technology - online learning can speed up the process, but you can also allow new salespeople to observe successful reps by watching and listening to sales calls.
9. Sales Process Adherence
Sales process adherence is a measure of the consistency of the sales process. It helps organizations understand how well their sales team is following the established sales process and identify areas for improvement.
By tracking sales process adherence, companies can ensure that their sales team follows best practices and maximizes their chances of closing deals.
How to increase sales process adherence:
- Communicate your expectations - clearly define your processes and explain why they’re in place. Focus on the ways they will help your team succeed.
- Provide training and support - every sales representative should have the skills to follow your processes. If you notice someone isn’t complying, assume that they want to and just need more support.
- Make your sales content useful - Battlecards should be easy to follow and reference on a call.
- Lead by example - no one is above the process. When your sales leaders and most-successful reps model the processes and demonstrate their effectiveness, others will follow suit.
- Reward cooperation - celebrate the success of salespeople who follow processes, highlighting how those contributed. Make sure the recognition and incentives are meaningful. You may even make adherence a factor in awarding promotions.
- Be flexible and collaborate - your first process is just a starting point. Ideally you’ve worked with your team to set up the process together, but make sure you’re open to suggestions for improvement along the way. After all, the people using the processes will be the first to spot where adjustments are needed.
10. Messaging Adoption
Key to consistent results is consistent messaging. When your sales team knows how to talk about your products, competitors, and why you are the best choice, you’ll see your win rates improve.
Tracking messaging adoption shows you how well your sales enablement has been internalized by your team. Generally you’ll need to review sales calls or use automation within your sales call system to find out how well sales reps are adhering to messaging standards.
Focusing on these key metrics gives you a comprehensive view of your sales enablement program's performance so you can make informed decisions to improve continuously.
Start with the KPIs that align most closely with your current goals, gradually increasing the scope of measurement until you have a good idea of where your team stands across all KPIs.
How to increase messaging adoption:
- Communicate your expectations - much like following processes, using the “official” messaging is key to achieving consistent results. It’s crucial that the entire team talks about your product in a consistent way.
- Surround the team with the messaging - everywhere they look inside and outside the sales team - on the website, in emails, in presentations and meetings, they should see the same messaging. This means making sure all departments are on the same page.
- Highlight the benefits - you chose this messaging because it helps close more deals. Make sure to highlight how well it is working.
How to Ensure Improvement in Your Sales Enablement Program
When you know how your sales enablement program is working, you can make informed decisions to improve and evolve your approach. It's important to remain agile and continuously adjust your strategy based on employee and customer needs, your own goals, market trends, and technological advances.
- Assign an “Owner” of Sales Enablement: Assign a dedicated team or individual in charge of the sales enablement program who will monitor and adjust the program and be responsible for its success.
- Regularly Reevaluate: Evaluating the program regularly allows you to identify areas for improvement and make changes as needed. Set this up as an event on your calendar.
- Follow Through to Make Improvements: A good sales enablement program is never static but rather constantly evolving. Encourage your team to constantly innovate and think of new ways to improve the program. As a bonus, getting your sales team involved will encourage them to take advantage of the work you’re doing to enable them.
But make sure that this effort is more than a vague ideal - your regular evaluations need to lead to action items that your sales enablement owner pushes forward.
Takeaways
To ensure the success of your sales enablement program, it's crucial to measure its impact and make data-driven decisions. Key metrics to focus on include:
- Sales cycle length
- Deal size
- Productivity
- Win/loss rate
- Quota attainment
- Marketing collateral performance
- Employee net promoter score
- Onboarding time
- Sales process and adherence
- Messaging adoption
We covered methods to track these KPIs inside Kompyte and your CRM. When you have your results, it’s time to adjust and improve or even focus on different numbers based on changing goals.
We’ve also discussed how to improve each one of these metrics.
See the power of competitive intelligence automation with a demo of Kompyte. Start putting these strategies into practice today.
