Sales Enablement is a critical success factor in high-consideration sales. The tools and resources provided to Sales will include a range of items and should address the following core requirements.
| What sales must accomplish. | Information resources sales needs. | Impact of not providing the information. |
|---|---|---|
| Cause the buyer to identify the situation and problem that is high enough to be impactful to the customer, but low enough for our offer to have significant impact. | Problem Statement: Identify the customer opportunity or problem that the product/service addresses better than the competitive alternative. | Sales is relegated to answering RFPs instead of the consultative solution selling. |
| Have the buyer initiate the program to investigate the opportunity. | Value Statement: The value to the customer of addressing the opportunity, with measures. | The solution never gets investigated, just “discussed”. |
| Have sufficient support for the program so that the obstacles that arise don’t stop it. | Value Evidence: Sufficient evidence for the customer to be confident of the claims of the size and viability of the opportunity. | The program starts but gets derailed because a more certain alternative solution is identified. |
| Ensure the firm’s product one of the top ones being evaluated by the buyer by making sure that the buyer realizes the magnitude of the advantages. | Measurable Advantage / ROI: What your product or service does uniquely, or substantially better than competitors and the measurable magnitude of the advantage. | Our solution is not considered by the buyer and attention goes to another firm as other firm’s products are perceived as competitive when they should not be. |
| Have the buyer understand that our product/solution delivers high value to them. | Customer Value Proposition: The value to the customer that results from the product advantage. | Even though our solution is best in some areas, the value isn’t understood. |
| Have the buyer believe advantage claims, even when other vendors may be exaggerating. | Proof Points: Provide reasons to believe your firm’s product/service capabilities. | The competitor’s products are seen as just as credible as your firm. |
| Have the buyer understand that our product/solution delivers the most value to them when compared to the competitive alternatives. | Customer Value Proposition Value Measures: Identify your value claims with measures that are comparable. | The buyer does not believe that our product offers the highest value to them. |
| Have the buyer believe our claims of higher value when compared to our competitors. | Value Validation & Case Studies: Provide reasons to believe your firm’s value estimates. | If our claims are not believable, the buyer may not commit. |