Revenue Enablement: The Fuel to Power Boost Commercial Integration

Today’s buyers are in the driver’s seat. They’re seeking information and support where, when, and how they want. They have thrown aside distinctions between channels, information sources, and even traditional buying steps.  Buyers are speeding ahead of us as commercial organizations. It’s time to catch up.

You need to match buyer preferences and habits and break down silos to ensure that, regardless of where they go for it, buyers are getting the information and support they need to make the best purchase decision.  When we do, buyers reward us for it. In our recent sales leader survey, we found that sales organizations that prioritized cross-functional KPIs are nearly 3 times more likely to exceed new customer acquisition targets.

Yet, this is easier said than done. And the wrong approach can lead to more noise and confusion for buyers and headaches for sellers. In a recent Gartner B2B buyer survey, 58% of buyers reported receiving conflicting information from suppliers. At the same time, 65% of sales leaders reported that sellers were slowed down when working with other commercial functions. So instead of catching up to buyers; we’re often falling further behind.

Where do sales leaders start in their journey towards commercial integration?

To fuel your journey to catch up with buyers, look no further than enablement. Enablement are the change makers of the organization. They equip your frontline with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to succeed. The support provided by enablement can make or break the customer experience, yet enablement is frequently overlooked as a lever of commercial integration.

That’s where revenue enablement comes in. Revenue enablement moves beyond the traditional, siloed role of enablement and also extends its reach. Revenue enablement works to ensure all roles that touch a customer (e.g. sales, marketing, customer success, channel partners) have the technology, content, knowledge and skills needed to maximize revenue production.

Revenue enablement can play a key role in managing and maintaining consistency for internal stakeholders and for the customer. And this pays huge dividends. Buyers who encounter consistent information from suppliers are 2.89 times more likely to complete a high-quality deal with no regret.

How do you get started on this revenue enablement journey?

To get started on this journey, begin with three steps:

•         Evaluate how and when each commercial function interacts with the customer

o   It is important to first understand how, when, and where different functions interact with the customer. To do this you need to review and map out key interaction and interface points. This will help identify opportunities, eliminate redundancies and realize efficiencies in scale.

•         Build from the ground up

o   While true commercial integration requires C-suite sponsorship and support, some organizations have had success pursuing commercial integration at lower levels in the organization, leveraging local initiatives to drive change at higher levels. Enablement leaders should take the initiative and collaborate with partners in marketing and customer success to ensure consistency and alignment on critical commercial messages, training and campaigns. Even without executive direction, such proactive, ad hoc partnerships can blossom into key points of integration between functions.

•         Audit enablement materials and resources

o   The root of customers encountering conflicting information is the information you share and disseminate internally across divisions. Look at the content and materials used for internal and buyer enablement. If you are using different content and approaches to equip your team to meet customer needs, you may need to reassess. Focus on aligning core materials and resources.

Commercial integration can be daunting. But it’s time to grab the wheel and fuel up with revenue enablement.