“I take pride in and ownership of my work; because the effort I put in makes a difference in the qua
1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what do you do?
I run a sales enablement consultancy company. Essentially, I help a business’ customer facing functions by providing the process, tools and training that they need to successful, close more revenue, and bring a great customer experience. For instance, sales process, customer success training, sales enablement, all fall under my consultancy.
2. How did you find out you wanted to be in sales Enablement?
I fell into sales enablement. I graduated as a mechanical engineer at University of Toronto, and I did mechanical engineering for a couple of years. I realized I couldn’t make a lot of money, so I switched into sales for a software company. I really enjoyed the role, because I get to solve a lot of business problems through what I was selling. 12 or 13 years ago, I was running a sales engineering team. Our sales team was really struggling with closing business and beating the competition, and understanding what the platform did. So I volunteered to train the team, and that translated into what I am doing now, which is sales enablement.
3. What do you think is the main issue on how do you deliver the best sales pitch?
Consistency. I find a lot of organisations have a lack of consistency across their sales department. If you ask a sales person, they will tell you a specific pitch. But if you ask another sales person, two desks down, they will tell you an entirely different sales pitch. That’s not Sales’ fault, it is the organisation’s fault. Because the organisation isn’t providing the consistent, successful sales pitch that speaks to the unique differentiator of the company.
A sales pitch should be super simple. I should be able to give a pitch to my mom, and she should understand what I do.
4. So the key to a sales pitch is simplicity?
Yes, simplicity and consistency.
If you are trying to encourage someone to buy from you, you need to keep it simple. You need to keep it relevant for the individual. So the person listening to the pitch should be able to listen to whatever you do and stay interested enough to learn more.
5. Is sales enablement a common field to be in?
It is an emerging field. And it is very disparate across organisations. A lot of software companies view sales enablement as training. But in fact, it is more nuanced. It is about:
1. Providing training, and making sure you are getting coached throughout that training.
2. Revisiting the training so you understand exactly how your day to day is affected (as a sales person).
3. Providing you with a clear process, so it is easy for you to do your job.
4. Helping you with a career path as a sales person, so you know how to go to the next level.
A lot of software companies try to sell content management as “sales enablement” solution. And a lot of sales enablement practitioners are considered “just trainers”. We need to find a consistency across the board, so it is an emerging market for sure.
If the representative isn’t following the process, it is up to the management of the organisation to advise the rep to do his/her work. Usually you will begin to see a correlation of rep that doesn’t take their training to not being as successful as the representative that does the training.
As a rep, all you want to do, is be successful; because you want to make a lot of money! If you don’t take the training, and you are not successful, you don’t make any money. Thus, it becomes important to absorb all the enablement you receive in order to be successful.
6. You discussed in one of your talks in SalesTO, about constantly reiterating this process. But what if people don’t follow through?
If the representative isn’t following the process, it is up to the management of the organisation to advise the rep to do his/her work. Usually you will begin to see a correlation of rep that doesn’t take their training to not being as successful as the representative that does the training.
As a rep, all you want to do, is be successful; because you want to make a lot of money! If you don’t take the training, and you are not successful, you don’t make any money. Thus, it becomes important to absorb all the enablement you receive in order to be successful.