Enablement Not Moving the Needle? Here’s Why!

Wondering why your enablement initiatives aren’t moving the needle? It’s a sensitive topic, I realize, and a bold claim that I can tell you from afar why your program isn’t working as well as you or your leaders want it to. But I’m going to do it anyway, with the best of intentions, based on 30+ years of experience moving the needle (and not). 

Let’s dig in.  

Introduction 

What I can’t do in this post is tell you which of these reasons applies to you. However, I hope you’ll be able to figure that out as you read through them. I’ll list ten possible reasons with descriptions, cues, and clues that might help you determine if it’s impacting your program. I’ll also include some solutions to consider. 

The Reasons, Cues & Clues, and Solutions 

1. The Content Won’t Work 

Description: The content being taught (sales training) or provided for reps to use (collateral such as buyer engagement content) is not proven-effective or what buyers and customers need to see or hear to make a confident purchase decision. Even if you can get sellers to use it, it won’t improve performance. 

Cues & Clues: Low conversion rates, frequent customer concerns, flat sales results, low adoption, and feedback from sales reps indicating that the content does not resonate with prospects and buyers.  

The Solution: Top Performer Analysis guarantees that what you teach or create will get results. For buyer engagement content, improving Buyer Acumen and/or a Customer Advisory Board can be quite helpful.  

2. Adoption Gaps / Low Adoption 

Description: The content would work, but you can’t get adoption and mastery of the skills you’ve taught, or adoption and proper use of the content you’ve provided.  

If you’re experiencing this, you are not alone. In a not-too-long-ago State of Sales Training study by ATD, 59% of respondents cited “the inability to hold salespeople accountable to use what they were taught” as the primary barrier to the success of sales training. That doesn’t make it acceptable, nor an excuse for not delivering results. But you are not alone on this, and I wanted you to know that.  

Cues & Clues: Inconsistent use of provided materials, lack of engagement in training sessions, lack of opportunities for practice and feedback, poor on-the-job performance, low adoption, and feedback from sales managers about the gap between training and actual performance. 

The Solution: Implement a robust accountability framework that includes regular check-ins, performance reviews, reinforcement, and especially ongoing sales coaching. Report transparently on whatever you can track that shows adoption or the lack of it. Build methodology and collateral into workflow and CRM whenever possible – make it “the way we do things around here.” Use a combination of coaching, peer mentoring, and technology to ensure continuous learning and application of skills. 

3. Lack of Support for Execution 

Description: You’ve taught content but haven’t built support to make it easy to execute. This issue isn’t limited to any single concept; it applies to anything that requires preparation or support to begin using effectively. But I think an example here will illustrate it best.  

So, for example, let’s say you taught the concept of using POSE Value Stories (State a Problem you solve for other similar buyers, the Outcomes you’ve delivered when you solved it, a brief mention of the Solution you provided, and a question to ask if it makes sense to Explore this further.) POSE is a great format for messaging, especially for prospecting, and unlike a value proposition, you can have as many value stories as problems you solve.  

The problem is, if you teach it and run (meaning you leave the reps to develop all of their own value stories from scratch), it will definitely hamper adoption for many. Should it? No. But will it? Absolutely.  

Cues & Clues: When sales reps struggle to create their own value stories (or take the next step needed for anything else you’ve taught), it often results in inconsistent messaging across the team. Some will do the work on their own — other simply will not. You might notice low adoption of the taught concepts and receive feedback from sales reps indicating difficulty in applying the concepts. Additionally, poor performance in prospecting and messaging, or when conversation intelligence or observation show low adoption, it can be a clear indicator that the support for execution is lacking. 

The Solution: To address this, provide templates and examples to guide reps. In our above example, you might create a library of value stories that reps can search and draw from, to further personalize. You could conduct workshops where reps can practice and refine their value stories with feedback, implement a peer review system where reps can share and critique each other’s value stories, offer ongoing support and coaching to ensure reps feel confident in using the POSE format, and integrate the value stories into CRM systems, workflow, and sales tools like guided selling, to make them easily accessible.  

4. Lack of Focus & Change Management 

Description: Often this is due to Flavor of the Month management or what I call a Master of Disaster (a senior leader who constantly overreacts to the last thing that went wrong. When senior leaders constantly shift directions and don’t stick with supporting the work you’ve done, it’s hard to drive change.  

Cues & Clues: Frequent changes in strategic direction, lack of follow-through on initiatives, and confusion among sales reps about priorities. 

The Solution: Establish a clear, long-term vision for sales enablement that is aligned with the company’s strategic goals. Secure buy-in from your executive and leadership teams and their commitment to support the initiative(s) consistently. Regularly communicate progress and successes to maintain momentum and support.  

As I’ve said on more than one occasion:  

“We can either support initiatives to the bitter end or prepare for them to end bitterly. The choice is ours.”

5. It’s the Wrong “Flavor” of Enablement 

Description: The enablement strategy does not match the specific needs and context of the business, leading to irrelevant or ineffective initiatives. 

Cues & Clues: Misalignment between enablement activities and sales goals, feedback from sales reps about the irrelevance of training, and poor performance metrics despite enablement efforts. 

The Solution: First, understand where your company is in their maturity and ensure you have defined enablement appropriately. Then, conduct a thorough Situation Assessment to determine the specific requirements of your sales team and business. Tailor your enablement strategy to address these needs, ensuring it is relevant and impactful. Regularly review and adjust the strategy based on feedback and performance data. 

6. Other Business Problems You Can’t Fix 

Description: There are underlying business issues that sales enablement alone cannot address, such as a lack of product-market fit or pricing problems. 

Cues & Clues: Persistent performance issues despite effective enablement efforts, feedback from sales reps about product or market challenges, and misalignment between sales enablement and broader business strategies. 

The Solution: Clearly define the scope and limitations of your sales enablement initiatives. Collaborate with other departments to address broader business issues such as product-market fit or pricing strategies. Ensure that sales enablement efforts are part of a holistic approach to business improvement.  

7. Lack of Alignment with Sales Strategy 

Description: The enablement program isn’t closely aligned with the overall sales strategy and goals, leading to misdirected efforts and wasted resources. 

Cues & Clues: Discrepancies between enablement activities and sales objectives, feedback from sales leaders about misalignment, and poor performance metrics. 

The Solution: Align sales enablement initiatives with the overall sales strategy and business goals. Involve sales leaders in the planning and execution of enablement programs to ensure they support the strategic direction. Use metrics to track alignment and adjust as needed. 

8. Overemphasis on Tools and Technology 

Description: While tools and technology are important, over-reliance on them without focusing on the human element — such as coaching and relationship-building — can limit the effectiveness of enablement efforts. 

Cues & Clues: High investment in technology with little improvement in performance, feedback from sales reps about the lack of personal support, and low engagement in tech-driven initiatives. 

The Solution: Balance the use of technology with human elements such as coaching, mentoring, and relationship-building. Ensure that technology enhances, rather than replaces, personal interactions and skill development. Provide training on how to effectively integrate technology into the sales process. 

9. Putting Efficiency Ahead of Effectiveness 

Description: This ties back to the overemphasis on technology but is more about the misuse of technology and using it to automate or increase efforts that have not yet been optimized. It basically is using technology to enable sellers to do even more dumb things even faster. 

Cues & Clues: Increased activity metrics without corresponding improvements in outcomes, feedback from customers about what matter to them, from sales reps about ineffective processes, and high levels of automation with low impact on sales results. 

The Solution: Focus on optimizing sales processes or tasks before automating them. Ensure that the methods and strategies being used are effective and producing desired results. Use technology to enhance these optimized processes, not to expedite ineffective ones. 

10. Lack of an Aligned, Cross-functional Charter Team 

Description: If half of the rowers in a boat row in the opposite direction of the other half, the boat goes in circles. Similarly, your best enablement plan will not produce optimal results if it is not aligned, coordinated, and supported across all departments. 

Cues & Clues: This could manifest as clear misalignment and disagreements between department heads, conflicting priorities, and feedback from sales reps about lack of support from other teams. Additionally, others signs of misalignment may include experiencing “the meeting after the meeting” effect, “banana peel syndrome” (where people agree in a meeting but then obstruct progress), or false consensus. 

The Solution: Foster collaboration and communication between all departments involved in sales enablement, including marketing, product, and sales teams. When you sense disagreement, ask about it transparently. Bring people together when they talk about each other separately. Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and shared goals. Use regular cross-functional meetings and updates to ensure alignment and coordination. Establishing RACI would also be helpful.  

Closing Thoughts 

We know that sales enablement is a critical function that can significantly impact an organization’s success. It can deliver a significant impact. Unfortunately, it far too often does not deliver on its potential and fails to move the needle on the metrics that matter most. 

This is why it’s essential to recognize and address the common barriers that can hinder its effectiveness. By understanding the reasons why enablement initiatives may not deliver the desired results, you can take proactive steps to overcome these challenges. 

Remember, the key to successful sales enablement lies in aligning your efforts with the overall sales strategy, ensuring the relevance and effectiveness of your content, fostering adoption and mastery, and maintaining consistent support from leadership. Additionally, it’s crucial to balance the use of technology with human elements, optimize processes before automating them, and foster cross-functional collaboration. 

By using the solutions outlined in this post, you can enhance the impact of your sales enablement initiatives and drive better business outcomes.  

You can read Mike’s original post here.