What is a Sales Enablement Platform?
A sales enablement platform empowers sales teams by offering a comprehensive system designed to equip sales teams with the tools and resources they need to succeed.
Here’s a more detailed look at what it offers:
1. Training Modules: Interactive resources such as videos, quizzes, and simulations for onboarding and ongoing education of sales reps.
2. Content Management: A centralized library where sales teams can access necessary materials like playbooks, case studies, and pricing sheets, ensuring consistency and relevance.
3. Analytics and Reporting: Advanced tools to track performance metrics, identify successful strategies, and pinpoint areas needing improvement, enabling data-driven decisions.
4. Artificial Intelligence: AI-driven features that offer predictive analytics, automate routine tasks, and personalize content, enhancing the sales process and efficiency.
5. Communication Tools: Features that facilitate better collaboration within sales teams and improve interactions with customers, such as chat functions, video conferencing, and shared workspaces.
Top Features to Look For when choosing a platform
1. Content Management: Access to relevant sales content and marketing materials.
2. Training and Onboarding: Interactive modules, videos, and gamification.
3. Analytics and Reporting: Tracking performance metrics and identifying improvement areas.
4. CRM Integration: Seamless integration with existing CRM systems.
5. Artificial Intelligence: Insights, task automation, and personalized content.
6. Communication Tools: Enhanced messaging and collaboration features.
Leading Sales Enablement Platforms
• RELAYTO.
RELAYTO's interactive experience platform transforms static materials into dynamic experiences, including sales proposals, collateral, and demonstrations.
RELAYTO allows professionals to effortlessly and effectively select, compile, and tailor their content to optimize audience targeting and engagement. The platform allows for integrations with sources such as Google Docs, PowerPoint, YouTube, and web pages at scale.
Customers have direct access to analytics that help sales teams make accurate forecasts. These insights reveal how prospects interact with sales materials, enable teams to customize their content and experiences that advance prospects through their sales cycles.
What’s different about RELAYTO is that it is the only platform where you don’t have to “talk to a sales rep”. The future of sales enablement is buyer enablement.
Pros: Users can create interactive content easily without needing coding skills.
Cons: There is a learning curve when getting started.
Pricing: RELAYTO offers plans for both businesses and enterprise companies.
For businesses, you can be billed on a monthly basis, a 12-month plan or a 24-month plan. For individuals, there is the Public Plan which is free and the Pro Plan which is $80 a month and for one user. For Organizations, there are two plans: the Team Plan and the Business Plan. The Team Plan is the most popular and costs $950 for 5 users, the Business Plan costs $2,700 for 10 users.
• 360 Learning.
360 Learning is the first all-in-one learning platform leveraging AI and collaborative tools to transform internal experts into L&D partners, fostering a culture of collaborative learning and internal workforce upskilling.
Recognizing the busy nature of sales teams, 360Learning’s AI-driven Skills features enable the deployment of upskilling initiatives directly within employees' workflows, helping to bridge the skills gap in your organization. This approach allows for targeted skill development and the ability to track the progression of individual or group skills at scale, ensuring that sales teams are performing at their best.
The Video Pitch Assessment tool is particularly beneficial for sales teams, enhancing pitch delivery through valuable feedback and facilitating rapid remote training. This feature enables sales teams to share knowledge and improve collectively, tapping into internal expertise to accelerate sales readiness, close deals, and expand remote training capabilities.
Additionally, 360Learning's automation solution integrates with Salesforce, syncing data between the platforms to correlate training initiatives with sales team performance more efficiently than ever before.
Pros: A modern user interface and AI-powered tools that support collaborative learning and content creation; combines LMS, LXP, and Academies into a single platform.
Cons: May not be suitable for companies less inclined towards collaborative learning.
Pricing: 360 Learning offers plans for teams and businesses. The Team Plan is $8 a month for a registered user and you are allowed up to 100 users. For the Business Plan, you need to first request a demo.
• HubSpot Sales Hub.
HubSpot Sales Hub is a comprehensive sales enablement platform that offers teams tools for CRM, email tracking, prospect tracking, meeting scheduling, and analytics, all designed to streamline the sales process.
The platform enhances your sales outreach with email templates and tracking software, which alerts you when a prospect interacts with an email. This data is then saved to the CRM database, allowing you to personalize the customer experience. This feature seamlessly integrates with Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, and HubSpot.
The conversation AI feature provides deeper insights by tracking voice data from customer calls, while the document tracking tool enables your team to create a sales content library for sharing with leads as follow-up materials.
Pros: Intuitive user interface and effective automation features.
Cons: Advanced features are only available in higher-tier plans.
Pricing: HubSpot Sales Hub offers two plan sections: one for individuals and small teams and the other for businesses and enterprises.
For individuals and small teams, there are 4 categories: Free Tools, Sales Hub Starter, Starter Customer (most recommended), and Sales Hub Professional. Sales Hub Starter starts at $15 a month per seat. Starter Customer Platform starts at $15 a month per seat. And Sales Hub Professional starts at $90 a month per seat.
There are two categories for businesses and enterprises: Sales Hub Professional and Sales Hub Enterprise. Sales Hub Professional starts at $90 a month per seat, and Sales Hub Enterprise starts at $150 a month per seat.
• Salesforce Enablement.
Part of Salesforce's cloud-based suite, Salesforce Enablement equips sales teams with training, content, insights, and tools to boost performance and enhance customer relationships.
Sales and marketing teams can leverage Salesforce Einstein, an AI-driven tool that offers predictive insights through data analysis. This enables teams to make informed decisions for sales forecasting and identifying growth opportunities.
Other notable features of this program include revenue milestones for tracking ROI progress, drag-and-drop content creation, and best practice templates provided by Salesforce.
Pros: Offers dynamic scalability and extensive integration capabilities.
Cons: The extensive customization options and variety of features can be complex for some users.
Pricing: Salesforce Enablement offers 5 tiers: Starter Suite, Professional, Enterprise, Unlimited, and Einstein 1 Sales. The first 4 you are able to try for free, with Einstein 1 Sales needed to be contacted for. Pricing is as follows: Starter Suite ($25 a month per user), Professional ($80 a month per user), Enterprise ($165 a month per user), Unlimited ($330 a month per user), and Einstein 1 Sales ($500 a month per user).
• Seismic Enablement Cloud.
Seismic Enablement Cloud is an all-encompassing solution offering features that span the sales lifecycle, including dynamic content creation, sales training, analytics, and automated content management.
With the sales content management feature, teams can efficiently create, store, and organize content for easy access by the sales team. Additionally, the automation tool simplifies organization-wide content delivery.
Enablement Intelligence AI aids the marketing team in identifying revenue-driving factors by analyzing content, sales training, and CRM data. By integrating AI-generated data with human processes, teams can develop recommendations that enhance productivity and sales revenue.
Pros: Easy-to-find content that salespeople can personalize.
Cons: Initial setup can be challenging, and cross-team collaboration might be confusing for some users.
Pricing: A demo must be requested.
• Showpad Content.
Showpad Content provides a sales content management system designed to maintain consistency across all materials and ensure easy access for sales teams to locate, manage, and distribute impactful content broadly.
With Showpad Content, organizing and managing your content in a centralized location is straightforward. It allows integration with your existing Digital Asset Management (DAM) or Content Management System (CMS) and enables timely notifications to sales teams about updates. The platform’s user-friendly interface simplifies the provision of necessary content management tools to sales reps.
The Shared Spaces feature offers real-time content sharing on branded microsites, facilitating customer collaboration and stakeholder involvement. Additionally, content can be easily accessed and customized via mobile devices, Outlook or Gmail, CRM systems, or directly through a web browser.
Pros: Highly user-friendly with an excellent user experience rating.
Cons: The pricing structure could be more transparent.
Pricing: To see the pricing for Showpad, you have to request more information through a demo. However, the platform is divided into three categories: Essential, Plus, and Ultimate.
• Mindtickle.
Mindtickle is a platform designed to enhance sales skills and reduce deal risks for companies aiming to increase their revenue.
With Mindtickle, you can develop customized programs that have a measurable impact and align skill development with your business objectives. Automation helps you quickly identify strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to tailor programs to address any skill gaps.
You can also assess skill development across your organization, including individual team members. Leveraging the revenue intelligence capabilities, you can link successful actions to revenue and provide customized strategies for improvement.
Pros: Ability to create personalized and engaging sales onboarding experiences.
Cons: Pricing plans are not disclosed.
Pricing: A demo must be requested.
• Highspot.
Highspot is a cutting-edge sales enablement platform that enhances sales efficiency by bridging the gap between marketing, sales, and the customer.
Its content management features allow you to equip your sales team with the right content at the right time. Salespeople can easily find relevant content using filters such as the sales cycle stage, while AI-powered recommendations suggest content that has been effective in similar scenarios.
Highspot's sales training tools include a drag-and-drop builder, SCORM integration, and the ability to create role-specific learning paths, simplifying the content creation process. Real-time analytics can be deployed to monitor progress and identify opportunities for upskilling.
Pros: Extensive integration with CRM applications like Salesforce and Dynamics 365.
Cons: Pricing plans require a demo request to be disclosed.
Pricing: In order to fully understand the pricing of Highspot you need to request a demo. Stating, “Fill out the form to discuss what kinds of capabilities and pricing model make sense for your unique business needs.”
• Guru.
Guru is an all-in-one knowledge management solution designed to keep teams connected and organize all essential information in a single location.
The Discover feature in Guru provides salespeople with real-time knowledge, enhancing their ability to have meaningful sales conversations and improve sales performance. Additionally, AI-powered support highlights trending topics and identifies experts to keep employees informed and connected.
The Create feature allows sales representatives to develop customized sales playbooks accessible across all applications. This feature includes an editor, templates, customization options, a generative AI-powered writing assistant, a browser extension, and integration with Slack.
Pros: AI-driven features, real-time updates, and personalized sales playbooks.
Cons: The user interface may be overwhelming for some users.
Pricing: The Starter plan is free for up to three users per month and costs $5 per user per month thereafter. The Builder plan is $10 per user per month (with a free trial available), and there is an Enterprise plan with undisclosed pricing.
Selecting the right sales enablement platform is vital for enhancing your sales team's efficiency and driving revenue growth. Begin by thoroughly assessing your organization's specific needs and goals. Research various platforms to identify those that align well with these requirements. Consider factors such as budget, ease of use, and the availability of robust customer support and training options. By investing in a solution that meets these criteria, you can ensure a seamless implementation and successful adoption, ultimately leading to improved sales performance and organizational success.
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