"Reps aren't following the steps we outlined for them."

"Reps aren't following the steps we outlined for them."

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"Reps don't use the new messaging."

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"Reps keep reverting back to what they were doing before."

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Sound familiar?

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Boo freakin' hoo. Look in the mirror.

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The majority of reps want to succeed. They want to do well at their job. They want to make more money.

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If they thought your stuff would help them do it, they'd use it.

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Here's why reps aren't using your stuff & how to fix it.

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⛔️ You don't involve reps in the creation of the training content

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Most training content & messaging is created in a silo. An exec who decides to take on a project. The marketing team. Or a pod of enablement managers.

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The big piece missing? The reps.

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If you have more than 10 reps, there are reps on the team modeling what good looks like. Those are your champions.

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Co-create the content with their input. Help them help you get the team excited about what you're creating. And give them credit.

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⛔️ You steal the show

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Most enablement teams have little sales background. Or haven't sold or outbounded in nearly a decade.

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Imagine learning to cold call from someone who hasn't made a cold call in 5 years.

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BUT enablement is great at process, documentation, and facilitation. Something that, frankly, reps & sales leaders suck at.

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The best sales enablement teams aren't the stars of skill sessions.

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They highlight and feature the best reps (and outside experts).

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⛔️ You mistake "knowing" for "doing"

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Playbooks are great. But it's only one part of the equation.

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You need soft skills training, coaching, and reinforcement around REAL scenarios.

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This means that surveys shouldn't be the primary tool for measuring competence.

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Run practice sessions with reps. Help them get better at executing the tactics.

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⛔️ You don't make it easy enough to implement

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This one is big. We call it "eating complexity."

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If you can remove a step for the rep, do it. Every. Single. One.

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Let's say you're rolling out new persona-based messaging. You need to translate that into talk tracks and email copy. It needs to live where the rep will use it.

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Your enablement should get reps 80%+ of the way there.

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~~~

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If reps aren't using the stuff you want them to, take ownership. And execute the steps above.

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Our very best clients at companies like Shopify, Gong, Rippling, Zoom, and more do this at a world-class level.

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Agree or disagree?