Sales Enablement is more than just training

Sales Enablement Done Right: A Real-World Transformation

Many businesses pour resources into training their sales teams, only to find little impact on revenue. The problem? Training without the right tools and processes leaves sellers unequipped to succeed.

Let’s explore how we solved this for a SaaS startup in the telecommunications space.

The Challenge:

This company, a fast-growing SaaS startup with less than $3M in annual recurring revenue (ARR), had a small but talented team of 4 Account Managers and 2 Presales Consultants. Despite strong product-market fit, the sales team was struggling to close deals, and the messaging wasn’t resonating with customers or channel partners.

An audit revealed multiple issues: their systems and processes were broken, and they lacked a clear understanding of their ideal buyers and partners. The company used HubSpot for Marketing and Salesforce for Sales, but neither was fully optimised. Reporting was done manually in Microsoft Excel because Salesforce hadn’t been set up properly. Key features like dashboards and deal tracking were non-existent, leading to inefficiencies and lost opportunities.

The Solution:

We took an enablement-first approach. Instead of retraining the sales team, we focused on fixing the systems, processes, and messaging they needed to succeed.

Here’s what we did:

1. Defined Ideal Customer and Partner Profiles:
   We built out detailed customer profiles and personas, not only for buyers but also for channel partners. This helped attract the right resellers and ensure they were activated to bring in business. By refining the product messaging to showcase impact and value, we improved engagement with both customers and partners.
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2. Consolidated Systems:
   To streamline operations and cut costs, we migrated everything from Salesforce to HubSpot, unifying both sales and marketing into one platform. This created alignment between teams and simplified reporting, while also delivering a cost saving of $21,000 per year in subscription and licensing costs.
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3. Built Deal Stages and Pipeline Reports:
   We designed custom deal stages and set up automated pipeline reports, allowing the team to track progress and forecast revenue in real time. This removed the need for manual Excel reports that took over three hours to compile each week, giving the team more visibility and agility. Pipeline reporting was available instantly across the business, improving transparency and decision-making.
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4. Created a Partner Portal:
   To support their new channel sales strategy, we built a partner portal within HubSpot. This gave channel partners easy access to enablement resources like playbooks, battlecards, rate sheets, brochures, video demos, and presentation decks. Partners could also register deals directly through the portal, creating a seamless experience for all parties involved.
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5. Rebuilt Messaging and Collateral:
   Using the refined personas and product messaging as a foundation, we rebuilt the company’s website and sales collateral. This ensured the message was clear, compelling, and targeted at the right audience, improving overall engagement.

The Results?

By focusing on enablement and creating the right systems, messaging, and processes, this SaaS startup saw significant improvements:

• ‍Sales velocity increased—deals were closing faster, reducing the average days to close by 21%.‍
• Total number of opportunities grew by 54%, allowing for greater sales pipeline visibility and potential revenue.‍
• Real-time pipeline reporting was now accessible across the business, eliminating the 3+ hour process of manually building a weekly forecast report.
• The company saved $21,000 annually in subscription and licensing costs by consolidating platforms.
• Channel partners were empowered to drive deals, and the sales team had full visibility into their pipeline, leading to shorter sales cycles and more closed deals.

Key Takeaway

Sales enablement is about more than just training—it’s about creating the systems, processes, and resources that enable your team to succeed. At Echidna Engage, we specialise in helping B2B startups optimise their sales enablement strategies to drive real, measurable results.