Secrets to Amplifying Sales Engagement Adoption- Part 3

Written by RevShoppe Director of Enablement, Rich Adams

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Welcome to the final chapter (Part 3) of my three-part series on boost(SEP) tool adoption!

To catch you up on Part 1 and Part 2, see the "cliff notes" from the last two parts:

• To increase retention from live training sessions, transform sessions into hands-on workshops with practice activities allowing reps to practice learnings in real-time. For example, have the reps practice workflows using teach-back or breakout exercises.
• Just-in-time learning is key to reinforcing learnings around using sales engagement platforms. Provide learning resources (micro and macro training) where and when your reps need them.
• Focus on front-line sales manager enablement as your force multiplier to drive the right behaviors across your sales organization and, ultimately, the adoption of your SEP. Equip your managers with a coaching playbook and watch the magic unfold.

As noted above, the key ingredients to driving the successful adoption of sales engagement are facilitating engaging training workshops, just-in-time learning methods, and front-line manager coaching. You could easily loop all of these under one umbrella, "reinforcement." Without reinforcement, training simply doesn't stick.

So now the question remains: How do we make the training stick and tie coaching, workshops, and just-in-time learning altogether?

Leverage an enablement learning cadence

If we know live training sessions don't usually stick when there isn't any reinforcement (coaching and just-in-time learning), how should we design our enablement programs to ensure "stickiness"?

We have to think of a learning journey similar to how we think about a prospect journey. We rely on sales cadences/sequences to get a message across over a series of touch points (calls, emails, videos, social). The same concept should apply when training teams! Leveraging well-planned touch points (live training, videos, coaching, eLearning) will empower your team to absorb your message, in this case, the adoption of sales engagement tools and strategies.

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To get started building an enablement cadence for your next big sales enablement program rollout or change management initiative, follow these steps:

• Determine what the learning outcomes are from the program you are rolling out. In other words, what do you want the sales reps to do after they complete the training (or cadence)? For example, if you are launching a new outbound sales workflow, including a new set of Outreach sequences, it will be important that the reps know to find the right contacts, add those contacts to the sequence, and execute the steps of a sequence.
• Use the blended learning framework from Part 1 of this series to guide you. Based on the learning outcomes you have established, build a list of potential enablement touchpoints ( videos, live workshops, coaching exercises, just-in-time, etc.) for your cadence that will reinforce the learning outcomes you are driving towards. Here is a sample of potential touchpoints I shared on LinkedIn that you can easily incorporate into your next program.

• Once you've identified the learning outcomes and the enablement touchpoints, it's time to build and execute your cadence. As with a sales cadence, space out the touchpoints strategically. Share the cadence outline with your sales managers, and even include a trusted rep or two to get feedback from the field. Build a timeline for your cadence: Is it 2 weeks, 30 days, 90 days?

The bottom line is a single live training or course isn't going to cut it anymore. If you are desperate to boost the adoption of your sales engagement platform (or any sales tool), using an enablement cadence along with the tactical recommendations in the first two parts will help you move the needle faster.

Gaining buy-in for change from top-level leadership is critical to success; furthermore, leadership must also embrace an "always on" enablement mindset. Long gone are the days of  "Can we run a quick training on Outreach and call it good?" and expecting adoption to be superior.

High levels of success- only possible through a high level of adoption- of any tool, process change, or behavior takes commitment and dedication from executive leadership and throughout all levels of management within the revenue organization.

And if nothing else, remember this: isn't just a function. It's a mindset, and it's core to a thriving sales culture.

Just like enablement is an "always-on" process, so is how we collectively contribute to shaping its success. I hope this series of articles provides inspiration and direction for your own enablement strategy. If you have any questions, thoughts, or suggestions, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Enablement is a huge focus at RevShoppe, and I'll release more on shaping, driving, and cementing enablement in the coming weeks and months.

Basically? Things are just getting started. Stay tuned!

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