How a CRM with Sales Enablement and AI Can Boost Your Sales Performance

Integrating your CRM system with Sales Enablement processes will engage your teams and help them reach their full potential. With the ability to follow and respond to every stage of the buyer's journey, you’ll enrich your sales processes, close deals quicker, and become a more productive organization. Take your CRM data, client relationships, lead management, and team motivation to the next level and watch your business increase market share and revenue.

This article will cover how you can integrate sales enablement with your CRM, what you can expect from that merger, and what some of the best practices are.

The Takeaway TLDR;

• Companies that use a CRM with Sales Enablement and AI see conversions increase by over 30%.
• Using a CRM by itself can modernize your business, but using a CRM with Sales Enablement can change your business.
• AI learns from your customer patterns and behavior and then makes predictions based on that data.

What is a CRM, and What is Sales Enablement?

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is software that helps businesses document a lifetime of information about customers and leads. Typically, you’ll record information about lead origination, ordering history, product and service interests, communication history, and contact information. Using a CRM unites your team members. Every team member and department will have a “one-truth” source to determine how customers and leads interact with your company.

The data from your CRM can be a powerful tool that can help refine your lead targeting, marketing, and growth planning.

While you can get “Sales Enablement Software,” sales enablement is a strategy rather than software. Even with AI, the human touch is still needed. This strategy enables and engages team members. Using specially designed content, training, coaching, and more Sales Enablement empowers your team to follow the customer buying journey and match that journey every step of the way. Additionally, sales enablement helps you deliver exceptional customer service. Sales enablement can be used to determine and measure your KPIs and provide feedback and guidance to your sales and client service teams.

What is a sales enablement manager?

You’ll need a sales enablement manager to work with your teams and managers. They will review your data, ensure that the proper amount of follow-up is completed, assist in training and empowering team members, review data and trends, issue notices and corrective advice if procedures aren’t followed, and much more.

When you start sales enablement, your company will need a dedicated sales enablement manager. While this process isn’t easy, your ROI (return on investment) will be rewarding.

Here are a few steps to consider as you obtain a sales enablement manager:

1. Define what the role will be: You’ll want to lay out the responsibilities, skills, and qualifications needed for the position, as well as the experience level desired.
2. Search and hire your ideal candidate: After defining the role, look for candidates with experience in sales and marketing, but you’ll want to consider candidates who are also technically savvy and have experience using CRM and other software. You may also want to look for someone experienced in your industry. Don’t overlook current employees.
3. Train your Sales Enablement Manager: Now that you’ve found and hired the right candidate, ensure that they have the proper training and the tools they need to succeed. They’ll need to navigate your management, staff, and other stakeholders successfully, so be sure all of your company’s decision-makers are on board.

The expanding role of the sales enablement manager

The traditional role of the sales enablement professional (manager) has primarily been for large enterprise businesses where they focus on sales training. But at TigerLRM, we see that role expanding. We see the SE professional becoming more intimately involved in the sales processes. Ask yourself…

• Who would be better suited to ensure that the sales staff perform at their best than the person who trained them?
• Who would be best suited to help them address any issues they may have in performing their jobs than the person who trained them?

We see the Sales Enablement professional being involved in monitoring sales to find irregularities that will have the team or a team member performing less than optimally. Our CRM has a special user designation just for the SE Professional. In that designation, a sales enablement professional is allowed special functions that users do not have access to. This includes running reports or issuing NCNs (Non-Compliance) reports. This helps management be alerted about staff who are not meeting their marks. Be it not making enough touches through calls or emails; the SE professional will be able to monitor team member performance and adherence to company policies and procedures and then address it near real-time to keep everything working and running smoothly.

You can also outsource your sales enablement manager to third-party companies and start the process much sooner. TigerLRM offers a comprehensive sales enablement management solution to small and medium-sized companies.
Reach out to us to find out more. 954-231-7776 or [email protected]!

What are the differences between a CRM and Sales Enablement?

Sales enablement and CRM systems collaborate to engage teams, close deals, satisfy customers, and boost revenue. However, they have distinct characteristics. CRMs are typically cloud-based software. Sales enablement, however, is primarily a process rather than software.

The CRM is focused on the customer experience and the client experience. Sales enablement is focused on acquiring new clients or upselling existing ones and following customer buying journeys.

Your CRM functions as a database and enables you to make data-driven decisions. The results of those decisions and directions to be taken fall into the world of Sales Enablement.

In short, a CRM helps you manage your customers, while sales enablement empowers your team to get new customers and keep existing customers.

How a CRM with Sales Enablement Can Work Together

Using a CRM with sales enablement works holistically to create a powerful dynamic that engages and empowers your sales and client service teams. It also gives powerful data trends to your marketing and marketing teams. Combined, your CRM with sales enablement can help with:

1. Team Alignment: CRM and sales enablement combined align your sales and marketing teams with “one-truth” data about leads and clients. This data is used to refine client-facing and team-facing content, segment clients and leads based on existing data and market data, and deliver personalized experiences.
2. Optimizing The Sales Cycle: CRM and sales enablement together can optimize your sales cycle. Using the data from your CRM, you can use lead scoring to identify the most promising leads and prospects and upsell potentials. You can optimize the buying journey to engage your prospects and existing clients with unique buying experiences tailored to them. Additionally, the data from your CRM will help you track deal and resell progress.
3. Improving The Sales Experience: Using data from your CRM, you can analyze the results of your content, sales activities, renewals, and customer satisfaction. Use these insights to optimize your sales processes and tactics. You can also use this data to enhance your training and coaching programs for your teams. Proper sales experience means no lead left behind.

The Benefits of Integrating CRM and Sales Enablement for Your Business

Integrating your CRM and sales enablement will benefit your business with a “one-truth” for customers and leads. You should expect:

1. “One-Truth” Implementation: With equal access to a unified and central database, every interaction between your company and your clients/leads is recorded; this becomes a “one-truth.” There is only one story for each client now; everyone in your company can see the customer's path. Use sales enablement to create specialized content from client data patterns and history.
2. Increased Sales Productivity: By providing “one-truth” access to customer data and content from all departments and team members and by automating manual tasks, your team members can respond directly to client concerns and find personalized solutions more easily. Use sales enablement to generate content targeted to each stage of the client journey; sales and client service teams can respond with the correct information at the right time.
3. Improved Customer Satisfaction: With “one-truth,” teams can track and follow established clients and respond to their personal journey. Use sales enablement to provide individualized attention to service issues.
4. Engaged sales teams: Your CRM can align your sales and marketing teams with access to shared data, and your sales enablement jointly owned by sales and marketing can unite the two teams with shared goals and performance KPIs.

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Best Practices for CRM and Sales Enablement Integration

To optimize your CRM and sales enablement integration, it's important to follow best practices such as:

1. Defining your KPI metrics and goals: Before integrating your CRM and Sales Enablement, you need a clear and measurable vision of what you want to achieve and how you will measure your progress. Set up your “SMART” before you initiate. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Make sure your business objectives and your sales teams are aligned.
2. Use tools and platforms right for you: Not every CRM or sales enablement program is right for your type of business. There are many CRMs, but not all of them will work with you or your needs. You’ll also want to look at what third-party integrations are offered by your vendor. Of course, we believe TigerLRM can provide the solution you are looking for when you combine your CRM and Sales Enablement with AI; very few CRMs can offer you this level of integration.
3. Customizing your content: You must adjust your content to match buyer and client journeys. You can determine buyer and client journeys with data from your CRM, and you’ll use sales enablement techniques to identify and craft timely messaging that helps nurture your prospects and convert them to sales.
4. Update your training: You’ll need to train your team on how to use your CRM specifically, but you’ll also need to train your teams on how sales enablement works and why it is a collaborative effort with no room for singular loners. You’ll need to provide them with ongoing coaching, support, and feedback in both cases.

In closing

Integrating CRM and sales enablement can boost sales performance, raise customer satisfaction levels, and achieve your business goals. TigerLRM is a CRM with sales enablement powered by AI which streamlines processes, improves customer experience, and increases productivity.

TigerLRM offers small and medium-sized companies a comprehensive sales enablement management solution. You can hire us as your sales enablement management resource to start SE in your company. We can continue to run that department, or you can use us as you hire and train your own SE professional.
Reach out to us to find out more. 954-231-7776 or [email protected]