The Role of Marketing in Sales Enablement

Yes, the word “sales” is in sales enablement.  

However, that doesn’t mean the process of creating solid sales enablement content falls solely on the shoulders of your sales team.  

Instead, this is an area where a strong alignment between marketing and sales can help create some of the most beneficial pieces of content for your organization.  

Here, we’re not only going to break down exactly how marketing plays an integral role in developing content that, ideally, makes the life of a seller that much easier but also how to enhance the alignment between the two departments overall. 

Understand Each Other's Superpowers 

I think it’s safe to say that marketing and sales think about things...differently.  

It’s a stereotype at this point, right? You can probably hear some common complaints echoing in your head right now.  

Sales: “Marketing needs to give us more leads!” 

Marketing: “Sales doesn’t use any of the leads we give them!”  

However, the beauty of each department's differences really can be captured in solid sales enablement content. After all, in creating great sales enablement, it takes two to tango!  

At the end of the day, sales and marketing teams need to understand and appreciate each other's unique skills and abilities for what they are: superpowers. 

Sales teams are on the front lines, interacting with customers every day. They have a deep understanding of customer needs, pain points, and objections.  

Marketing teams, on the other hand, are experts at creating compelling content that speaks to those pain points unearthed by members of the sales team. Marketers also have the ability to reach a much larger audience than sales teams can on their own. 

By enhancing and improving the communication between departments, sales and marketing teams can only stand to increase the quality and effectiveness of sales enablement.  

By aligning their efforts and understanding each other's talents, these two teams can create sales enablement content that more frequently moves prospects from initial interest to a closed sale. 

Marketing Tells the Story of Customer Hurdles and Roadblocks 

As mentioned above, sure, sales teams know the hurdles their ideal customer faces.  

But where does the customer see themselves when it comes to those roadblocks? Do they see themselves in relation to the problem? Are they even aware that they have an issue that sales can help resolve? 

That’s where marketing comes in. 

Marketing, ideally, can take those many pain points and fold them into a compelling story that feels relatable to your ideal customer, one that addresses the specific problems and objections of potential customers.  

Also, marketing can create targeted campaigns that speak directly to the needs of specific customer segments.  

By tailoring content to specific customer groups, marketing can increase the relevance and effectiveness of their messaging. That way, sales teams can use this content to engage with prospects and customers in a more meaningful way. 

Adapt, Adapt, Adapt 

Another way in which each department can utilize their unique “superpowers,” is by merely being in tune with their own respective worlds. 

No one is more aware of the ways in which the landscape of sales is changing and evolving than sales professionals.  

And the same applies to the world of marketing. Who are you going to ask about the latest trends in the marketing world? Marketers, of course.   

Continual alignment between marketing and sales allows for necessary adjustment of sales enablement to keep up with shifting trends in customer behavior and market fluctuations.  

Marketing teams can use data and analytics to track the effectiveness of their content and campaigns, while sales teams can provide feedback on what is and isn't resonating with customers.  

Superheroes Unite! 

By working together, these teams can adapt their strategies and messaging to meet the changing needs of their customers better. 

As you can see, the role of marketing in creating effective sales enablement content is critical. Together, sales and marketing teams can work toward creating a seamless customer experience that leads to more closes. 

So, if your sales and marketing departments don’t seem to be on the same page quite yet, just think of them as superheroes waiting to join forces

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