What is Sales Enablement? (And Why Most Teams Get It Wrong)
Sales enablement isn't just training. It's not just content. It's not just tools. Here's what it actually is, common mistakes teams make, and where to start.
The Simple Definition
Sales enablement is giving your sales team everything they need to sell effectively.
That's it. The rest is details.
"Everything they need" includes:
- Knowledge: What to say, when to say it, how to handle objections
- Content: Pitch decks, battle cards, case studies, email templates
- Tools: CRM, email software, data sources that actually work
- Process: Clear sales methodology, deal qualification, forecasting
- Coaching: Feedback, call reviews, skill development
But here's what matters: All of this should make reps close more deals, faster. If it doesn't, it's not sales enablement—it's just busy work.
Why the Confusion?
The term "sales enablement" means different things to different people:
The Consultant Definition
"Sales enablement is a strategic, cross-functional discipline designed to increase sales results and productivity by providing integrated content, training and coaching services for salespeople and front-line sales managers along the entire customer's buying journey."
Translation: Lots of words that don't help you actually do anything.
The Practical Definition
"Sales enablement is making sure reps know what to do, have what they need, and don't waste time on stupid stuff."
Much better.
What Sales Enablement Actually Looks Like
For a 10-Person Startup
Sales enablement might be:
- A Notion page with email templates and battle cards
- Weekly team call reviews
- Simple onboarding checklist for new reps
- Founder or VP Sales wearing the "enablement" hat
Budget: $0-2,000/year (mostly tool costs)
For a 50-Person Scale-Up
Sales enablement might be:
- First dedicated enablement hire (or sales ops person doing it)
- Formal onboarding program (2-4 weeks)
- Regular training on new products/messaging
- Sales playbook in Notion or Guru
- Maybe conversation intelligence (Gong/Chorus)
Budget: $50,000-150,000/year (one person + tools)
For a 200+ Person Enterprise
Sales enablement might be:
- Dedicated enablement team (3-5 people)
- Formal certification programs
- Full sales enablement platform (Highspot, Seismic)
- Regular training events and workshops
- Detailed analytics on content usage and effectiveness
Budget: $300,000-1,000,000+/year (team + tools + programs)
Common Mistakes Teams Make
Mistake #1: Confusing Enablement with Training
What it looks like: "We do quarterly product training, so we have enablement covered."
Why it's wrong: Training is one piece. If reps can't find the battle card when they need it, or the CRM is a mess, training doesn't help.
Fix: Think broader. Training + content + tools + process.
Mistake #2: Building Enablement for Enablement's Sake
What it looks like: "We built a comprehensive 47-page playbook!"
Why it's wrong: If reps don't use it, it doesn't matter how comprehensive it is.
Fix: Start with what reps actually need. Build from there.
Mistake #3: Copying Enterprise Playbooks Too Early
What it looks like: "Let's implement what Salesforce does for enablement."
Why it's wrong: Salesforce has 10,000 reps and a massive enablement team. You have 15 reps and a VP Sales doing enablement part-time.
Fix: Scale your enablement to your actual size. See what small teams actually need →
Mistake #4: Buying Tools Before Building Process
What it looks like: "Let's buy Gong! That'll fix our coaching problem."
Why it's wrong: If managers don't review calls now, they won't review them in Gong. Tools amplify good process, they don't create it.
Fix: Build the habit manually. Then buy the tool to make it easier.
Mistake #5: Having No One Accountable
What it looks like: "Everyone owns enablement."
Why it's wrong: When everyone owns something, no one owns it. Playbook gets outdated. Training doesn't happen. Content lives in 15 different places.
Fix: One person owns it. Even if it's 10% of someone's time.
Sales Enablement vs Sales Ops: What's the Difference?
People confuse these constantly:
Sales Ops
- Focus: Process, systems, data, reporting
- They handle: CRM management, forecasting, comp plans, territory design, sales analytics
- Goal: Make the sales machine run efficiently
Sales Enablement
- Focus: People, skills, content, coaching
- They handle: Training, playbook, onboarding, call coaching, content creation
- Goal: Make individual reps better at selling
In small companies (under 50 people): Usually one person does both. Often called "Sales Ops" but doing enablement work too.
In bigger companies: Separate teams. Sales Ops owns the systems. Enablement owns the people development.
Where to Start If You're Building Enablement from Scratch
Step 1: Start with Onboarding
New reps need to ramp fast. Create:
- Week 1-2 checklist (product knowledge, tools setup)
- Week 3-4 checklist (first calls, shadowing)
- 30/60/90 day expectations
Tool: Google Doc or Notion. Free.
Step 2: Document Your Best Stuff
What do your top reps do that others don't? Document it:
- Best cold email templates
- Discovery call questions that work
- Objection responses that close deals
- Battle cards for competitors
Tool: Notion or Google Drive. Free.
Step 3: Make It Easy to Find
Content that reps can't find doesn't exist. Organize it simply:
- One place for everything (not scattered across Drive/Slack/email)
- Clear structure (by stage: prospecting, discovery, demo, close)
- Search that works
Tool: Notion or Guru. $0-200/month. Compare options →
Step 4: Add Regular Coaching
Coaching makes the biggest difference:
- Managers review 2-3 calls per rep per month
- Team shares wins and learns from losses weekly
- Track common issues and address them in training
Tool: Zoom recording for now. Upgrade to Gong/Chorus when you're 50+ people.
Step 5: Measure What Matters
Track enablement effectiveness:
- Time to first deal: How long for new reps to close?
- Ramp time: How long to full quota?
- Content usage: Are reps actually using what you built?
- Win rates: Are they improving?
Your First 90 Days in Sales Enablement
Month 1: Listen and Learn
- Shadow 10+ sales calls
- Interview reps: "What do you wish you had?"
- Audit existing content (what exists, what's being used)
- Identify top 3 pain points
Month 2: Build Foundations
- Create/update onboarding checklist
- Organize existing content in one place
- Document best practices from top performers
- Launch regular coaching cadence
Month 3: Iterate and Expand
- Run first training session on #1 pain point
- Get feedback on what you built
- Add missing content based on real needs
- Start measuring impact