Shawnna Sumaoang: Hello, and welcome to the Win Win Podcast. I’m your host, Shawnna Sumaoang. Be a part of us as we dive into altering traits within the office and how one can navigate them efficiently.

Right here to debate this subject is Sofia Arroyo, the income enablement packages lead at Clari. Thanks for becoming a member of us, Sofia. I’d love so that you can inform us about your self, your background, and your position.

Sofia Arroyo: Thanks a lot for having me, Shawnna, I’m excited to be right here. My title is Sofia Arroyo and I’ve been in enablement for over six years. I began as a gross sales rep as an account government and transitioned into enablement, and have by no means seemed again. So I’m based mostly within the San Francisco Bay space and really excited to speak as we speak.

SS: We’re excited to have you ever right here. I do know you latterly joined the Clari staff, and as you talked about in your introduction, you carry numerous frontline gross sales expertise with you. How does your expertise as a frontline vendor information your strategy to enablement?

SA: Yeah, for me the most important factor is knowing and emphasizing the “what’s in it for me” and “why does this matter?”

So usually enablement, in a great way, could be very wanted. Individuals wish to study, folks wish to train others, and get in entrance of gross sales groups general. However, actually answering the query: what’s in it for me as a vendor? Why does this matter? How is it going to assist me promote extra, and have higher conversations with clients?

That has helped me in my very own expertise ship nice enablement general. A second a part of that is giving targeted studying. So, delivering targeted studying and lowering the noise that usually hits gross sales groups. I bear in mind as a vendor myself, feeling overwhelmed as a result of we had so many conferences on a regular basis.

There have been tons of individuals coming to speak to us and pondering, “Man, what would I’ve wished or what do I want I had once I was a vendor?”, and taking that focus and making use of it to enablement general. So actually emphasizing, once more, what’s in it for me and what do we would like sellers to have the ability to do has helped me ship impactful enablement packages on the corporations I’ve labored for.

SS: Completely, it sounds such as you actually know what it’s wish to stroll of their sneakers, and I count on that’s particularly useful on this entrance. Now, I observed one thing in your LinkedIn profile, and it mentions that you simply goal to advertise a studying tradition. I’d love to know, how do you foster a tradition of studying amongst reps, particularly along with your background as a vendor?

SA: I’d say two methods. The primary is, once more, making issues very related. Once I suppose again to being a vendor, as I discussed, I used to be desperate to study and I wished to speak to different individuals who had been seeing success, and on the high of the leaderboards. And so I knew at the moment, however I actually wished to consider, okay, what do I wish to see as a learner?

And who do I wish to discuss to? So, numerous that’s how we make enablement and coaching related to learners and sellers to actually be sure that they see why it’s impactful. After which that creates that studying tradition general. So actually, “Hey, I’m hungry to study as a result of I do know it is going to straight impression my ebook of enterprise, and it’s going to straight impression how I discuss to prospects and clients, and I’m going to see success from it general.”

The second factor is peer-to-peer studying. One of many issues we don’t at all times emphasize in enablement is the significance of really educating others once we study one thing. It’s that defining second of, “We’ve really actually effortlessly carried out a brand new studying or conduct change once we can train different folks one thing.” So leveraging peer-to-peer studying to create that tradition of studying from, not simply of us like myself and enablement, however individuals who wish to hear from other people like themselves, and ensuring you may join others to people who find themselves experiencing precisely what they’re on a day-to-day foundation is a good way to advertise that tradition of studying internally. 

SS: I like that you simply’re driving that. And your staff carried out Highspot’s coaching and training capabilities. How does having a unified enablement platform make it easier to ship more practical studying packages?

SA: I should give a shout-out to the strategic enablement framework general that we’ve talked about at Highspot and we’ve talked about internally right here at Clari and on the corporations I’ve labored at.

It’s that constant execution piece. Coaching and training is one thing everyone knows is critical, nevertheless it’s about implementing it within the workflow of our reps and in our learners. Having one platform the place folks can go to not solely get the assets, and content material they must be profitable, however then have entry to teaching alternatives in mere real-time or after they want it makes for that flywheel of the equip, practice, and coach to work successfully. It’s the one method that we are able to ensure that we’re capturing the correct behaviors and selling the correct outcomes inside our group by having a single pane of glass that we are able to have a look at on the subject of implementing enablement packages general.

SS: Now, you talked about earlier that you simply give attention to designing outcome-based studying. What are a few of your finest practices for serving to reps put studying into motion and the way do you leverage Highspot to assist? 

SA: At first, it’s assembly reps the place they’re. I can’t inform you the variety of occasions, and I feel a part of enablement can be studying from errors. Nobody’s good, I’ve tried, and there’s a trial and error piece of what I’ve achieved and my success as nicely. However I feel one of many greatest issues I’ve heard from reps is, “Oh man, I’ve to maintain going to all these totally different instruments or programs to entry what I must be profitable. I’m probably not certain the way it applies to my ebook of enterprise, or what I’m doing every day.”

So, the very first thing is assembly reps the place they’re and actually ensuring that you’re designing enablement that once more meets them of their workflow but in addition applies what they must be doing every day. So if we do one thing on prospecting, we’re speaking about, “Hey, we’re going to speak about how we prospect.”

It’s not only a 30-minute webinar on how we prospect. Demise by PowerPoint isn’t enjoyable, nevertheless it’s really, “Nice. Let’s pull up an account record. Take your account record. We’re going to stroll via these personas that we’re concentrating on and finest practices for that.” So, make it action-oriented once we can.

That’s the advantage of the distant, digital studying and coaching that we are able to do, is using break rooms in Zoom to make it, once more, action-oriented, then hit these outcomes that we’ve recognized firstly. The opposite factor right here is ensuring that we clearly outline what outcomes are firstly and having that dialog up entrance, not simply with sellers, but in addition with our cross-functional stakeholders and companions as nicely.

So at any time when somebody involves me and says, we wish to practice on this, we wish to allow the sector. It’s, “Nice. What do we would like our sellers to have the ability to do? And the way can we be sure that the enablement matches that to ensure that we’re hitting these outcomes?” And lastly, it’s about repetition. We’ve to maneuver away from the one-and-done enablement, however actually push ourselves as enablement leaders and as enablement professionals, in addition to our cross-functional stakeholders, to say, “Nice, you wish to practice on this now. What can we do in two weeks from now? In a month from now, subsequent quarter, to bolster that studying?” So I feel ensuring that we’re continually tying again to these outcomes.

We’re using issues like Highspot to have a look at what property are being leveraged. We’re taking analytics into consideration to actually measure the success of our packages, not simply in a single second, but in addition over an extended time frame as nicely. 

SS: That’s implausible. And also you’ve been so considerate in the way in which that you simply’ve designed this that I think about you wish to ensure that your reps are taking full benefit of those and actually adopting the coaching.

What are your finest practices for driving adoption of your studying packages amongst your reps? 

SA: I really feel like slightly little bit of a damaged document, however I’ll say making it related. I feel that paired with peer-to-peer studying, as I discussed earlier than, it’s been actually useful for us. Actually ensuring that we have now voices from the sector.

I feel one of many key learnings I had early on in my enablement profession was simply taking enablement and dealing on it in a silo and delivering it with out getting enter from the sector, from sellers, and from management. One of many ways in which we’ve seen essentially the most success from driving adoption isn’t just taking a top-down strategy from having administrators or our CRO discuss in regards to the significance of enablement, however really having friends and different sellers speak about, “Hey, this was actually impactful for me. I used to be in a position to shut this deal due to X, Y, Z.”

So I feel one factor is once more, making it related, using voices from the sector, not being afraid to get different folks concerned in that method, to ensure that we are able to actually have the most important impression doable. The opposite factor I feel is absolutely supporting managers. And I feel that’s one thing that Highspot permits us to do in another way, is ensuring that we’re coaching the coach in some circumstances, but in addition simply giving them the instruments and perception they want and make that readily accessible to them in order that they will then drive adoption inside their very own groups.

So, I feel it’s a mixture of constructing it related, but in addition setting our managers, our frontline managers up for achievement to have the ability to help their groups on a extra particular person foundation as nicely. 

SS: I like these finest practices and it’s clearly paying off. You guys have had super progress on this entrance.

I feel Clari is at an 81% energetic learner price with an 11% improve in simply the final couple of months, so completely superb, and a testomony to the work you and the staff are doing there. On that specific subject, I’d love to know how do you measure your progress and use metrics to actually optimize your ends in your packages?

SA: Yeah. So firstly, it’s actually centered round rep productiveness and that begins with: can reps discover what they want? And after they do discover content material or property, are they leveraging them in ways in which drive pipeline? The opposite method that we measure progress is by taking a look at true metrics, top-of-funnel metrics, so pipeline technology, taking a look at deal velocity, actually connecting again to these, the important thing metrics which can be basic and actually essential to wholesome gross sales groups general.

And I feel with the ability to join enablement again to these true gross sales metrics is a key a part of how we measure progress. It’s not nearly are folks studying? Are they really attending learnings, however are we really seeing pipeline being impacted?

Are we driving extra pipeline? Are we speaking to the correct folks, actually ensuring that we’re leveraging metrics and KPIs, in addition to simply trying on the knowledge at each single flip to ensure that we’re seeing true impression from the packages that we’re delivering general?

SS: How does excessive adoption of your enablement packages make it easier to drive the enterprise outcomes that you simply goal to realize? And do you will have any wins you may share?

SA: Yeah, the most important win to date that was actually thrilling was following our gross sales kickoff. So we launched a brand new answer, gross sales movement at our kickoff this 12 months and following RKO, we made certain to really create put up work inside Highspot. So we created a studying path and leveraging a few of the issues I discussed earlier, getting frontline managers concerned, making it related, bringing in these voices from the sector.

We actually noticed excessive adoption and nearly pleasure to complete these programs, as a result of it was very impactful for our reps and truly drove higher conversations with the folks they had been making an attempt to promote to. In order that was an enormous one for us. And what we’ve been in a position to see is from our name intelligence platform, from the Highspot analytics throughout the studying path as nicely.

And simply, anecdotal suggestions as nicely is that we are literally seeing offers transfer via the pipeline sooner. We’re seeing extra impactful discovery being made with our prospects and clients. And we’re really seeing elevated deal dimension as nicely. So one of many large elements of our answer gross sales movement was, how do we actually present and speak about worth versus simply specializing in product options and capabilities to promote the total platform of Clari, and we’re really seeing our reps with the ability to have extra of these conversations, which could be very thrilling.

When you will have excessive adoption, if you create that tradition of studying, you really see that impression the enterprise straight. And it’s a extremely thrilling time for us general. And we’re excited to see what occurs for the remainder of the 12 months. 

SS: Superb. And really tangible, concrete enterprise outcomes there, so implausible work. Final query for you, as you look to the long run at Clari, how do you intend to leverage innovation like AI capabilities to proceed to optimize your studying packages?

SA: AI is the recent subject today for certain and we’re knee-deep in it as nicely right here at Clari. I feel for me, what’s actually thrilling and what I begin to consider is imagining a world the place we may ship hyper-personalized and efficient coaching within the workflow of our sellers, leveraging AI, and with the ability to align coaching with a person’s previous efficiency. What if we may leverage AI, and I’m imagining a world fairly quickly, I really feel like, the place we may take what we’ve realized, people previous performances, have a look at what their strengths are, have a look at what their progress areas are, after which create a hyper-personalized enablement program for them.

I feel that’s the powerful half and the reply that we’re all on the lookout for now could be how can we create enablement packages which can be customized at scale, proper? We are able to’t do one-to-one teaching on a regular basis, that’s the place leveraging frontline managers is so vital. I feel AI goes to present us the chance to research the information based mostly on the place are reps struggling.

Are there sure factors inside a deal the place, whether or not it’s stage three or stage 4, or on the shut, the place they want further assist? And once we see these triggers, can we then push them content material they will then assessment and study once more of their workflow? I feel these are the issues the place whereas AI is once more, such a sizzling subject proper now, it’s actually thrilling to consider methods by which we are able to actually impression, not simply folks’s lives, but in addition their potential to achieve success in position, and to have that general. So we’re excited to see that. I do know Highspot’s doing loads on the AI entrance too, when it comes to teaching. I feel teaching is what everyone seems to be asking for. That’s the primary request from our reps proper now could be, “Give me extra teaching.”

And I feel that it’s actually thrilling to see, to consider how we are able to leverage AI to help our staff, not simply once more, when it comes to being profitable from a vendor aspect, but in addition impacting retention. Think about what it might do in case you may in actual time, have somebody coach you on what you may do higher and implement that the following day, proper?

It’s that real-time impression that I feel won’t solely have an effect on the expansion of the enterprise but in addition retaining gross sales groups completely satisfied, retaining folks completely satisfied the place they wish to be at an organization and keep there for a very long time. You’re very excited to see the place AI goes and positively give it some thought every day.

SS: I like that, Sofia. And I’ve to say, I feel you might need a crystal ball, not that I can verify or deny the Highspot roadmap, however you might be positively onto one thing there. So thanks once more a lot for becoming a member of us as we speak. I actually recognize your time and your insights. 

SA: Thanks a lot for having me. I’m trying ahead to constructing an excellent stronger partnership with you all. 

SS: To our viewers. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Win Win Podcast. Make sure to tune in subsequent time for extra insights on how one can maximize enablement success with Highspot.

On the lookout for extra finest practices to form your enablement technique? Take the State of Gross sales Enablement 2024 survey, and get data-driven insights on innovating your enablement efforts to drive constant gross sales efficiency this 12 months.