Analysis from LinkedIn discovered that 54% of sellers say gross sales instruments allow them to construct belief and shut offers with patrons. So, what position does an environment friendly tech stack play in creating an efficient enablement technique?

Shawnna Sumaoang: Hello and welcome to the Win Win Podcast. I’m your host, Shawnna Sumaoang. Be part of us as we dive into altering tendencies within the office and the way to navigate them efficiently. Right here to debate this subject is Rey Espinosa, senior product marketing consultant at ODP Enterprise Options. Thanks for becoming a member of, Rey! I’d love so that you can inform us about your self, your background, and your position.

Rey Espinosa: Completely. I positively wish to prolong my thanks and gratitude for having me be a part of the podcast. As for myself, I’ve truly acquired about near 30 years of expertise in gross sales and sales-related roles. I spent about 10 years truly as a frontline gross sales rep or account supervisor, and I managed some gross sales groups. The majority of my tenure has truly been in a company coaching position, sporting any and all of the completely different hats that trainers put on, facilitator, licensed gross sales teacher, content material and rhythm creator, coach, and simply the whole lot that’s concerned with that. That’s the majority of my expertise. About simply over a 12 months in the past, our group adopted Highspot and truly invited me to be the Highspot answer proprietor for ODP Enterprise Options. That’s my present aim and I’m loving each second of it.

SS: Nicely, thanks once more a lot for becoming a member of us right now, Ray. I actually recognize it. Now, I wish to get began with clearly understanding what the panorama seemed like earlier than. Earlier than Highspot, what have been some challenges your group was experiencing? How have you ever been capable of remedy these challenges since having Highspot in your tech stack?

RE: Nicely, the place to start on this one? The challenges that we’re actually dealing with in our group with our previous content material administration system actually have been primary. There was simply an awesome quantity of content material on the platform. Our gross sales groups have been challenged with looking for the content material. Even so as to add to that, after they would discover content material, a whole lot of it was outdated, it was previous, it was irrelevant, and never usable to share with our prospects.

Implementing Highspot, afforded us the chance to actually wipe the slate clear, which is a good profit for the group. We actually took a tough have a look at the content material that we had, and we made that aware resolution to be very intentional about what we introduced into Highspot. We made certain we solely introduced in the newest and related content material. A number of property have been up to date to make it possible for they have been up-to-date and related, after which we excluded a whole lot of content material. That allowed us to start out from a very nice level with our content material. We knew the content material that was getting uploaded was updated, it was related, it was actually wholesome.

Additionally, with this smaller quantity of content material, it addressed the problem that our gross sales groups had with looking for content material simply and rapidly, they usually knew no matter they might discover in Highspot was going to be up-to-date and it was going to be related for right now’s enterprise panorama. Going by this course of, simply helped to enhance efficiencies and the general perspective that our customers had on the content material that we had obtainable for them to make use of with their prospects.

SS: I like to listen to that. Now you will have additionally been doing superb inside your group at ODP Enterprise Options. You will have an 81% recurring utilization price of the Highspot platform, which, as I stated, is excellent. I’d like to be taught from you. What are some key methods you combine Highspot into vendor’s workflows and the way has that helped to drive adoption?

RE: Nicely, there’s a few completely different ways in which we’ve accomplished this. From its inception, Highspot has had some actually nice integration instruments and capabilities into the opposite software program instruments in our tech stack. That actually helped to advertise and drive the adoption of the platform. We’re capable of present them entry to the content material from Highspot by Outlook, by our CRM, and thru a few of our different gross sales instruments that we’re utilizing. That actually helped with adoption. It was simple to get to and straightforward to make use of from whichever software they occurred to be utilizing of their workflow.

The opposite factor that basically helped out is we made certain that we had fixed and constant messaging about Highspot to all of our groups. We made certain that they understood that Highspot is out of 1 supply of fact, the content material, whether or not it’s advertising and marketing content material, product info, course of paperwork, coaching, or what we needed our gross sales groups to know, they usually’ve realized that if you happen to’re searching for something, begin with Highspot.

SS: I like that precept. What are a few of the advantages of integrating Highspot with a few of the different core instruments in your tech stack, like Salesforce CRM, for instance? What are a few of the key enterprise outcomes that you just’ve seen because of that integration?

RE: Nicely, once more, it goes again to actually the sturdy partnerships that Highspot has with a whole lot of the opposite distributors and firms on the market. The largest and most seamless integration that we’ve with Highspot is inside our CRM. The combination that Highspot has with Salesforce permits us the flexibility to serve up content material to the reps whereas they’re in Salesforce throughout their regular circulation of enterprise and processes.

We’ve got the flexibility to serve up content material on the account information, that chance, and get in touch with information, and we will choose and select what content material we wish to present for various accounts or completely different levels in a possibility or completely different merchandise which are related to a possibility. That was one of many core integration items that we love about Highspot. Simply so as to add icing to the cake, you will have that integration with Outlook. As a gross sales rep is beginning to create an e-mail interplay or engagement with the shopper, they will simply drop in related content material. The identical goes for an additional software that we use known as Gross sales Regulation. There’s one other nice easy integration to herald content material from Highspot after they’re utilizing that software.

That integration actually simply permeated by the entire instruments that we actually use and that our gross sales groups use on a day-to-day foundation. The largest profit was that our gross sales groups didn’t have to regulate or change their processes drastically. It was only a small tweak right here and a small tweak there to verify they’re conscious, that is how simply and rapidly you may get to the content material it’s essential share along with your prospects.

The largest key enterprise outcomes that we’ve seen are improved efficiencies. Reps are capable of go in, discover content material that they want, or we serve up the content material that’s most related at that second in time after they really want it for his or her prospects. They’re spending much less time doing what we name admin duties. They’re not having to seek for content material or work out what content material to make use of, and even make the most of the template capabilities, or pitch templates inside Highspot. Now we’re presenting these messages the place they’re merely simply personalizing it a bit bit and sending it out to the purchasers. It’s an enormous enchancment in efficiencies, which frees up time to let our sellers do what they’re paid to do, which is interact with our prospects, carry the worth of a partnership between our organizations, and drive profitability and income.

SS: That’s completely what the aim ought to be when it comes to the place reps are spending and focusing their time as a result of it in the end drives productiveness. Now, I do know that, particularly in Salesforce, you will have been engaged on an enormous mission to mainly construct in concentrating on in Salesforce to make sure you could ship that just-in-time content material on your reps. Are you able to inform us a bit bit extra about this mission and the way you’re leveraging the Salesforce integration to proceed to additional enhance rep workflows and efficiencies?

RE: Completely. With the adoption of Highspot, the primary steps are actually getting the platform stood up and ensuring that the framework is there, you will have the best spots, lists, filters, and simply the whole lot is all arrange so to handle that content material. The following huge step that we’re taking a look at is now serving up that content material, and bettering these efficiencies with our customers, that are our gross sales groups.

I suppose the best solution to put that is as you begin to wish to drive enterprise, companies have campaigns and initiatives, completely different pages or completely different performs that they wish to push out the place we really feel we will generate income and convey extra worth to our prospects and with Salesforce and the mixing that Highspot has with Salesforce, it permits us to current these initiatives or these campaigns. The entire info that’s related to these campaigns and initiatives will be proper there on the focused account. By bringing it up and integrating it into the account document, we now current that information or serve up that info proper there on the account and make the gross sales groups conscious, hey, this specific account is absolutely primed and focused for this initiative. Begin to discuss to them about these merchandise or these providers and options.

The good factor is we use play pages from Highspot and we leverage that to know, say, present, and do construction in order that they will rapidly go to that web page, learn by it and actually perceive what they should do. This actually ups their competency degree about speaking to their prospects and the way they wish to discuss to their prospects, what they wish to present, and the way they will actually place the worth that we will carry. That’s one of many first actual heavy integrations that we’re doing at that account degree inside Salesforce. Proper on its heels goes to be that very same kind of serving up of content material and knowledge on the alternatives. We will serve that up relying on the stage of the chance, relying on the product that’s associated to that chance.

The following step past that’s trying on the contact degree. The person person who we’re coping with. We will see what they’re participating with as a result of we wish to leverage and serve up the best content material on the proper time, provided that the shopper’s title or the business they’re in, is the choice maker, there are numerous items of data which are obtainable inside Salesforce that may enable us to serve that content material up that’s going to resonate with that buyer, given their purchaser persona or their purchaser kind. You must communicate to a C-suite particular person rather a lot in a different way from an finish consumer or mid-level supervisor that has completely different priorities. Various things resonate with completely different prospects and being able to serve up content material, we all know, goes to resonate with that specific kind of purchaser is absolutely going to assist to generate the curiosity from that buyer and wish to even have these conversations with our gross sales groups.

SS: That’s a tremendous enterprise of labor although, Ray, so congratulations on that mission. I believe it’s going to be extraordinarily useful to your gross sales groups. Now, one other subject that I do know is close to and expensive to you, and likewise a approach to assist your groups enhance effectivity, is thru this notion of governance. You truly shared your insights in your governance technique at our annual consumer convention, Spark ‘22, final fall. Out of your expertise, and for the podcast viewers that won’t have been capable of be a part of that session, what’s the significance of content material governance, particularly when productiveness is so essential to an organization’s success?

RE: In a nutshell, the significance is absolutely having up-to-date, related, and what we prefer to type of name wholesome content material. You wish to make it possible for no matter info you’re offering to your buyer, it’s going to be related for right now’s enterprise panorama. As everyone knows, over these final couple of years with the whole lot that’s been happening on the earth, enterprise has modified dramatically. Ensuring that the content material that you’ve, the data that you just’re sharing along with your buyer is updated and displays how that panorama has modified goes to resonate extra with them than only a flier or a brochure that you just printed again in 2018 or 2019. The identical key factors and worth that you just have been making an attempt to current at that second in time aren’t actually related anymore given the panorama and the shift in how we’re doing enterprise right now.

All of it begins with that content material governance and ensuring that the property and the content material that you just’re loading into Highspot it’s updated, related, and wholesome. For me, it even goes past that. There’s extra to think about than simply ensuring that you just’ve acquired a related title and an outline, expiry date, and that it’s tagged appropriately for listing builders in Highspot. We have to have a look at the general spots. The listing that you just’ve created, the pages that you just’re creating from a touchdown web page to a spot overview, to an inventory overview web page, the completely different play pages, all of that I believe is inside that realm of governance. I imply, it’s nice if you happen to write a very nice e book, an superior novel, however if you happen to go right into a library and you’ll’t discover that e book, no one’s ever going to understand it’s there.

The best way that you just construction the framework of Highspot is a part of that governance as effectively. If you are able to do that proper and hold it up to date, you’ll need to refresh it. It’s not one thing the place it’s one-and-done. You must revisit it and just remember to’re maintaining with the way you’re doing enterprise and your buyer base and your product strains and issues like that, however if you happen to hold it updated, it’s a lot simpler for reps to search out what they want. It includes much more than simply the importing of content material and tagging that and placing an acceptable title on it, it additionally includes a few of the format and construction of the setting. You wish to make it possible for once you’re creating your framework and the technique for presenting content material to your sellers that it is sensible, that it’s intuitive, and that it’s simple for the tip customers to search out that info. That’s actually what’s going to drive the efficiencies, drive productiveness, drive income. All of it begins with governance, nevertheless it goes past simply ensuring that you just’re checking a few bins on the content material properties. It goes effectively past that to actually drive that house.

SS: Wonderful. You guys, as I stated, have been doing phenomenal with governance inside your occasion. Your governance well being rating constantly stays at 75% or above, which, as I stated, is completely unbelievable Ray. Unbelievable job. I’d like to be taught a bit bit extra about our different prospects which are actually eager to implement governance finest practices. How do you companion with spot house owners and publishers inside Highspot to make sure that Highspot is full of related content material on your sellers?

RE: It’s a mix of conferences, collaboration, and partnership. With our spot house owners and our publishers, we meet with them month-to-month. As I discussed earlier than, we’ve solely had Highspot for a few 12 months, however these month-to-month conferences actually assist to make it possible for our spot house owners and our publishers, primary, are keenly conscious of how essential their position is within the Highspot platform and our governance and simply general content material administration technique. They should know the way essential they’re. Having that fixed constant communication and two-way communication actually helps us out.

It makes certain that the spot house owners and the publishers really feel as if they type of personal part of Highspot. It’s not simply one other course of that they’ve to include. It’s their child, as a lot as it’s mine. That fixed assembly with them on a month-to-month foundation helps out. Past that, we even have applied a Highspot finish consumer committee and a Highspot gross sales chief committee in order that we will meet on a month-to-month foundation with our customers. We get their suggestions, we make it possible for they’re conscious of latest options, new capabilities, new methods that we’re implementing options in and capabilities which are built-in into Salesforce. This fashion they know what they’re going to see and the way simple and fast it’s going to be to get to related content material, however then permitting them to offer that suggestions as effectively.

Now, as a part of the gross sales enablement crew and proprietor of Highspot, we will take the suggestions from the customers, spot house owners, and publishers to vet that out to determine what we will actually do. As soon as we perceive that, now we assist to companion with our advertising and marketing, our product, our merchandising, our gross sales op groups, and help groups, and our coaching groups to say, okay, that is what we actually must do. That is the course that we have to drive Highspot as a result of it’s going to actually assist from a content material administration add course of for our publishers and our spot house owners, nevertheless it’s additionally going to have a really constructive influence on our customers. You must regulate each of these teams. One lets you keep the well being and construction of the platform, however the different one is the customers.

You may construct this nice environment friendly automotive, but when it’s ugly and it’s cramped and also you’re not comfy sitting in it, many individuals aren’t going to purchase it and use it. On the opposite facet of that coin, if it’s actually a great-looking automotive and it’s comfy and all that nice stuff, good, you’re going to get lots of people shopping for it, however if you happen to didn’t construct it the best approach, it’s going to interrupt down rapidly, so you must stability these two. I believe we’ve accomplished a fantastic job at our firm to make it possible for we’re facilitating this two-way communication and suggestions loop to verify all people’s voice is heard and that they perceive that your concept, as wild as it’s possible you’ll suppose it’s, is possibly the right answer for what we have to proceed to drive Highspot to drive efficiencies and productivities and drive income.

I do know that they really feel that approach as a result of they’re greater than welcome to throw out concepts throughout our conferences and simply say, hey, it could be nice if we might do that if we might have that. Numerous occasions we discuss to our Highspot help crew, which is nice, they’re superior, they usually say, yeah, we will try this. Highspot once more, simply exhibits its colours and it shines shiny at the whole lot that it might do to assist help our enterprise.

SS: I like that, Ray. Now one other space, since you introduced up the subject of partnership that has been essential to your enablement technique is coaching. Are you able to inform us about the way you companion along with your coaching crew to optimize coaching applications utilizing Highspot?

RE: Completely. Yeah. I do have possibly an ace up my sleeve on this one, simply because I truly was a part of the coaching crew and, once more, my years of expertise in coaching, however the capabilities that Highspot has actually got here on the opportune time. We truly don’t have a proper studying administration system right here at ODP Enterprise Options. We have been making do with what we might and creating some advert hoc applications to satisfy our coaching wants. With the implementation of Highspot, it gave us just about the whole lot that we wanted throughout the platform to help our coaching groups.

After I first got here in and began to handle the implementation and actually began to drive the answer for our group, studying an increasing number of in regards to the capabilities of coaching, I couldn’t wait to get again in contact with the coaching crew to say, hey guys, we now have a software that may do proper out of the field 85 to 90% of what we have been making an attempt to do as a gross sales crew. Let’s meet and let’s begin exhibiting you the options and capabilities and let’s begin constructing out our coaching applications. We now have an onboarding coaching program, as effectively, as a very good technique for our steady education schemes inside Highspot.

We’re additionally benefiting from a few of the new options. We’re actually, once more, leveraging, and I’m going to tout our Highspot success crew. They’re at all times prepared to satisfy with us and make it possible for we’re conscious of options and performance that they really feel are going to profit us. We meet with them each two weeks, rain or shine. They actually take the time to know, from a coaching perspective, what our coaching crew is making an attempt to do. They’ll actually spotlight the options, capabilities, and functionalities that align with these objectives and people initiatives that we’ve for coaching. With all of that tied collectively, it’s simply one other facet of Highspot that I can’t communicate extremely sufficient about.

We now have a person on the coaching crew who’s getting an increasing number of aware of Highspot coaching capabilities and performance, in order that they’re working very laborious to get the whole lot into Highspot for onboarding as a result of we do have onboarding for our area gross sales groups and we’ve a special onboarding program for our inside gross sales groups. He’s working to carry all that collectively. I companion with him. Not solely can we meet with our Highspot success crew each two weeks, however David and I meet no less than 4 or 5 occasions a month as a result of he desires to learn the way I can use Highspot for programs, classes, and certification applications. We actually love the newest characteristic that’s been launched, which is the occasion classes. That’s a game-changer for us. We love the flexibility now to create digital conferences or in-person conferences proper throughout the construction in fact. That’s simply one other nice characteristic that Highspot has launched.

SS: Past gross sales coaching, you’ve additionally engaged in some private studying applications by Highspot College programs. How have skilled improvement alternatives like these programs assist you to to repeatedly optimize your enablement technique and your use of excessive spot?

RE: Nicely, for me, being the content material administration and the answer proprietor for Highspot, that is one thing new for me. I’ve by no means had a lot of these roles and tasks. I’ve at all times accomplished coaching. That’s my bread and butter, so to talk. I had rather a lot to find out about gross sales enablement, about content material administration. The Highspot College is a good preliminary software to actually type of get you in tune with Highspot and the way to use Highspot for managing individuals for governing content material or including content material. They’ve acquired some nice programs on the market and I do know you guys are going to proceed to construct out the choices which are in Highspot College.

Past that, I’d additionally like to offer an enormous shout-out to the Highspot neighborhood. I imply, I’m going to the neighborhood web page no less than thrice per week. I attempted to focus on about an hour within the morning. I’ll give attention to governance, one-day gross sales play the subsequent day, completely different matters, and completely different classes every day to proceed studying extra about what’s it, what does gross sales enablement do, and the way can we make it higher? What are a few of the issues that we must always concentrate on, ought to be taking a look at, and ought to be serving to to drive in our organizations? That together with trying on the dialogue boards in there and actually understanding a whole lot of the questions that I’ve about Highspot and the way to use it, a whole lot of other people on the market have those self same questions.

These dialogue boards actually helped to carry collectively an enormous variety of like-minded people who wish to enhance not solely themselves, however Highspot and the setting for his or her organizations, however actually assist the leverage and information that we every have little tidbits right here and there. All people could be very supportive of that platform. The neighborhood is one other wonderful means that helps me to proceed to be taught. I’ve seen myself as an teacher or a instructor for a few years, nevertheless it actually acquired me excited to be again on the opposite facet of the fence to be a learner and to be taught new issues. I do know it’s type of an previous saying you could’t train an previous canine new methods, however I can inform you, I’m an previous canine and I’m studying some new methods because of the Highspot neighborhood.

SS: I’ve to say, Ray, that quote alone could have made my entire day. Thanks a lot for sharing that. To shut, I’ve one final query for you. What recommendation do you will have for different groups to optimize their enablement technique with Highspot?

RE: I assumed rather a lot about this query and, you recognize, I type of doubted myself in making an attempt to answer this query to be completely trustworthy, Shawnna. I don’t have a whole lot of expertise. I don’t have a whole lot of expertise or time behind this specific driver’s seat, however from what I’ve been studying, I believe one of the best recommendation I can provide is simply to be very open and have very sturdy, open strains of communication. Not solely between the people which are serving to to handle Highspot or which are in your gross sales enablement crew however actually the two-way communication between your advertising and marketing groups, your product groups, your gross sales groups, coaching, and gross sales operations. All people must be concerned in and has some degree of involvement and type of pores and skin within the sport on the subject of gross sales enablement.

As a gross sales enablement crew, we’re not on this island simply making an attempt to throw up smoke indicators and inform individuals what to do. You actually need to take the time to satisfy with people, perceive what they’re doing, their initiatives, their roadmap, after which how that roadmap and the way do these initiatives tie into initiatives, campaigns, coaching applications, and even simply the general presenting or managing of the content material and presenting that content material to gross sales.

In the end, as gross sales enablement, we actually wish to drive profitability and the success of our gross sales groups and our group, however to be able to try this, you must have a full understanding of your corporation, your corporation panorama, and the course that the enterprise goes in. Then have the ability to look a bit bit farther than that on the general panorama outdoors of your group, what’s actually working. How can we enhance issues?

The most effective recommendation I might give is communication, two-way open, trustworthy, free communication. There’s an previous saying in coaching that claims there are by no means any dumb questions, solely dumb solutions. Don’t be afraid to ask these inquiries to be taught and make it possible for all people feels comfy sharing their concepts since you by no means know when that one concept goes to return out that’s actually going to place you leaps and bounds forward of the sport.

SS: Ray, I’ve to say you nailed that recommendation. Thanks for sharing that with our viewers. And thanks for becoming a member of us right now.

RE: Nicely, thanks. It’s been my pleasure. I loved talking with you. I even get a bit bit tongue-tied each time I begin to consider Highspot and what it might do, and I’m so enthusiastic about what it’s going to carry for our group and everybody else sooner or later.

SS: Unbelievable. Thanks, Ray. To our viewers, thanks for listening to this episode of the Win Win podcast. Make sure you tune in subsequent time for extra insights on how one can transcend what beauty like with Highspot.