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 tendencies within the office and the best way to navigate them efficiently.

Analysis from Entreprenuer.com discovered that firms lose as much as 30% in income annually attributable to inefficiencies. On this present financial local weather, the significance of rep effectivity is at an all-time excessive. So, how can enablement leaders give attention to serving to reps maximize effectivity to make each interplay with a purchaser rely? 

Right here to debate this matter is Shelly Walshe, the Director, Gross sales Enablement & Operations at Delta Dental. Thanks for becoming a member of, Shelly! I’d love so that you can inform us about your self, your background, and your function. 

Shelly Walshe: You guess. Slightly bit about my background. Proper out of school, I went proper into retail gross sales and advertising and marketing. After a number of years there, I leaped into healthcare, which was actually completely different. I used to be on this gross sales coaching workforce and from there, I used to be promoted right into a gross sales management function the place I took these advertising and marketing expertise, these coaching expertise, and other people growth expertise into promoting. I discovered some success there after which moved right into a solely studying and growth coaching readiness perform. Apparently, I did properly sufficient there with problem-solving and creating folks that my workforce was constructed out together with actually the tendencies of bringing efficiencies, effectiveness, and enablement into organizations. For me, that thread that I’ve had all through my profession of being artistic and fixing issues, and creating others is an ideal match for this function.

I’m accountable for a nationwide workforce with numerous readiness, getting ready our gross sales kickoffs, instructing methods to arrange the sphere to be at their greatest in entrance of the client, together with among the much less attractive and enjoyable issues like our gross sales incentive program and even another work with occasions out available in the market. In order that’s me and I convey my creativity and creating others and problem-solving to my work all day, day by day. 

SS: I really like that. I feel that these are important expertise for anybody in enablement. Now, you’ve talked about that you simply’re continuously engaged on attempting to innovate basically programs and processes to assist affect gross sales achievements and every thing that they’re capable of accomplish inside your group. How has this strategy helped you to drive effectivity amongst your gross sales reps? 

SW: What I find out about, and being a frontline vendor myself, is you’re within the deal, you’re within the second, and in case you can’t get what you could cross the end line or transfer the deal ahead. I convey that and I search for leaders and members of my workforce which have that very same mindset. Not what we have to inform our sellers to do, however what we have to make them at their greatest, make them actually prepared in entrance of the client. Effectivity is an ideal phrase. How do they discover issues quick? How are they prepared in the intervening time? Do they get them out of digging in an e mail, phoning in a good friend, or having to return again to the client the following time? I feel that’s a spot the place we’ve got finished our greatest. We’ve obtained the answer the place the rep is working in the intervening time. In the event that they’re in an e mail, we’ve obtained one thing for e mail, they’re going to be within the discipline, and we’re getting them prepared within the discipline. 

Time is, particularly after the pandemic, it’s laborious to get in entrance of a buyer. It’s laborious to even get them on Zoom as a result of they’re just a little fatigued. You’ll want to benefit from what’s occurring. While you’re together with your buyer and whenever you’re in entrance of them. I really like expertise to try this and I’m fairly enthusiastic about what we’ve caused with Highspot as a result of that’s assembly our wants in much more methods than I might’ve anticipated.

SS: That’s all the time unbelievable to listen to. What are among the improvements you’ve been capable of obtain since implementing Highspot and what affect have you ever seen from these improvements, particularly in relation to efficiencies? 

SW: It’s very apparent that Highspot can ship content material. It’s fairly apparent that it could pace individuals up from the underside of the funnel to seek out the proper doc and discover the proper model, however we’ve dug rather a lot deeper there. I don’t wanna bypass that and give attention to among the cool issues we’re doing. The truth that our sellers can discover what they want quick, it’s a minute right here, it’s a minute there, it’s having to return to the workplace and discover it, ready for a response. 

Not solely are our sellers getting what they want in the intervening time, however so are our clients. It’s simply really easy to seek out what they want with a few clicks to the purpose the place our sellers are asking for every thing to enter Highspot. If we’ve got an asset that comes from our individuals org, they ask if we are able to put this in Highspot. They need this to be their house base and I feel that’s fairly thrilling. We’ve finished some distinctive spots and pages and property that basically aren’t about content material supply, nevertheless it’s making it simpler for our sellers.

One instance is our firm is getting greater. There’s loads of demand on time and capability, and our cross-functional companions are creating consumption types and vendor types. They ask that they fill out the shape to get the request for brand spanking new types or up to date types. They requested us to place it in Highspot and we simply put the hyperlinks in there as a result of they’re working in Highspot by both Salesforce or Outlook and when they should join with our model and artistic workforce on an consumption kind we discover it in a Highspot and that offloads time. So, am I creating time? Perhaps. Creating capability? Certain. I’m rushing them up, making them more practical and environment friendly, and ensuring what they ship available in the market is as proper as it may be, is huge. 

SS: I feel that’s unbelievable. I’d love to know, Shelly, I’m curious, have you ever come throughout challenges in relation to bettering effectivity, and possibly what are a few of these challenges that you simply come throughout, even inside your personal group, within the perspective of the economic system?

SW: Some efficiencies which have been caused, notably associated to Highspot, is our means to get our explicit proposals in entrance of our clients. We do about 700 new enterprise proposals. It’s rather a lot. They go in all completely different instructions. They hit e mail and other people have completely different capacities of their e mail bins as they’re receiving it as a buyer or dealer, and we’re transitioning into utilizing Highspot to ship proposals.

So what does that do? To begin with, it saves reissuing, loading information in a special area or content material software or Google Docs, or among the safety points that we run into. It makes it quick and environment friendly and the perfect half about that’s that this piece of delivering one thing in a method that’s actually good for the client, however good for us and good for advertising and marketing is that prospect opening the proposal. We’ve had anecdotes the place our rep says, I despatched one thing and the client says, ‘appears nice,’ however I do know they haven’t opened it or they arrive again to it in per week. They’re gaining this intelligence about the best way to now strategy the deal in new ways in which they’ve by no means had earlier than.

As a substitute of within the second getting a name again from that purchaser asking a query, they’re already starting to arrange, as a result of they’re noticing the client is spending time on this web page or they maintain going again to the worth. They are often extra prepared for the following steps on this negotiation or deal-making. That’s been simply groundbreaking. We despatched it by e mail and didn’t know what was occurring behind the scenes, or who else was getting concerned, and our reps are saying that that is setting them up for achievement and making them more practical once they’re in entrance of the client the following time. 

SS: I really like that. I do know that your workforce has seen loads of nice success from participating their patrons by Highspot, notably by the pitching functionality. In actual fact, I’ve seen that you simply guys have achieved an 84% adoption price of pitching, which is superb. Implausible work on that entrance. You talked just a little bit about among the pitching methods and the way it’s helped your workforce enhance effectivity. I’d additionally like to drill into understanding a few of your greatest practices for driving the adoption of pitching in Highspot and among the outcomes that you simply’ve seen as a enterprise due to leveraging pitching.

SW: I feel we began with my readiness workforce. I beloved Hamilton, so I’ll say discuss much less, hear extra. Put ourselves within the footwear of the vendor. While you inform them you need to pitch, you need to enter into Salesforce, you need to do one thing. There’s rather a lot that comes their method as a vendor, and that’s simply not the mindset for them. They’re driving enterprise, they’re energized, they usually wish to do, do, do, and go, go, go. To be informed what to do is usually in battle with what you wish to obtain. 

My workforce does loads of listening. What do you want? What can be useful? Whereas it wasn’t our finish recreation the place we wished them to do the pitching. You pitch a product, pitch a brand new method of doing issues, pitch a sale prospect. I imply, that’s actually what initially you consider what Highspot will do for you. We had sellers inform us, clients don’t need us to be dental specialists, they wish to study wellness. That is necessary to them. Which may not cross the end line on a deal, nevertheless it units us up as a top quality healthcare firm that basically is dedicated to oral well being and can do properly with the members that be part of us. We began with some thought management webinars that have been new to the corporate. We have been getting out, like telling our story of why oral healthcare issues and why we care about it, so we created webinars. 

Previously, our course of was not an concept. We did interact advertising and marketing with some campaigns, however that didn’t assist our sellers. They’re sort of blind to campaigns. They don’t actually know what’s occurring. They don’t know who’s going. Our campaigns could not even contact the particular person the vendor desires to hook up with the occasion. Our first launch in pitches was a very thought-provoking webinar to folks that the sellers wish to present worth to, they usually beloved it. Our adoption price has even grown since you bought that stat. We at the moment are at 90%, which is unparalleled for something I do with sellers to get them to return alongside. 

As soon as that they had the outcomes and the engagement and I may see the info, I feel we’re over 5,000 attendees within the final two quarters at these wellness webinars. Previously, we’d be fortunate if we had 10 or 12 attendees in 1 / 4, so the outcomes are there, the purchasers are thanking our reps for inviting them, and it’s simply been a terrific option to introduce them to Highspot. Now, they’re saying, what else can I do? How else can I exploit this software? We invited them in based mostly on what they wanted first, and that set us off and operating.

I’ll add, we’ve realized in a giant method with ours. Highspot skilled companies workforce. We meet with them weekly, they know us, we all know them, and we make investments time with them. It’s a type of conferences the place I feel others may say one thing got here up, and may’t make it, however we made it a precedence as a result of we gained a lot from these calls, whether or not it’s for a brand new concept or we’ve got an issue to resolve. Our partnership is like none different I’ve ever had with a vendor. I’ve a devoted workers and my readiness workforce really employed somebody for the function. I used to be including a brand new coaching place and we sought out somebody that had expertise with instruments like this and that tech mind that she brings to the job actually superior us as properly. It obtained us to the place we at the moment are quicker as a result of she may actually stroll each side. Not solely can she be tech, however she’s additionally actually embedded with gross sales, so she is aware of the best way to navigate very properly.

Lastly, to that adoption price and the usage of pitching, they run a set of workplace hours as soon as per week. They simply invite individuals in and ask them what they wish to check out, and what do you wish to ask us. Whether or not the reps simply use these workplace hours for one marketing campaign, one concept, or one occasion, it will get individuals utilizing the software very hands-on. It’s ongoing and it’s how we’re doing enterprise now. We’re not launching a software and hoping that folks will use it and sending out experiences that decision them out for not utilizing it, which is oftentimes how gross sales leaders will say we purchased this, however you’re not utilizing it. Get in there and also you higher use it. This can be a completely completely different strategy, and I feel it’s working very properly. 

SS: Completely. Completely different approaches for various groups typically that is the case. Now, I wish to shift gears just a little bit and we talked about among the much less attractive parts. I do know although that your workforce has seen some actually nice outcomes in relation to governance inside Highspot and I feel loads of enablement practitioners don’t instantly take into consideration how necessary governance is. Are you able to share extra about your greatest practices for governance and the way that has helped your workforce optimize efficiencies?

SW: The partnership with advertising and marketing has been important. This can be a software that we purchased in for enablement, and our advertising and marketing group, like many, is simply busy. They’re chasing, they’re doing campaigns, however their measurements weren’t essentially aligned with ours. Gross sales would get pissed off as a result of that they had no concept what advertising and marketing was doing, and why gross sales weren’t getting what they wished from them. We introduced in our model and artistic companions alongside. We pitched them by saying, it’s ours, we’re going to run it, we’re going to personal it, we’re going to handle it, however we would like you to return alongside and see what it’s like. 

We’re a number of weeks into implementation and I don’t assume we’re going to ever shake our advertising and marketing companions as a result of they’ll see the worth of the software. They’re utilizing Highspot themselves to seek out content material as a result of it’s simpler than the place they’ve been housing it on SharePoint. We’ve customers outdoors of gross sales which have realized concerning the software and the place to seek out content material. We’re simply actually selective and good about what we hyperlink to and curate a really logical group based mostly on the gross sales cycle and the vendor’s wants. 

As a substitute of masterminding or copying the present file system or group, as a result of my workforce is so near sellers, they ask how do you search for one thing? What do you name it? How are your clients asking for content material? The end result that we didn’t count on is that advertising and marketing is studying extra about frontline sellers and what they want and what clients are asking for just by how we’re organizing our spots and our content material into Highspot.

Now, we’re just a little greater than a yr in and it’s time to start to evaluation content material that’s not getting used and sunsets these items. The information stats are coming in proper now. We simply had our gross sales kickoff and our new chief of name and artistic, noticed among the information factors. For example, our video views are considered properly over 100%, generally 200%, which means clients and the receivers are watching it a number of occasions or sharing it with others. That was not essentially a precedence for our model and artistic workforce, however I checked out him throughout the room and mentioned I feel you could go make some extra movies. We don’t want the flyers and the slide decks, we want video. 

Once more, the place do you spend your time and make investments? The whole lot doesn’t have to be there. It’s what the vendor wants now, and we’ve got these listening posts and people workplace hours and being actually related with them in different ways in which it’s simply an all the time factor that we’ll do for certain as a result of that’s the way you make it’s greatest. It’s reacting to what was occurring available in the market, and you’ll’t try this in case you’re not all the time participating with these friends cross-functionally and all the time listening to out of your sellers.

I really like the enter or suggestions function. That had by no means existed in any of our content material. Previously on the SharePoint web site, after you picked up a doc and also you noticed a mistake, you didn’t know what to do with it. That’s been a win that I wouldn’t have put down in my necessities when in search of a software, nevertheless it’s serving to my workforce the place there may be some studying alternatives, but additionally bringing about some fast wins for our sellers to get paperwork up to date or modified. That’s effectivity. All of the little items actually add up.

SS: I really like that. Just lately your workforce determined to develop your use of Highspot to incorporate coaching and training. How have you ever been capable of enhance the effectivity of your gross sales workforce with a unified enablement platform that comes with coaching and training? 

SW: It was considered one of my highest priorities after I noticed a single answer with every thing we would have liked. So, bringing about what the reps want, the place they’re working, whether or not they’re in Salesforce, on the street, or in e mail. When a buyer asks you a query a few matter you realized about at your gross sales kickoff three months in the past, the place’s the data? What ought to I say? What do I present them? What am I purported to know? 

We’re evolving and getting every thing into Highspot. In actual fact, my coaching chief has that in her, in her signature line, ‘Questioning the place one thing is? Did you look within the Highspot?’ The whole lot’s there that you’ve a single supply of knowledge, so when you’re about to pitch a deal they usually’re asking about our effectiveness with equality, they’ll say ‘I do know there was one thing nice and I do know there’s some phrasing that was actually terrific, however I have to brush up my expertise’. That content material is prepared for you. The search brings up not solely the flier or the video that you simply may ship but additionally serves up, proper in entrance of you, every thing that you could know so you’ll be able to refresh. 

You may think about emails, storage of information, and the place it’s. It’s not going {that a} fast-paced, fast-moving vendor is taking the time to cease, dig by emails, or ask somebody. Generally I name it the legends and tales and make it up on the spot the place you could transfer quick they usually don’t have time to do all their analysis, however we serve that up for them in Highspot, even when they’re not considering they need to refresh their studying. There it’s for them. 

We’re seeing some good engagement. We’re simply getting began and studying and bringing them alongside, so we’re going to get our onboarding going, however man, I wouldn’t do it another method. I simply wouldn’t. It’s multi function place. That’s driving adoption as properly. Whereas I won’t want a collateral piece, I wish to reply a buyer query. Let’s say an e mail is available in with a buyer query. I can ping a solution, however our reps at the moment are behaving the place they go to Highspot to get the educational, and whereas they’re getting that studying, they’re like, Ooh, I didn’t see this advertising and marketing collateral piece. It’s actually cool. I didn’t even realize it existed. Let me not solely reply the query however assist it with a very good reply. 

That wouldn’t have occurred with out tying these two items collectively. It’s simply merely the attention of what’s obtainable by that straightforward search. Discuss effectivity, proper? Not solely effectivity, however the high quality of the rep in entrance of the client, after which the client’s expertise, like they’re getting the perfect set of knowledge in the intervening time.

SS: I feel that could be a unbelievable grounding precept, Shelly. To shut, I’d love to listen to about the way you and your workforce are going to proceed to drive the innovation that we talked about on the onset of this podcast to enhance effectivity and the way you intend to leverage Highspot to assist in the approaching month.

SW: We’ve such huge goals of the place we wish to go. One in all my favourite little nuggets that got here out of some artistic considering on my advertising and marketing occasions workforce was utilizing QR codes and linking to a spot. I constructed these actually lovely touchdown pages for purchasers who’re participating with us at a convention or out within the discipline. Previously, we’d hand out stacks and stacks of paper that most likely didn’t make it previous the resort room on the way in which again to individuals touring house. The QR code expertise linking again right into a spot means a lot extra effectivity.

We’ve a rep who created his personal touchdown web page with a sort of his enterprise card, like who he’s, and a few his favourite property, and he printed that QR code on a T-shirt. He wears it at occasions and when he’s out within the discipline and it says, scan me. He’s seeing that after the occasion, engagement by clients and prospects again into his web site and his web page, so he can ping them and examine in on them.

There are efficiencies for our workforce not having to trace transport content material, collateral items, after which numerous data that they’ll get. There are additionally extra studying alternatives we wish to construct in in order that we’re transferring our gross sales new rent onboarding into the educational platform, and we’ve dabbled in video recordings and competence checks, and functionality checks. We wish to do rather more of that. We’re not fairly on the spot the place we’re capable of tie outcomes to analytics. That’s on my plan for later this yr. We wish to discover the magic that Highspot is creating for our reps and construct that out much more for others, whether or not that’s constructing greatest practices, extra studying alternatives, and so forth.

I discussed creating extra movies. That’s going to be a direct hyperlink to the info that we’re getting from Highspot that builds the case. Constructing video with our model and artistic workforce is fairly taxing on their time they usually didn’t have a giant dedication there. Now we are able to see instantly how that resonates available in the market and the way necessary that’s for sellers to get their story throughout. That’s a spot the place we’re going to assist them enhance their effectivity out within the discipline to get what they want that works the perfect and that tells our story for them in order that they’re priming that prospect for the second that they are often in entrance of them. 

I can’t wait to see what we ship by the top of the yr as a result of we’ve finished a lot so shortly and uncovered alongside the way in which issues I by no means thought have been even attainable and didn’t even assume we may do. I’m certain some unknown outcomes can be seen and possibly I’ll be again in a yr to toot my very own horn over right here about how nice we’ve impacted our workforce’s effectivity by getting them what they want, once they want it, and making them even higher once they’re in entrance of a buyer.

SS: I really like that and I really like the way you guys create this tradition of creativity and innovation over there at Delta Dental. Thanks, Shelly, a lot for becoming a member of us right this moment on this podcast. I actually respect your insights. 

SW: You guess. It was a pleasure. 

SS: 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 maximize enablement success with Highspot.