In accordance with the State of Gross sales Enablement Report, gross sales managers who coach reps to strengthen desired behaviors ship a 14 share level improve in win charges. So, how are you going to design and implement teaching packages to spice up rep confidence and enhance the shopper expertise?

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 developments within the office and the way to navigate them efficiently.

Right here to debate this subject is Paige Scott, the Vice President of Buyer Success and Income Enablement at Reliance Matrix. Thanks for becoming a member of us, Paige. I’d love so that you can inform us about your self, your background, and your position.

Paige Scott: Terrific. I’m delighted to be with you right this moment and glad to share something I can. We’re all on this program collectively. I’m 30 plus years in worker advantages, that are insurance coverage merchandise for employers who present these profit choices to their staff. And I’m on the insurance coverage service facet.

It’s been a terrific profession prior to now. I’ve served in operational roles, account administration roles the place we’re targeted on retaining and rising the enterprise. I used to be a course of engineer, Six Sigma Black Belt, that’s actually targeted on steady enchancment. And at one level, the chief buyer officer targeted on the shopper expertise methods for our firm.

And now in my present position, I’m making use of lots of learnings from these experiences. In order you mentioned, our position right this moment at Reliance Matrix is head of buyer success workforce. That’s our account administration and repair groups, in addition to the income enablement workforce, the place our goal is all about equipping the distribution group with the instruments, assets, coaching, and methods that they should retain enterprise and promote extra of it successfully. So I like this position as a result of it actually balances the accountability for buyer focus, the shopper’s expertise, together with retention and progress of these relationships, however serves the vital wants of the group and alignment with different departments that drive income progress as effectively.

So I reside with my household and my canine Maggie right here in Nashville, Tennessee, and I like nation music and line dancing. 

SS: We’re actually excited to have you ever with us Paige. And as you talked about, certainly one of your key tasks is de facto rising and retaining the shopper base. In your opinion, how can enablement assist enhance the shopper expertise?

PS: , that’s truly there’s a myriad of ways in which enablement enhances the shopper expertise. I’ll provide you with a easy instance on how we’re specializing in it right here in our present expertise. state, and it’s actually across the instruments and coaching. And I take into consideration this, not solely with regard to how we’re internally supplying the instruments and coaching and training, but additionally externally.

So our account administration groups can higher perceive their buyer wants and preferences, resulting in extra personalised or related interactions. That’s what we’re encouraging. For instance, in our enterprise. We’re usually working with human useful resource profit groups which are outsourcing their work that they used to do themselves to us, the insurance coverage service, a lot of them for the primary time.

And these first-time outsourcers of actually difficult processes, they should really feel assured in trusting us to tackle that work and doing it effectively on behalf of their staff. So there’s lots of analysis and our expertise exhibits that the primary time outsourcers They want extra training and communication to really feel snug handing that work off to us.

So our enablement workforce, we’ve constructed instruments and assets and coaching to show our groups the way to work greatest with first time outsourcers. We truly give them a little bit bit completely different path. And their expertise that’s actually targeted on training and gaining their confidence and offering them with the instruments they should really feel empowered.

So on this previous yr, we applied the usage of the digital room functionality to essentially set up the go-to useful resource for the purchasers. And first time outsourcers in order that they really feel empowered. They know the place to go to search for info and discover articles literature and analysis and greatest practices that we’ve collected and made accessible to them.

So we’re demonstrating our listening and experience as a result of we’ve offered the help and methods that be certain that. They proceed to obtain the help and assets that they should maximize their use of our merchandise and our companies for his or her staff. So it’s sort of a win win each internally and externally.

SS: I couldn’t agree extra. And I do know rep confidence performs an enormous position in delivering nice buyer experiences. And that is an space that you’re actually enthusiastic about. What are a number of the challenges reps face right this moment that may affect their confidence? 

PS: Yeah, certain. Effectively, this can be a difficult enterprise that we’re in.

And the largest problem that we face actually is maintaining with the tempo of change with all of the complexities. So to not get you schooled on insurance coverage stuff, however Reliance Matrix, we’re the primary insurer with probably the most lives which are managed by way of our absence packages. So in your day-to-day life, you’ve in all probability hear about issues like paid household, medical leaves, FML, et cetera.

These are all like state stage packages that present staff with paid day without work for household or medical causes. And I’ll let you know, this can be a enormous supply of focus and a focus throughout the states. A number of compliance points round this. States are making their very own insurance policies and practices with regard to how they need.

This to be administered inside of their states the place the workers reside. And so the tempo of change in these state packages is unimaginable and it’s very complicated and obscure and tough to maintain up with, not only for our prospects, however even internally for our people to construct and preserve the experience that they’ve round these packages.

So we actually have relied on Highspot, our platform closely as our go-to useful resource for data, coaching, communication internally, in addition to pitching that related info externally. It’s enabled us to maneuver faster. Allow folks to not should memorize present guidelines, laws, et cetera. They will simply go to the useful resource and discover probably the most up-to-date info with the intention to reply questions and put that info within the arms of their prospects.

After which on high of it, then after all we are able to. Transfer faster and measure our engagement, each internally and externally. So it actually has helped us to unravel this problem of attempting to maintain folks updated. We’re encouraging our reps to not attempt to memorize all the pieces. They simply go seek the advice of the software, go to the useful resource. We’re preserving it updated. 

SS: We see these too. What are a few of your greatest practices for serving to reps overcome these challenges to essentially enhance their confidence and enhance the shopper expertise? 

PS: So you realize, it’s actually necessary that we straight keep true to our phrase when it comes to persistently, often reviewing our content material and creating greatest practices to share to our reps. I imply, if they arrive to ou platform, our content material and discover that it’s old-fashioned or not correct, I’m going to lose them. They’re not going to be glad that they’re not offering the correct info to their purchasers and So we’ve got actually prioritized the preserving our content material updated, making it, you realize, consumable, small items, small bits.

After which we put out greatest observe movies that if I’m responding to an inquiry, I can go see how somebody who’s actually good at responding to that inquiry, how they are saying it, how they reply it. And I can use that to hone in by myself skill to reply to my prospects. After which after all. , every time we’ve got content material or we’re rolling out one thing new, it’s not a as soon as and performed, we’re planning for placing the content material out.

How will we deliver folks to it? How will we get them working towards it? How can we take a look at on the data? It’s one thing they really want to know. After which , focusing in on the teaching parts which are accessible as effectively. Up to now couple of years, since we applied the platform, I might say that we’ve spent lots of time placing content material on the market, preserving it recent, studying how folks study and the way greatest to arrange it.

However in 2025, one of many issues that the workforce goes to deal with is extra round including a little bit extra gamification. And competitors to our method, as a result of in spite of everything, we’re working with salespeople and so they do wish to compete. So we’re going to construct a few of that competitors in to proceed to boost engagement and studying.

SS: These are some nice ideas and tips. Now, I do know teaching could be a key lever for enhancing rep efficiency, and your teaching packages have developed quite a bit lately. Are you able to inform us what your teaching technique appears to be like like now and the way you leverage Highspot to assist help it? 

PS: Yeah, certain. Truly, I’ll let you know the great, dangerous and the ugly, however this was an space of difficult for us a few years in the past.

I’ll use the instance in our gross sales mannequin. Earlier than we acquired extra targeted on this in our mannequin, the gross sales managers are additionally. Sellers, they’ve their very own particular person gross sales objectives along with the objectives of their workforce. So didn’t actually set us up for achievement when it comes to motivating or encouraging the gross sales managers to spend the time with their groups creating as a result of they had been so busy, you realize, attempting to satisfy their very own efficiency objectives.

And whereas we haven’t modified that mannequin. Completely, we’ve got modified it a bit in order that we’ve got in-built method the place we’re recognizing the significance of teaching and the significance of the supervisor and that position. So we’ve got constructed an method the place we’re using the capabilities and analytics and excessive spot to observe.

So we name these our stand and delivers, which means I have to study, let’s say a product nuance or one thing about the way in which the service is finished or administration. And I would like to have the ability to repeat that or inform a buyer or potential buyer with confidence. , I have to know what I’m speaking about so I can reply these questions on the spot.

We’ve got picked areas which are most necessary for our gross sales reps to have the ability to exude that confidence and we ask them to observe it. and so they observe it. They’ll movie a video and they’ll do their stand and ship on the video and the rep will create and submit the video to their supervisor and the managers are accountable to evaluate and coach and we are able to see their teaching notes.

We will see who’s doing it and doing it with regularity. So the enjoyable factor is the top of our gross sales group, she has So dedicated to this. That is how she discovered as she was rising up as a gross sales rep. They stand and delivers on demand. Individuals would cease her within the hallway and say, inform me about, you realize, X, Y, Z.

That is how she acquired actually good at it. So she actually believes on this observe and this method. And she or he actually appreciates the potential and excessive spot as a result of it makes it fairly simple to do. So we’re continuously reviewing the engagement analytics. It’s to know the efficiency of our reps, but additionally the efficiency of our managers as coaches. We’ve upped the sport that manner. 

SS: Very cool. How do you go about partnering with frontline managers to get them purchased into teaching their groups? 

PS: Certain. Once more, it was a journey. Uh, some managers had been adept. They had been already sort of managing their very own manufacturing and balancing that with the event of their groups.

However many weren’t. And so we went to work. And we targeted on the ROI of Utilizing actual life examples and knowledge the place sure gross sales managers had greatest practices with their groups and so they had been actually producing outcomes. Trigger not solely was the supervisor producing outcomes, however they had been taking in new people, onboarding them and, you realize, doing the experience alongs, offering the teaching and we may see when it comes to aim attainment.

Which managers had been very profitable and we truly constructed these into tales in case research and we use the actual knowledge to deliver again to the remainder of the group to show the worth of the position of the coach and the significance of the event of the workforce. I imply, there was lots of different greatest practices that we discovered and shared all through the interval too, however the story tells itself when it comes to the numbers, actually, and given how aggressive.

A lot of the gross sales people are, they accepted the invitation to do higher, sort of turns into a contest. So it was a straightforward carrot to dangle as a result of it proved that manufacturing elevated with a higher deal with observe and training for growth for the groups. 

SS: How are you now with the platform in place, leveraging analytics to know how managers are teaching and optimizing their effectiveness?

PS: Yep, certain. So there’s a variety of issues that we take a look at. We acquired grounded within the metrics that had been most related to our objectives. So on this space, it was issues like worker engagement scores, turnover charges, productiveness ranges, aim achievement. And we take a look at adoption metrics and the usage of excessive spot, et cetera.

So it was actually getting grounded in what had been these key metrics that we must be frequently that helps inform the larger story. And we’re accumulating knowledge from completely different sources, resembling. , efficiency opinions and even worker suggestions, the teaching periods and information which are within the system and that knowledge can present insights into how managers are performing and the way their teaching is impacting their groups or not.

And, you realize, it’s a supply of efficiency evaluate for the supervisor themselves that after we’re evaluating our managers efficiency, it’s not simply based mostly on hitting your objectives. A number of these different key metrics are a big a part of that. After which lastly, I assume we’re or listening to the workers to know their perceptions.

It’s necessary to know how they expertise our onboarding, whether or not they’re model new to promoting. Or they’re a really skilled rep coming over. We’ve got completely different studying paths and we’re listening to that and understanding, you realize, their suggestions about their supervisor and the extent of help that they’re feeling or the coaching that they’re experiencing in that onboarding program.

And we’re utilizing that suggestions often for steady enchancment. It’s the fixed job, it’s constantly reviewing our content material, understanding what works effectively, what doesn’t, and utilizing these greatest practices to make our packages higher and higher. 

SS: And also you all are additionally leveraging the combination between Highspot and Salesforce to essentially assist unlock significant knowledge and tie your packages to income. Are you able to share extra about the way you leverage this integration and a number of the affect that you just’ve been in a position to uncover? 

PS: Yeah, certain. Effectively, once more, this has been a journey within the very starting. I bear in mind interviewing, you realize, a number of the people within the gross sales group and the top of gross sales and so they’re like, Oh my God, no, not one other system to log into.

I’m like, effectively, yeah, however there’s quite a bit that you just’re going to study from the system and the way it’s going so as to add worth to the group. So within the very starting, it was So necessary that we built-in with Salesforce. So we had a straightforward toggle, I ought to say, between Highspot and Salesforce. After which as we continued constructing, the centralized content material entry was a heavy hitter for us due to the combination.

It permits our reps. To entry related content material and supplies and gross sales performs inside their workflows. So it’s far more seamless, uh, than having to toggle and go discover and search and search, et cetera. Now we’ve got a protracted strategy to go. We nonetheless are engaged on how we make that info extra predictive. And, however we’re happy with the work that we’ve performed right here.

After which actually, this integration has enhanced the shopper. Engagement as effectively, as a result of it ties our engagements, conferences, et cetera, to enterprise outcomes. It helps floor our greatest practices and shared data that may enhance gross sales efficiency. So we’re nonetheless within the early levels of tying these analytics collectively and constructing out the push and the predictive nature of it.

However we actually see the chance. So we’re investing full power as enablement workforce and making that occur. 

SS: Paige, as your enablement technique continues to evolve, how are you incorporating AI into your packages to proceed to enhance productiveness? 

PS: Yeah, effectively, that is one thing I’m actually enthusiastic about. We had launched in 2024, the co-pilot software AI as a productiveness software to elements of our groups, and now are actually rolling out throughout, however our use in 2024 was.

Most likely extra restricted to identical to assembly summaries, to-do lists, project of duties afterwards, creation of shows, enhancing content material, and so forth. Form of like your personal admin assistant as you’re prepping in your relationships and to your conferences. However in 2025, we’re, I’m going to go quite a bit additional with it.

We’re exploring AI and machine studying between Highspot and Salesforce to make suggestions on content material. Like I mentioned, pushing and predicting and, you realize, actually driving on the gross sales performs and coaching that’s. Going to boost our productiveness. So I really feel like we’ve barely scratched the floor of what AI goes to be able to serving to us to realize, however it’s a main technique for the enablement workforce in 2025.

So I’m completely stoked about studying what we’re going to. Have the ability to do their 

SS: Final query. In case you may give one piece of recommendation to somebody seeking to improve the enterprise affect of enablement at their group, what wouldn’t it be? 

PS: Yeah, actually, it’s don’t attempt to boil the ocean, begin small. Know the enterprise objectives, align with the enterprise objectives and use the information analytics to measure the effectiveness of the packages after which sort of unfold that develop for affect.

Collect suggestions from the groups to know what’s working and the way efficient it’s. Once more, underscoring on a regular basis, data-driven selections, changes, enhancements constantly. I’ll share an instance, and that is so simplistic, however I inform this story on a regular basis. My preliminary proof level or enterprise case, a very easy one.

I joined the group a few years in the past and I used to be out in certainly one of our gross sales workplaces. I used to be actually strolling down the hallway within the gross sales workplace. Two gross sales reps standing within the hallway and I overheard what they had been speaking about. One in all them was looking for a. presentation that one other rep used for a finalist presentation.

So that they needed the deck and so they’d been going by way of recordsdata and trying to find, I believe she mentioned like half-hour. Perhaps much more. Then she picked up the telephone, as a result of she acquired pissed off, and he or she lastly referred to as that different rep, and lo and behold, by the way, the rep had saved that deck on their laptop computer, which means nobody else actually had entry to it anyway.

So, I used to be marveled by the truth that certainly one of our high reps spent greater than half-hour In search of a chunk of content material and I requested for the deck reviewed it and I laughed as a result of after I was trying on the deck I spotted a number of the knowledge parts and even the model that was on the deck was outdated. It wasn’t even updated or in compliance. So, bing, lightbulb goes off.

I’m like, oh, Paige could possibly be a hero right here as a result of what I have to do is use a great way to handle content material and accomplice with a advertising and marketing group, et cetera, to inform this story. And lo and behold, once more, such a easy instance. It’s all confirmed by the metrics. So I offered it by displaying the ROI of saving 100 gross sales reps in our organizations, half-hour a month or extra trying to find content material.

And that’s a heck of lots of financial savings that may be put in the direction of manufacturing actions. And so once more, the platform was simple to promote. Enablement is simple to constantly present the affect, however it’s utilizing the information and telling the tales, however hold it small. Don’t attempt to boil the ocean. Maintain telling measurable tales and everybody catches on and so they really feel it.

And we’re all of the heroes after we are in a position to assist reps and the group to be more practical. environment friendly in rising a enterprise 

SS: Thanks a lot for becoming a member of us. I respect all your insights and recommendation. To our viewers, thanks for listening to this episode of the Win Win podcast. You’ll want to tune in subsequent time for extra insights on how one can maximize enablement success with Highspot.