22 Sales Enablement Statistics You Need to Know in 2023
Jess served on the founding team of a successful B2B startup and has used a wide range of sales and marketing tools over the course of her 15-year career. She uses her industry knowledge to deliver the best answers to your questions about sales tools and sales management.
Bianca is a staff writer at Fit Small Business who specializes in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.
This article is part of a larger series on Sales Management.
Sales enablement helps improve sales processes, and ultimately increases revenue and productivity by equipping sales teams with the right tools, knowledge, and processes to sell more effectively. To do so, you must keep up with the latest data and insights related to this function, allowing you to properly train and guide your reps. In this article, we dive into 22 sales enablement statistics you need to know in 2023.
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💡 Quick Tip:
As part of your sales strategy, give your sales team the tools to automate parts of your sales processes and to collaborate effectively with robust customer relationship management (CRM) software.
Use a CRM like Freshsales to help your sales team collaborate on deals and organize your sales operations.
Sales Enablement Adoption Statistics
When you invest in sales enablement tools, ensure the new technology is rolled out across your team or company and that the reps will really utilize it. The following statistics serve as your reference for sales enablement software market size, estimated budget for enablement, and its impact on buyer engagement.
1. In the past five years, there has been a 343% increase in the adoption of the sales enablement function.
Takeaway: Companies are realizing the business value of sales enablement, as reflected by the staggering growth of the sales enablement software market. To increase the adoption of your sales enablement investment, launch a formal onboarding campaign and lead by example by personally showing your reps how to use new sales technology.
(Source: Sales Enablement Pro)
2. 62% of companies have a dedicated sales enablement person, program, or function in place, while 25% still have no plans for one.
Takeaway: Most sales organizations already have a dedicated enablement program, and only a quarter still has none. In addition, only 13% are planning to initiate an enablement program next year. If you belong to the latter, it may be time to assess your company’s need for an enablement function. If you already have one, make sure that you regularly evaluate and improve your program.
(Source: Sales Enablement Pro)
3. 66% of companies have allotted a budget for sales enablement & 30% of those budgets are greater than $100,000 per year.
Takeaway: More than a third of sales organizations still do not have an allocated budget for enablement. If your company belongs to this group, you can use the data in the same report as a reference for when you start planning for an enablement budget. You can follow the $100,000 annual budget or allocate either a higher or lower number, depending on the size and needs of your company.
(Source: Sales Enablement Pro)
4. Teams with sales enablement techniques in place for more than two years are 48% more likely to experience high buyer engagement.
Takeaway: Enablement supports sales teams’ efforts in cultivating and optimizing customer interactions. Its profound impact on buyer engagement is backed by data. This should serve as a solid motivation for sales companies to initiate an enablement process or maintain the one they currently have in place.
(Source: Sales Enablement Pro)
Sales Enablement Impact on Win Rates Statistics
Win rates represent the percentage of deals sales reps close in a given reporting period. Higher win rates are one of the benefits of sales enablement. The following sales enablement stats show how equipping your reps with the proper knowledge, skills, and tools can contribute to their increase in sales.
5. Practitioners who leverage a sales enablement platform for their sales teams report win rates that are 7% higher than those who do not.
Takeaway: A 7% difference in win rates may seem like a small number, but it reflects the significant impact of enablement on reps’ ability to close deals successfully. It also indicates the effectiveness of your sales messaging. Higher win rates mean more sales for your company.
(Source: Sales Enablement Pro)
6. Enablement teams that focus on enhancing the customer experience have a 4% higher win rate than those that do not.
Takeaway: You can improve customer experience by enabling post-sales roles and responsibilities. These include account management, onboarding, implementation, integration, and training on new product features. Working on these functions helps you improve your win rate.
(Source: Sales Enablement Pro)
Sales Enablement Internal Drivers Statistics
Sales organizations and teams encounter friction brought about by factors such as evolving market conditions and buyer expectations. Take note of the sales enablement stats below to anticipate your reps’ challenges. That way, you will be better prepared to deal with these issues as they arise.
7. The top sales challenges sales organizations face are competitive pressure (60%) & time to sell (36%).
Takeaway: Aside from competitive pressure and time to sell, businesses also face other challenges, such as customer retention, talent acquisition, new buyers, and ineffective sales content. These internal drivers often compound to make selling more difficult for reps. Knowing what problems to expect along the way helps you be one step ahead and develop strategies to address them in advance.
(Source: Sales Enablement Pro)
8. Sales organizations are 25% more likely to engage in formal collaboration if they focus on broadening existing customer penetration.
Takeaway: Expanding your customer base should be one of your top goals for sales enablement, as this will bring in more revenue. With this goal in mind, your company’s sales and marketing alignment should help make your deal and lead management processes smoother.
(Source: Sales Enablement Pro)
Sales Enablement Revenue Performance Statistics
The dynamics of sales have certainly changed in light of the pandemic and lockdowns that happened in the last couple of years. The sales enablement market has grown, and many businesses have adopted remote sales strategies. Take a look at the data below to appreciate the impact of enablement technology on the revenue performance of sales teams.
9. 64% of sales leaders who transitioned to remote sales in 2020 met or exceeded revenue targets, while 50% of those did not make a transition.
Takeaway: During the wave of lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, sales leaders whose teams typically sold in the field were presented with a choice to enable remote work. Those who switched to hybrid or fully remote sales hit or exceeded their revenue targets. This signals a shift in how businesses will structure sales teams from this point forward.
(Source: HubSpot)
10. The majority (65%) of sales leaders who outperformed revenue targets have an established sales enablement function.
Takeaway: A dedicated enablement team is a crucial factor in the success of a sales organization. It is not just a center for rep support but also a proactive team that improves your team’s productivity.
(Source: HubSpot)
11. 61% of overperforming leaders use CRM software to automate parts of their sales process vs 46% of underperforming leaders.
Takeaway: Automating parts of the sales management process using customer relationship management (CRM) software like Freshsales helps boost your team’s performance. This allows reps to focus more on selling activities instead of spending time doing repetitive tasks.
(Source: HubSpot)
Sales Enablement Tools Statistics
Virtual selling has drastically transformed the dynamics of sales. Companies that adopted this trend early were technologically ready when the pandemic limited face-to-face meetings. More businesses are investing in technology to support their reps in remote selling activities. Below are a few sales enablement stats that point you to the most crucial tools and automations for sellers.
12. Sales leaders consider video conferencing software (47.99%) & CRM systems (13.67%) the most essential tools for success.
Takeaway: In HubSpot’s survey, most sales leaders ranked video conferencing software and CRMs as the most important tools for remote selling. Next in rank are sales intelligence (7.77%) and e-signature and document tracking (7.77%). Team leaders need to leverage these technologies to help their sales teams succeed.
(Source: HubSpot)
13. The top sales processes that organizations are automating are meeting scheduling (42%) & content automation (40%).
Takeaway: Sales leaders are trying to automate meeting scheduling and content automation first. These are followed by quote generation, meeting follow-ups, rep assignments, and lead scoring. Using a CRM like HubSpot for automation improves sales rep productivity. It also helps companies save valuable time and money by reducing the need to perform tasks manually.
(Source: HubSpot)
14. 54% of sellers say sales tools enable them to build trust & close deals with buyers.
Takeaway: Before COVID-19 shook the world, sellers established trust with buyers during face-to-face meetings, trade shows, and dinners. Now, more sellers are leveraging sales technology to understand what their potential customers need. For example, you could use Freshsales’ automatic profile enrichment to gain information about leads. This helps you anticipate their needs and objections before interacting with them.
(Source: LinkedIn)
Sales Enablement Content Statistics
There are various types of content salespeople use to address prospects’ concerns, answer questions about their product or service, and convert prospects into customers. Enablement personnel is tasked with creating these materials for the sales team. Check out the data below to see which are the most commonly used and the most effective.
15. The top enablement content leaders create for remote sales teams are email templates (53%) & call scripts (39%).
Takeaway: Based on HubSpot’s report, enablement personnel now prioritize creating email templates and call scripts for their sales teams. Next on the list are pre-call checklists, product demos, customer testimonials, messaging templates, case studies, and informative blog posts. These guide what type of content you should create to enable remote selling for your team.
(Source: HubSpot)
16. Weekly check-ins (68%) & call listening (34%) are the most effective sales coaching methods.
Takeaway: When mapping out your sales team training and coaching plan, include weekly check-ins and call listening. Other coaching methods you could incorporate are call shadowing and email reviews.
(Source: HubSpot)
Sales Enablement Team Statistics
Enablement has grown in popularity in the last few years as more companies realize its value. Take a look at the stats below to see if your own team is at par with the trend and to know its impact on quota attainment.
17. Sales enablement teams with over six members have increased by 63% year-over-year to nearly 50%.
Takeaway: The size of sales enablement teams has grown over the last year. Some companies started with just a single team member assigned to this function and now have a team with over six members. This growth only shows that an increasing number of sales organizations are seeing the benefits of an enablement program.
(Source: Sales Enablement Pro)
18. Sales enablement teams with at least six members report a 14% higher quota attainment than teams with fewer members.
Takeaway: The size of a sales enablement team also impacts business results. If you want a higher percentage of quota attainment, you may want to add more members to your enablement team. Of course, you must consider your team’s budget before doing this.
(Source: Sales Enablement Pro)
Sales Enablement Talent Management Statistics
Enablement can help a sales organization develop the right talent, make onboarding more efficient, and increase rep engagement. Read the statistics below to see the impact of enablement on talent management. There is also data on the latest trends in performance metrics for salespeople.
19. Sales organizations that use enablement in their sales training efforts are 10% more likely to have high rep engagement.
Takeaway: Use enablement during training, talent development, and onboarding sessions to prepare your sales reps for success. This helps empower them to constantly align their efforts with your company’s sales priorities.
(Source: Sales Enablement Pro)
20. Sales organizations that utilize enablement in the talent management process have 32% less difficulty hiring top talent.
Takeaway: Enablement can help improve your talent acquisition process. You can partner with human resources staff to help identify top sales talent. This practice can help you set up your reps for sales enablement success right from the beginning of their career with your company.
(Source: Sales Enablement Pro)
21. When enablement is involved in reps’ onboarding, the likelihood of experiencing high sales rep ramp time decreases by 26%.
Takeaway: Onboarding programs led by enablement minimizes the time it takes for reps to become productive. Leveraging sales onboarding tools can also improve the overall onboarding experience of reps. All these factors contribute to the accelerated success of sales reps.
(Source: Sales Enablement Pro)
22. The top metrics used to measure rep performance are activity quantity (37%) & customer satisfaction (33%).
Takeaway: In 2020, the top metrics used to measure salesperson performance were individual quota, team quota attainment, customer satisfaction, and customer retention. In 2021, the pandemic caused a shift in the top performance metrics. Sellers are now investing more in retaining their customers and keeping them happy. Some send sales enablement survey questions to customers to learn what they like and need.
(Source: LinkedIn)
Bottom Line
Sales organizations can see continued improvement in their business outcomes by implementing strategies based on sales enablement statistics. You can refer to the data in this article when mapping out your sales plan to increase rep engagement and consistent sales performance. Businesses need to be updated with the latest enablement trends to ensure they deliver impactful business results.
