The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement Learning Experience

The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement Learning Experience

I am exceptionally pleased and excited to announce that Felix Krueger of FFWD and I launched The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement Learning Experience on November 25, 2022.

I want to be clear that while the The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement™ framework is my content, and while I will be involved in this learning experience as an advisor for ongoing course content and as a Building Blocks Mentor in the coaching sessions, this course is “Powered by FFWD“ (Felix’s company). I couldn’t be more honored to be involved and working with Felix and all of the “Builders” (our name for the participants) who join us.

The BB of SE, Powered by FFWD

Here is what Felix had to say when we launched:

Felix Video Introduction

Why Did We Create this Learning Experience? 

Here are three of the key reasons we’ve created this course:

  1. Businesses are investing heavily in enablement, yet many are struggling to achieve advanced maturity levels and move the needle on the metrics that matter most.
  2. Enablers are in a great position to create fulfilling careers for themselves, but are drowning in unstructured chaos and often receive conflicting advice, which prevents them from making an impact.
  3. Recent lay-offs have shown that the oft-coveted “seat at the table” with executive leadership can’t be taken for granted. That seat isn’t earned by the number of projects completed – it’s earned by delivering results.

You RESULTS probably RESULTS see RESULTS a RESULTS key RESULTS theme RESULTS emerging RESULTS here.

The learning experience we’ve created is designed to move the profession forward and to “enable enablers” in creating better RESULTS for their companies, and better careers for themselves.

How we aim to achieve this:

  • A 1-on-1 Coaching Kickoff Call (30 minutes) to ensure your Building Blocks Mentor understands your objectives and to offer initial guidance on how to best leverage the course.
  • Access to a Growing Library of 4+ Hours of Video Content, teaching the Building Blocks of Sales Enablement framework.
  • All the Resources you need to master and apply the course lessons, including the book, templates, topic deep dives, quizzes, and more.
  • 80+ Group Coaching Calls per Year (attendance optional but recommended) to provide learning and implementation guidance in the context of your work. (NOTE: The content we share in this newsletter is an example of how we can help you put what you learn in context and into action. That’s what the coaching will accomplish.)
  • A Community of Like-minded “Builders” which will provide a space for sharing, learning, networking, and dare we say… fun.

And, it comes with a 30-day refund policy.

Why did we build the course this way?

  • CONTENT: Most of the certifications and courses on the market are either 1) purely informational – meaning, they’re like a classroom-based or video-based version of a book – or 2) they are a mashup of multiple enablers’ approaches, many of whom are well-branded and very nice people, but who don’t speak much about performance lift or results, and most of whom have limited experience, often within a single vertical in one or two companies. When you compare that content to a unified approach with a proven-effective framework like the building blocks, with it’s blocks, systems, models, and methodology for planning and execution, you’ll see a world of difference, and will have what you need to make an impact.
  • LEARNING EXPERIENCE: We knew that drip-method learning, spaced repetition, and retrieval learning, combined with coaching and resources to support implementation, was the only way to support learning, application, and mastery, all of which lead to producing better results.
  • OUTCOMES: Our goal is to help our Builders get to the Formal Maturity Level of Sales Enablement, as quickly, efficiently, and effectively as possible.

If you’re not familiar with enablement maturity models, it’s an important concept to understand. I’m not the only person to discuss them, so there are some other definitions out there. Most are fairly closely aligned, though, although some do use different terminology. Here are the five progressive levels as I see them.

Sales Enablement Maturity Models

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If you haven’t seen the data, these studies are enlightening and all point to the value that enablement can provide, once the Formal Maturity Level is reached.Why Formal Sales Enablement Matters

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At different stages of your maturity journey, you’ll need to do different things, right? Especially if you want to continue to progress. It’s much like the thinking in Marshall Goldsmith’s excellent book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.

Random

At this level, you may be assigned initiatives or projects and be an order-taker. You may be at the mercy of a Master of Disaster, or a leader who overreacts to the very last thing that went wrong, careening off into a new direction each time. As you respond to requests, strive to educate others, use data and insights, nurture leaders and other influencers with expert content, and work to create a coalition with those you collaborate with unofficially but most regularly, to build toward a more unified approach to enablement. Work to deliver and report the best results you can on your projects, and formalize what you can. When you have time, seek low-hanging fruit to orchestrate wins to earn credibility and respect, and the right to evolve.

Informal

At this level, you may be starting to build momentum by doing good work in pockets, without a full-blown charter or strategic alignment. Here, you want to influence toward building a charter with your “Bricks in the Wall” (your cross-functional collaborators), to build enablement foundations for things that will solve problems or provide what sellers need (training, messaging, content, tools). You may have some formalized elements, such as a great onboarding program, and should strive to get the most critical Building Blocks and systems in place, as you can.

Formal

At this level, you’ve got your charter, charter partners, a tie to strategy and the outcomes that matter, the Blocks, your systems, other models, and measurement plans and reporting in place, to evaluate initiatives so you can pivot to get better results, or celebrate the ones you’ve achieved. Before pushing to evolve from this level, milk it for a while here. Get everything to a GEFN state (Good Enough For Now) at a minimum, and try to upgrade your GEFN Blocks, Systems, and initiatives through continuous improvement loops. Build momentum. Deliver results. Prove the value. Work to earn a seat at the planning table. If you’re not familiar or expert at Performance Consulting or Human Performance Technology (HPT), build your awareness. Seek certifications where they make sense. In addition, expand your awareness of the disciplines and practices of organizational performance improvement, such as Organization Development. Organization Effectiveness, Organization Behavior, Business Process Management, Six or Lean Sigma, Total Quality Management, and Change Management. (See the links in this newsletter edition for more.) This is about leading and managing your function to deliver results while you grow your prowess and expertise in the world of performance improvement. This is also a great time to begin sharing your journey with others, to help them follow your path through the maturity levels to arrive at the Formal level.

Adaptive

Sometimes also referred to as Dynamic, or simply Performance Consulting, at this Adaptive level, you have become an internal sales effectiveness consultant, working with leadership to drive performance improvement across your sales force, using the Building Blocks of Sales Enablement and the other disciplines you are learning and mastering. You or other leaders on your team keep the machine running (the Blocks and Systems), while you engage to do root-cause analysis and solve performance problems or enable and support new opportunities for sales growth. At this level of expertise, you will now have a choice whether to stay a practitioner, work for a sales enablement or sales consulting vendor, or become a consultant yourself. In all cases, strive to be (and be seen as) a trusted advisor. I have flipped back and forth in my career, sometimes purposefully to continue to build experience and expertise, and sometimes based on circumstances where I adapted to the challenge at hand. Here, as mentioned in the above sidebar career advice, is where you can continue to be very selective and purposeful about which organizations you get involved with, to be able to do your best work, grow personally, and make an impact with enablement.

It’s my belief that you’re not really doing “sales enablement” until you get to the Formal Maturity Level, where it’s strategic, structured, systemic, scalable, and data-driven. That said, I want to beWinding Road crystal clear that I am not judging or knocking those who are not there yet, but who are working to get there.

It’s not like enablers can magically transport to this level, especially if they’ve been hired or promoted to start and build the first enablement practice at their company. I have much respect for those who are on the journey, often swimming upstream like a trout or navigating the long and winding road. It just happens to be my opinion that until you get there (the Formal Maturity Level), you are “building” your practice. Once you arrive, then you can lead and manage your practice. When possible (based on top-down support and leadership appetite), you can now begin to evolve to the Adaptive Maturity Level (which crosses the border into Performance Consulting and delivers the most value and ROI).

I also recognize that some people, maybe even you, might want to debate my perspective here. That’s okay. I’m firm in my resolve because if we define sales enablement as anything less, I believe we devalue what we can deliver and open the door for critics to show how enablement doesn’t make a difference. (Those critics are out there, and they do say it.) As you saw above, multiple studies from CSO Insights and Sales Enablement PRO (and there are others), have shown that results from enablement efforts increase as you move through the maturity levels. So, you may debate all you want, but I’m sticking with my story. Paraphrasing Greg Alexander:

The goal of enablement must be to improve sales productivity (revenue and profitability per rep).

Anything else is just noise.

 

Get Obsessed with Making an Impact with Enablement

Make An Impact with Enablement

That said, HOW you do it (improve sales productivity) does matter. This is why the building blocks framework starts with a foundation of buyer and customer acumen, and recommends sales methodology that is buyer-centric (servant leadership; operating in the buyers’/customers’ best interests). But at the end of the day, you still must move the needle.

This is what makes enablement, as a position with influence without authority, so challenging. Reps don’t report to you and front-line sales managers don’t either. So you must be in direct alignment with the C-suite, your cross-functional collaborators, and, of course, the senior sales leader(s) to whom you (likely) report or at a minimum, whom you serve. And even then you must be viewed as an ally by your sales force (sellers and managers), as someone who is a relevant, trusted resource who helps them achieve their goals.

This is how I originally designed the building blocks framework with the systems, and other moving parts like the Sales Effectiveness Acumens and Fundamentals. I didn’t actually set out to build frameworks, systems, and models. I was just out there, doing the work, and was obsessed with delivering results. I was trying to find a way to radically move the needle, because training alone wasn’t enough. As I moved between employers or clients, I looked for ways to create replicable, repeatable processes and systems that would produce predictable results. I started in 1991 with my first methodology and the training program for it, and evolved rapidly until about 2003-2004, when I had my first version of the building blocks in place. The framework has continued to evolve over time to what you see here today.

The Building Blocks and Systems

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The Teachable Elements of Sales Effectiveness

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And now, Felix and I would like to share it all with you, in a learning experience that far eclipses what you can get from a book, and which includes more content than the first edition of The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement book (especially about how to make the blocks actionable, through strategic and tactical planning). All of which we intend to expand and make available to our Builder enrollees. 

How to Learn More or Enroll

Closing Thoughts

Thanks for reading, be safe out there, and by all means… let’s continue to elevate our sales profession.

Mike

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About Mike

Mike Kunkle is a recognized expert on sales training, sales effectiveness, and sales enablement. He’s spent over 27 years helping companies drive dramatic revenue growth through best-in-class training strategies and proven-effective sales transformation systems – and he’s delivered impressive results for both employers and clients. Mike is the founder of Transforming Sales Results, LLC and works as the Vice President of Sales Effectiveness Services for SPARXiQ, where he designs sales training, delivers workshops, and helps clients improve sales results through a variety of sales effectiveness services. Mike collaborated with Doug Wyatt to develop SPARXiQ’s Modern Sales Foundations™ curriculum and also authored the SPARXiQ’s Sales Coaching Excellence™ course. His book, The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement, is available on Amazon and he collaborated with Felix Krueger to launch The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement Learning Experience.

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Mike Kunkle