Enablement Amplified

In this episode, we're joined by a unique and fascinating guest, Bryan Clancy. Bryan is not your typical sales enablement expert. In fact, he's a cultural anthropologist turned professor, who later ventured into the realm of sales enablement. He has an extraordinary ability to decode the unspoken language of the sales "tribe." Bryan's expertise lies in studying non-exotic tribes and translating those insights into the world of sales professionals.

Host Fiona Simpson engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Bryan on the parallels between cultural anthropology and revenue enablement, revealing a wealth of hidden opportunities.

In this eye-opening conversation, Bryan introduces his framework that will forever change the way you view your role in revenue enablement. He focuses on three pivotal aspects: what people say, what people do, and what people believe. Through these lenses, we'll explore how understanding the cultural traits within the sales "tribe" can propel us towards a more enlightened, effective future of revenue enablement.

Bryan Clancy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanclancy1/

Anthro-Vision by Gillian Tett: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Anthro-Vision/Gillian-Tett/9781982140977

No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings: https://www.norulesrules.com/

Join us for what may shape up to be the most controversial topic in Enablement... where should Enablement sit within the business?

Veteran sales enabler, Christian Palmer, joins host Fiona Simpson to tackle this question. They dive in to discuss whether it should align to Sales/Revenue leadership, RevOps, HR/Learning & Development or somewhere else. You may (or may not) be surprised that they come to the same conclusion!

Christian has worked as both a manager and contributor, working in a number of different industries over the last decade for both start-ups and public corporations. He has successfully propelled businesses from pre-series A through Series B, and has built sales functions and departments from complete scratch. Currently, he leads Global Revenue Enablement at Riskified where he primarily focuses on the global remit of delivery and coaching.

Links & References:

Christian Palmer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-palmer/

Jonathan M Kvarfordt aka Coach K's org chart with a Chief Productivity Officer Role - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jmkmba_enablement-sales-enablement-activity-7112790602932518912-n0U6

Kieran Smith - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieransmithvp/

Enablement Evolved Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@EnablementEvolved

Zak Bigelow - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zak-bigelow-mba-82918b156/

The Sales & Revenue Enablement profession has come a long way. But if we're all honest, we'd probably acknowledge that it is far from living up to its potential.

• It's rare for revenue leaders to perceive the enablement team as a strategic business partner.
• It's rare for an enablement team to be able to make a compelling case for its positive business outcomes.
• When there are layoffs, enablement teams are among the first victims.

In this episode, Jerry & Fiona dive into how we can course-correct and focus on the measurable, tangible changes Enablement practitioners can make, honing in on behavior changes rather than other traditional learning outcomes. Jerry talks about his new course, which is a practitioner's guide for reversing the negative trends we're seeing. It provides a new way of thinking about enablement programs as a whole, and detailed, practical guidance on how to execute that new approach.

Jerry's e-course on this topic is available now! Visit https://www.jerrypharr.com/bce

Jerry took a moment to amplify Del Nakhi - https://www.linkedin.com/in/del-nakhi/ and Crystal Nikossey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalnikosey/ - they are sharing incredible insights about delivering measurable results within Rev orgs and partnering better with sales leaders.

What's one of the spiciest topics in Enablement today? You guessed it - compensation!

Jesse Potter joins host Fiona Simpson to discuss how current economics have impacted sales enablement teams, making it harder to prove value and show the impact of our work. Coupled with easily being distracted by low-impact work, enablement teams and sales leaders could benefit from retooling compensation for enablement practitioners. Imagine what would happen if we were incentivized to work on the things that mattered most to our audience?

We dive into the broad array of compensation structures we've seen, and explore what could be improved by narrowing in on a structure that's a win-win for everyone.

Jesse started out his career in sales, with experience in retail, B2B, B2C, and SaaS. He's spent several years at Apple and DocuSign, and is currently a Director of Training & Enablement at Attentive.

Help us Amplify others from the show:

Join the Enablement Squad and become a part of a dynamic community of enablement practitioners and other GTM professionals - https://enablementsquad.com/

See what Patrick Quintavalle & Jordan Knutt are up to in CX Enablement on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-quintavalle-58809291/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordananutt/

How do you create complex, cross-functional programs and initiatives that not only thrill your “customers”, but also move the business forward in measurable ways?

Sally Ladrach joins us for this episode, bringing her experience as a revenue enablement manager at ThoughtBot, as well as 10+ years of marketing and content creation in digital and SaaS spaces. She believes that the Agile Methodology answers some of the biggest challenges in Enablement today. In this episode, we dig into what would happen if we approached revenue enablement the same way we approach building great software. Agile methodology can unlock efficiency and improvement much like it does for software development, project management, and other areas. We break down the pillars of Agile, highlighting the importance of elements like identifying the problem(s) we are addressing, validating that problem with data, creating customer stories, and more. Ultimately the framework can allow enablers to get to results faster, validate their results against the data points they've identified, and then iterate based on user (i.e. stakeholder) feedback to continually improve programs and avoid risk.

Sally is working to document enablement-specific agile methodology and is looking for collaborators! You can connect with her on LinkedIn or sign up for her newsletter at AgileEnablement.pro.

She also takes a moment to amplify Christian Palmer, an enablement practitioner who is sharing his perspective across several podcast appearances and is cooking up a few projects of his own.

Help us Amplify others from the show:

The Agile Manifesto: https://www.agilemanifesto.org/

Sally Ladach on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallyladrach/

Agile Frameworks for Enablement (coming soon!) Sign up for the newsletter: https://www.agileenablement.pro/

Christian Palmer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-palmer/

Often, stakeholders press Enablement teams for more, and more, and more. How do we set boundaries effectively, and keep them, so that our Enablement teams can stay on track to deliver the services we're charged with?

This episode is based on Fiona's presentation at the Sales Enablement Society's annual conference, SES Experience, which took place in San Diego, CA from October 2 to October 4, 2023. She discusses the way in which boundary-setting frameworks - often used in interpersonal situations - can be applied to the world of Sales Enablement. Based on the methodology presented by Melissa Urban in her book "The Book of Boundaries", Fiona explores how these tools can keep enablement teams on mission, build trust within the team and with other stakeholders, and ultimately allow enablement teams to grow without burning out.

Resources from this episode:

Melissa Urban's "The Book of Boundaries" - https://www.melissau.com/boundaries-book/

Sales Enablement Charter Resources: https://seismic.com/resources/on-demand/on-demand-secall-seismic-enablement-expedition-build-charter-ep3/

S. Lucia Kanter St. Amour's Book "For the Forces of Good: The Superpower of Everyday Negotiation" : https://www.pactumfactum.com/

Follow the podcast & signup to get future episodes: www.EnablementAmplified.com

What if we started a podcast that talked about big, bold "what if" ideas in the world of Sales Enablement?

On the initial episode of Enablement Amplified, join host Fiona Simpson as she sets the stage for just such a podcast. You'll learn a bit about how she became part of the enablement world, and her vision for this podcast. You'll also get details on the official launch of the first full episode!

Connect with Fiona on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fiona-simpson-capm-70546710/

Follow the podcast & signup to get future episodes: www.EnablementAmplified.com