Revenue Enablement Society - Stories From The Trenches

This episode I have the opportunity to sit down the new RES Executive Board President Gail Behun. She opens up and shares her thoughts and observations about:

• The current state of the revenue enablement profession
• Her 4 key revenue drivers for measuring the success of enablement
• Observations from the 2023 RES Experience and what's to come
• Her priorities and vision for RES in 2024 and beyond

Gail Behun is a seasoned Sales Enablement leader, currently serving as the Director of Revenue Enablement at LivePerson, a global industry leader in AI-powered solutions. 

With an extensive career spanning high-growth SaaS companies, Gail has honed her expertise in sales and marketing roles, processes, methodologies, and business practices. Her approach to enablement is centered on building high-performing teams and ensuring comprehensive employee learning and development.  She thrives on connecting the dots innovatively and pioneering new initiatives in enablement, learning, sales, and operations.  

Gail is not only committed to advancing her organization's goals but also to the broader enablement community's growth and success.

Please subscibe on Apple, Spotify or Google.

Have you heard of the "Tiger Seller Profile"? It's a concept and framework developed and used by Rodney Umrah during his years in sales, account management and enablement at IBM, Microsoft, NetSuite and in his current role as Head of Global Revenue, Partner and Customer Enablement.

In this episode Rodney explains how to elevate your sales team's performance as we dissect the elements that transform good sellers into great ones, and how tailored enablement programs can act as a catalyst for widespread excellence. For example:

• Identifying the skills, tactics and techniques of a Tiger Seller
• Working with HR and recruiting teams to elevate the hiring process
• Identifying skills gaps and enablement priorities based on Tiger Sellers
• Aligning sales process stages to the strengths of Tiger Sellers

Rodney Umrah has 26 years’ experience working in the global technology industry (software / cloud) at IBM, Microsoft, Oracle NetSuite, Xactly and Forcepoint. He has a wealth of experience in technical, sales, revenue, partner and customer enablement leadership roles. 

Rodney’s vision is to deliver enablement services globally that accelerate revenue growth and improve customer retention and satisfaction. 

Please subscibe on Apple, Spotify or Google.

Why do sales leaders undervalue their enablement teams? With all the conversations and opinions about how to measure and demonstrate  business impact are Enablement teams actually gaining credibility? Jerry Farr, founder of Sales Excellence Advisors, joined me recently and shared his unique insights on why sales leaders might still be undervaluing  their enablement teams and how Enablement leaders and teams can flip that perception.

• How do sales leaders really perceive the value of Enablement?
• Do Sales leaders hesitate to include the Enablement team in C-level meetings?
• How credible are typical attempts to measure Enablement impact?
• Is there a way to measure impact that actually resonates with executives.

Jerry Pharr is a veteran sales enablement & operations leader at high-growth, tech companies. At varied companies like Outreach and Redis, he's architected and implemented a unique approach called Behavior-Centered Enablement, which is a systems-driven blueprint for delivering sales excellence at scale. He now coaches other enablement and operations orgs to improve sales performance by incorporating this framework. Jerry is one of the original founders of the Revenue Enablement Society, and is an advisor to multiple tech startups on their GTM and revenue operations strategies.

Please subscibe on Apple, Spotify or Google.

Ever wondered how to successfully make the shift from "doing digital" to "being digital"? In this episode Paul "Norf" Norford, VP of Global Enablement at Ivanti  enlightens us with his insights on this topic and discusses the usage of digital platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn for skill enhancement.

• What are the digital aspects of Enablement?
• Doing digital vs. being digital
• Using micro learning and JIT training
• Leading with stories

Paul ‘Norf’ Norford is the VP Sales Enablement and Chief Evangelist at Ivanti. He's super-passionate about helping people, partners and customers change the way they do business.  Norf brings vast industry knowledge, influence, insight, creativity and passion to drive the introduction and adoption of new solutions and services to increase supply chain and I.T productivity and operational excellence. 

Please subscibe on Apple, Spotify or Google.

Do you ever wonder about the intriguing intersection of AI and sales enablement? Join us as we sit down with Jonathan Carford, aka Coach K, the new head of revenue enablement for an exciting startup, Symmetric. Unravel the mystery between predictive analytics and true AI as Jonathan shines a light on their key differences and how to unlock the full potential of each platform to streamline your work and increase efficiency. 

Strolling through the futuristic world of AI application in sales, we marvel at the brilliant revolution it brings. Imagine having an interactive AI persona to practice your sales pitch or an AI assistant that researches job histories and companies for your presentations. We delve into the role of product marketing, enablement, and revops in developing customer personas and the prospect of AI generating innovative ideas. Not to mention, the potential of AI analysing 10ks for those who are not business school graduates.

Finally, we round off the conversation with Coach K's experiences with AI auto-tagging in CMS systems - a game-changer making content management a breeze. Jonathan also shares his criteria for evaluating AI platforms and shares nuggets of wisdom on trusting your instincts and embracing failure. We discuss the subtle art of LinkedIn connections, providing valuable tips to handle requests. Be sure to tune in to this enriching episode on the future of sales enablement and AI. Join us and Coach K on this journey - you won't want to miss it!

Please subscibe on Apple, Spotify or Google.

Discover the transformative power of a life brand in this episode with Irina Soriano, Vice President of Enablement at Seismic. Join us as we explore the concept of a life brand - one that transcends self-promotion, and instead, emphasizes service to others and contributing to the community. We'll hear Irina's  insights on how this unique approach to branding can significantly alter the perception of enablement professionals and leaders. She also opens up about her personal journey in enablement and the profound impact it has made on her life.

• What is a "life-brand"?
• Using your life brand to build confidence
• Leveraging your life-brand professionally
• Safeguarding children's life-brand

Irina Soriano is the VP, Enablement at Seismic, the leader in Enablement. During her 15-year career, Irina built several global Enablement departments across EMEA, Asia-Pacific, and the US from the ground up. She leads the NYC Wise (Women in Sales Enablement) chapter, is the author of “Generation Brand”, as well as a TEDx and keynote speaker.

Please subscibe on Apple, Spotify or Google.

Who doesn't love a great success story? 

This year the Sales Enablement Society Experience was held in San Diego and the theme was "The Enablement Evolution". For this episode I had the opportunity to sit down with 10 different Revenue Enablement pros and listen to their stories about personal and career Evolution. They shared great ideas that were new to me and I'm sure you're going to enjoy listening to them just as much as I did!

Thank you Mike Simmons, Sheryl Buscheck, Jill Guardia, Amy Levine, Chuck Marcouiller, Fiona Simpson, Michael Galvin, Michelle Dieschbourg, Sandy Robinson and Laura Meister.

Please subscibe on Apple, Spotify or Google.

Get ready to unlock the secrets of successful SDR enablement with Brett Childs.. This episode sees us peeling back the layers of the often under-appreciated role of the Sales Development Representatives (SDRs), the true warriors at the frontline of the customer journey.

 Brett pulls back the curtain on his proven approach to enabling SDR teams, one that prioritizes tracking every step of the sales process and honing individual skill sets. He walks us through his system that includes watching the conversion ratios and behaviors, and using this data to pinpoint the needed skills for each individual. If you've been looking for ways to level up your SDR enablement game, this episode is what you've been waiting for. 

Brett has been called a lot of things, farmhand, video game salesperson, insurance agent, manager... but, if he had to pick his favorites, it would be teacher and coach. Nothing brings more joy to him than helping others succeed. 

His wife and children are his best friends and his goal in life is to experience as much of this amazing world with them as possible. 

His motto for  life? "Work hard, play hard!"

Please subscibe on Apple, Spotify or Google.

I recently sat down with the 4 newest members of the Sales Enablement Society Board of Directors to talk about the evolution of Sales Enablement and the Sales Enablement Society itself. Del Nakhi, Gail Behun, Mary Beth Hanifer, and Chris Kingman share their experiences, passions, and talk about the SES initiatives they're each leading. You'll hear Del talk about engaging members with compelling content while Gail is on a mission to strengthen our community. Mary Beth is leveraging her extensive experience in sales and enablement serving as our secretary, and Chris is working on a thrilling project with Johns Hopkins that you won't want to miss hearing about!

Please subscibe on Apple, Spotify or Google.

In this engaging session with Jenn Glabicky, she shares her innovative approach to collateral organization with an emphasis on the importance of sales and marketing teams working together to enhance the buyer experience.

Together we unpacked:

• How collateral is viewed from both Marketing and Enablement perspectives
• Creating a plan for organizing and reviewing collateral
• Ensuring cross-functional alignment during collateral audits
• Where collateral should live in an organization

Jenn Glabicky's background in corporate sales and leadership expands over several industries including healthcare, sports, and finance. She has a proven record of success implementing enablement, marketing and leadership strategies to bolster top-line revenue. 

She is passionate about helping her colleagues & clients learn the sales and leadership strategies they need to succeed no matter what this marketplace does.

When Jenn isn’t geeking out about enablement, marketing and company strategy, she enjoys putting her emergency medical technician license to good use by volunteering at large scale events such as hurricane disaster relief and the Boston Marathon. 

Please subscibe on Apple, Spotify or Google.