The Enablement Edge

Want to become a boss at social selling? Our guest, David (D. Fish) Fisher, has a wealth of knowledge about building successful social selling programs — and he’s here to spill the secrets that the LinkedIn experts won’t.

In this episode, Global Social Selling Lead at SAS, David (D. Fish) Fisher, shares the importance of building a targeted and relevant network on LinkedIn rather than focusing on having a large number of followers. Then, we discuss the challenges of building a social selling program within a large organization, setting realistic expectations for social media engagement, and the unsexy, but crucial, work that ensures long-term success in business.

Here are the key takeaways from our conversation with David: 

1. Understand social selling: Reach the right audience through social media. If you’re not targeting relevant people, your outreach won’t have much return. Turn silent observers into high-intent leads by using language that resonates with a smaller group. 
2. Ensure long-term success: While creating content for sellers to post on LinkedIn is important, David highlights the often overlooked tasks, such as setting goals, creating effective dashboards, and optimizing LinkedIn profiles.
3. Focus on the basics: Find individuals with the right mindset and empower them to be examples for others. David also stresses the significance of capturing success stories and understanding the qualitative aspects of social selling.

Jump into the conversation: 

[05:00] The importance of building a network of relevant connections

[07:40] How to engage with people who are lurking and just reading content

[08:19] How to set realistic expectations for social media engagement 

[17:00] Why you should speak in terms that are relevant to sellers 

[24:08] The importance of "unsexy" work for long-term success 

[30:46]: Heather and Steve’s takeaways from the conversation

Continue the conversation with these resources: 

• Get one of David’s bestselling books. Networking in the 21st Century on Linkedin is particularly applicable to today’s episode. 
• Read this blog on how to incorporate social selling into your sales process. 
• Watch this on-demand webinar on building trust and engagement with social selling. (P.S. It features someone you might be familiar with — our host and resident social selling expert, Steve Watt.) 
• Join the best and brightest go-to-market leaders at Shift, Seismic’s annual user conference. Join Go-to-Market Magic there October 23-26 in San Diego, CA. 
• And finally, see how Seismic helps sellers engage across digital channels in this short and sweet video. 

Driving revenue growth in today's ever-evolving global market is no small task, but equipping yourself with innovative enablement strategies can make a world of difference. 

Georgia Watson, Sales Enablement Leader, Australia, South East Asia, New Zealand, Korea at IBM, shares her experience cultivating enablement innovation in both EMEA and APAC regions, using data and dialogue to understand the influence of local cultures. The discussion also touches on an exploration of design thinking as a problem-solving framework, the importance of personas in understanding user needs, and Georgia’s own experience with launching a pilot program that failed. 

Here are the key takeaways from our conversation with Georgia: 

1. The power of edutainment: Engaging employees through entertaining educational content proved to be highly effective in boosting team collaboration and knowledge.
2. Understanding cultural nuances: Enablement program success relies on understanding cultural differences. Georgia shares tips on how to adapt your learning, coaching, and feedback strategies accordingly. 
3. The role of design thinking: Applying design thinking methodology is one helpful approach for innovation in sales enablement. Facilitate effective problem solving by understanding user personas and keeping the user at the center.

Jump into the conversation: 

[01:10] Who is Georgia Watson (personally and professionally)

[08:22] Why innovation is critical to capturing total attention while learning

[16:33] How a failed pilot program revealed cultural nuances and learnings

[20:40] Why we need to consider diverse geographies, cultural factors, and local context

[28:28] How to use data and conversation to gain insights and understand perspectives

[30:30] Heather and Steve’s takeaways from the episode 

Continue the conversation with these resources: 

• Learn how to scale and prioritize the process of sales enablement planning in this in depth article on seismic.com.
• Consider Seismic Knowledge for just-in-time enablement, empowering your team with the answers, documentation, and assets they need — right in their moment of need.
• Shift is where the best and brightest go-to-market leaders go to grow. Join us October 23-26 in sunny San Diego, CA. 

Learning how to help your customers tell a good ROI story is critical to success as a go-to-market organization these days.

Sangram Vajre, Co-Founder and CEO of GTM Partners, joins the show to share how to overcome today’s common GTM challenges and his vision for the future of go-to-market. The discussion touches on the importance of velocity in scaling a business, the role of customer success in delivering value, and how to align go-to-market organizations by using the right metrics. 

Here are the key takeaways from our conversation with Sangram: 

1. Why Marketing teams should focus on the flywheel, not the funnel: Instead of fine-tuning the funnel to acquire new customers, Sangram argues that it’s more financially lucrative to retain and upsell existing ones. 
2. Why Customer Success should focus on ROI, not product features: Sangram makes the case for Customer Success teams learning to align with their customers’ business objectives. By telling a compelling ROI story, renewals are a no-brainer. 
3. How to align your GTM organization with a “North Star” metric: Decide on a shared metric that drives your organization toward a common goal. Sangram recommends NRR to unite Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success teams toward a cohesive strategy. 

Jump into the conversation: 

[00:42] Who is Sangram Vajre 

[03:25] 15 common go-to-market problems 

[04:38] How flywheels are the new funnels

[13:03] The importance of showing customers ROI to help prevent churn

[20:09] Heather and Steve’s highlights from the episode 

[20:52] How to measure value and promote customers through customer success

Continue the conversation with these resources: 

• Read Sangram’s book, Move: The 4-Question Go-to-Market Framework, to learn more about the concepts discussed in this episode. 
• Use Seismic’s ROI calculator to learn about the potential savings and ROI of an investment in Seismic. (Yes, we drink our own champagne.) 
• Check out The Comprehensive Guide to GTM, including the 15 common GTM challenges that Sangram mentions in today’s episode. 
• In this Forbes article, Seismic’s CRO and President Hayden Stafford breaks down three steps to operationalizing outcomes to create a compelling ROI story, putting customer experience at the forefront. 

Contrary to popular belief, enablement professionals can’t do it all. 

Dave Lichtman, Founder and CEO of Enablematch, shares the advice you haven’t heard yet on how to support your enablement team when “do more with less” is the new norm. We’ll learn why hiring for gravitas and grit matters more than sales experience, why (and how) enablement teams should say “no” more often, and how to supplement your existing team’s weak spots with unconventional staffing solutions.

Show notes 

Here are the key takeaways from our conversation with Dave: 

1. Hire supplemental labor for enablement projects: Other departments have been doing it for decades. Now, it’s time for enablement professionals to do the same. Dave suggests hiring specialists to efficiently and effectively support your full time employees (FTEs) growth areas, upskilling them in the process. 
2. Choose gravitas and curiosity over hyper-specific skills: When filling enablement roles, it’s tempting to key in on sales experience or industry relevance first. Dave offers an alternative. Find the practitioner who is curious, committed, and commanding in their ability to prioritize and align the organization for long-term success. 
3. Create and lean on an enablement charter for your organization: Consider creating a charter for your enablement organization that outlines its purpose, expected results, and necessary resources. Dave emphasizes that this conversation is critical to making smart, sustainable enablement decisions. 

Jump into the conversation: 

[02:20] Who is Dave Lichtman 

[06:52] Why sales experience shouldn’t be mandatory for enablement pros

[11:35] Why best enablers have gravitas and gain respect 

[16:12] How to make the case for curiosity 

[20:54] Why enablement teams should rely on specialized labor these days 

[29:07] What are Heather and Steve’s highlights from the episode 

Continue the conversation with these resources: 

• Read Seismic’s blog on how to build an enablement charter. 
• Learn about Enableship, the program bringing greater diversity and inclusion to the world of enablement.
• Check out Seismic’s Professional Services to learn how to lean on trusted advisors to achieve your enablement goals faster. 
• Learn more about Go-to-Market Magic at gotomarket-magic.com. 

Traditional sales tactics just don’t cut it these days.

Samantha McKenna, Founder of #samsales Consulting, shares her experience finding success with a less traditional approach to sales. We’ll learn why cold calling is a thing of the past, how to bring authenticity to prospecting, and some unconventional tactics that can lead to higher closing rates.

Show notes 

Here are the key takeaways from our conversation with Samantha: 

1. Make a strong first impression. Learn how to use modern tools and data to prospect more authentically than ever with Sam’s signature “Show Me You Know Me” (#SMYKM) approach. 
2. Take initiative in scheduling meetings. Plan meetings around your client’s time rather than around your own schedule. Samantha suggests sending out calendar invites, with permission, to help propel the sales process when response times are slower than you’d like. 
3. Split discovery and demo calls. Often, organizations lump discovery and demos into one single call. Splitting them may take more calendar time, but it can lead to better results. Samantha shares her tips for making discovery calls more about your  client than your own sale, so that they’re eager to take a second call and loop additional stakeholders into the process.

Jump into the conversation: 

[01:45] Who is Samantha McKenna

[08:20] How can building a relationship before the first call impact your sale

[14:59] Samantha’s approach to prospecting

[21:23] How to personalize prospecting in an authentic way

[25:37] How discovery calls can be used as a tool to kickstart a sales relationship

[33:34] How good manners can lead to sales success

[39:02] Heather and Steve’s highlights from the episode 

Continue the conversation with these resources: 

• Check out the power of personalization in Seismic's latest research report on the subject. (Short on time? This infographic hits the highlights.) 
• Read Seismic’s blog about how sellers are extending the corporate brand, and selling more effectively, with social selling.  
• In the financial services industry and curious about how your advisors could apply all of this? Check out Seismic’s on-demand webinar or guide to social selling. 
• Learn more about Samantha McKenna’s Show Me You Know Me (#SMYKM) personalization philosophy in this webinar. 
• Learn more about Go-to-Market Magic at gotomarket-magic.com. 

Ever wondered what makes great go-to-market leaders grow, even when the going gets tough?

We have, too. And we’re on a mission to uncover the magic that makes that growth happen.

This is Go-to-Market Magic, the show where we talk to go-to-market leaders and visionaries about the “aha!” moments they experience and the pivotal decisions they’ve made, all in the name of growth. And we’re not just talking about revenue growth that goes up and to the right — we’ll also discuss how they improve their teams, industries, careers, and lives.

Join us for stories of success (and failure, too) as we learn how to inspire, empower, and align go-to-market teams for growth in all its forms.

Discover the magic at gotomarket-magic.com.