Picture two carpenters. You’ve asked them each to build you a table, and you’ve shown them to a forest – reasoning that the raw material they need is right before them. Two tables should be forthcoming, right?

One important distinction: You’ve outfitted one of the carpenters with a comprehensive toolkit, buzz saw, work table, and even an aide to help make sure the work gets done quickly.

You’ve provided the other carpenter with nothing more than a blunt butter knife and sky-high expectations.

Pop quiz: Which carpenter do you believe will have an easier time fulfilling your request? (Will the second carpenter even be able to make a table under those circumstances?)

Equipping Your Team with the Tools They Need is Vital for Success

Let’s talk about your sales team. They’re the ones making sure that you have the revenue you need to move your business forward.

Giving your sales representatives the resources they require to convert leads will result in more buyers. Prioritizing those resources, ensuring that your team has what they need to boost conversions and help prospects through the buyer journey – that’s sales enablement, and it’s a critical part of your business strategy.

This enablement – or providing your team with the content, information, knowledge, and tools to effectively sell your product – does not happen naturally. It’s something you need to invest in.

There are several practical avenues to do so, including:

• Reporting and analysis. Before you can aid your sales team, you need to have an idea of what they’re doing – and what works. Have your team log interactions, deals lost and won, and the company resources they use to achieve conversions. Use today’s data to inform tomorrow’s actions.

• Qualify your leads. Make sure that you’re giving your sales team the right names! There are many lead scoring systems available to help you identify a good potential audience for your product. (This will also help you manage customer value after conversion.)

• Organize your content. Your sales team will need all kinds of data at their fingertips, from research backing your services to accurate pricing information. Make sure they have what they need in a very easily-accessible way.

• Automate what you can. The less time your sales team spends on rote, programmable tasks, the more time they can spend actively converting leads. Invest in email sequence programs, create winning templates up front – it’ll save a lot of time for your team.

Investing in your sales team may seem pointless, but it’s not. By focusing on these sales enablement tactics, you’ll find that your sales team is able to do more of what they do best – and your bottom line will thank you for it.