Because of the cross-functional nature of enablement, we need a forum for stakeholders across the business to collectively guide, prioritize and take responsibility for enablement. This is not the role of the Sales organization alone!
Ideally the Enablement Advisory Board (EAB) should be championed by a C-level Executive. In some orgs this may be the CRO or CSMO, but as a cross-functional board, the CEO or COO may be the more logical choice for executive sponsor.
Let's revisit the idea that Enablement is a cross-functional ecosystem. Ever get that trick question "how many of you are in sales?" where everyone, regardless of role, is supposed to be in sales? No sales, no business. But even beyond this cliché (which is true), in the digital world all customer-facing teams are creating Customer Experience (CX). So if you're the support person in the chat window or on the phone or on Twitter, welcome to Sales Enablement.
One of the areas many organizations struggle with is handoffs- from demand generation to sales to services to success. Welcome to the EAB. Product management isn't off the hook either and marketing should be represented as well. In this way the EAB becomes the voice of the customer structured across vertical silos, chartered by a C-level executive.
Several typical pathologies can sometimes be avoided through an EAB: services reacting to promises and discounts made to win a deal, product disconnected from market demands or realities, poor customer experience due to rushed launches.
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