State of Sales Enablement 2017

Updated for 2021: State of Sales Enablement 2021

The 2017 State of Sales Enablement continues Highspot’s annual tradition of releasing new research on the sales enablement industry. From 2016 to 2017, there was vast improvement in a lot of areas of sales enablement but still plenty of room for improvement. As sales processes continue to evolve, it’s clear that sales enablement (both platforms and staffing) are a critical part of helping sales teams close more deals faster.

Conducted by Heinz Marketing, the 2017 State of Sales Enablement study features results from nearly 600 sales, marketing, and sales enablement professionals in B2B companies of all sizes and industries. Here are a few top-line observations:

• The sales process is becoming more complex. A majority (64.5%) of respondents are experiencing more complex sales processes, and this is more pronounced among larger companies. However, companies with a dedicated sales enablement team are more than twice as likely to experience a sales process that’s becoming less complex.
• The buyer’s journey is becoming more front-and-center. Companies with a sales enablement team are 52% more likely to have a sales process that’s tightly aligned with the buyer’s journey. Conversely, those without a sales enablement team are 67% more likely to have a sales process that’s only lightly aligned.
• Sales enablement drives revenue. Companies with sales enablement tools reported revenue increases surpassing their peers. More than 75% of respondents from companies using sales enablement tools reported that their company’s sales had increased over the past 12 months. Of these same respondents, nearly 35% reported sales increases greater than 25%.

It’s clear from the survey that organizations are investing heavily in sales enablement. Download the report to learn more.