At SHIFT 2023, I had the opportunity to answer a pressing question for all forward-thinking organizations: how do we harness the power of Seismic to further mature our enablement functions? As you navigate the ever-evolving terrain of sales enablement, one thing should be increasingly clear: in the journey toward enablement excellence, it is critical to have a clear, actionable strategy. 

There are several benefits to developing a prescriptive roadmap to govern the growth of your enablement program. By taking a well-defined, strategic approach, your organization can increase revenue and operational efficiencies, save time, align cross-functional teams, and even save some money in the process. 
 

The Sales Enablement Roadmap: A strategy for action 

Seismic offers customers a Sales Enablement Roadmap which provides a strategic framework and blueprint to evaluate their current use of Seismic. The roadmap can be used to uncover new projects for enablement and determine how best to scale these initiatives for optimal impact. The roadmap is more than a conceptual guide: our strategic experts collaborate with customers to develop a structured, customized pathway designed to ensure enablement efforts thrive and evolve with changing business needs.  

Seismic’s strategic advisors use a three-step approach to carefully craft sales enablement roadmaps for our customers. Let’s discuss the best way to develop this valuable plan.  

Evolve existing use cases to increase impact 

The first step is a phased deep dive into the current state of your Seismic instance, examining the effectiveness of current strategies and identifying opportunities for enhancement. 

• Baseline current state: Tap into Seismic’s analytics, LiveInsights, for a real-time snapshot of existing content and strategy performance. Insight into content usage and user behavior trends allows you to pinpoint specific areas that are ripe for improvement. 
• Engage stakeholders across the organization: Enablement thrives on cross-functional partnerships. Include feedback from sales, marketing, and product as you explore Seismic’s potential. Their buy-in and participation will be critical as you refine and expand your use cases. 
• Monitor and adjust: Routinely check to ensure that new strategies are adopted and that your platform runs smoothly. Cultivate a mindset of innovation and incorporate Seismic’s dynamic capabilities in your strategic plan. 

Identify future projects and enablement use cases 

After enhancing your current Seismic use cases, the next step is to look ahead. It’s time to strategically identify future projects and use cases that can further elevate your enablement strategies. Shift your focus to discovering and ranking upcoming projects that promise the most significant impact on your enablement initiatives. 

• Start with outcomes in mind: Define desired business outcomes like improving sales efficiency or enhancing customer experiences. Work backward to develop targeted projects. 
• Establish a governance committee: Form a cross-functional team to ensure projects align with your organizational goals. This committee is vital in assessing project feasibility and ensuring seamless implementation. 
• Adopt an iterative approach: Start with small, manageable initiatives. Use insights from iterative cycles to refine your approach and broaden impact across your organization. 

Next, consider how enablement use cases can be scaled across your organization, ensuring consistency and effectiveness for your entire sales team. This is where Seismic is invaluable. 

 
Use Seismic to grow and scale your enablement programs 

Scaling involves increasing the size and improving the quality and reach of your enablement efforts. 

Create dedicated enablement roles: Invest in dedicated roles (e.g., sales enablement manager, sales content manager, operations analyst) focused solely on driving enablement initiatives and amplifying their effectiveness. 

Use Seismic to enable: Harness Seismic as a catalyst for organization-wide strategic initiatives like new sales methodologies and market entries, and as a central hub for learning, training, and executing. 

Conclusion: A Vehicle for Transformation 

Seismic is more than just a tool in your enablement arsenal: it is the driving force behind a transformative journey. By understanding where you are and where you aim to be, Seismic becomes the vehicle that propels your enablement efforts forward. It’s not just about using Seismic – it’s about letting the technology, people, and a carefully crafted strategic roadmap guide your organization to unprecedented levels of growth and efficiency in your sales and marketing endeavors.  

If you’d like to continue the conversation about the Sales Enablement Roadmap, please reach out to your Customer Success team and set yourself on the path to success right away. 

The post Navigating the future: Crafting a comprehensive sales enablement roadmap with Seismic  appeared first on Seismic.

Last October, more than one thousand enablement experts and professionals gathered in San Diego for Shift 2023, Seismic’s annual enablement conference. Attendees participated in various sessions designed to equip them for their enablement journeys’ complexity.  

A third of our sessions were led by our incredible Professional Services team of experts. As we reflected on Shift, our team had a great idea: Let’s reinforce the great content attendees received while sharing strategic and practical tips with those who couldn’t make it. 

Our “Shift into the New Year” series distills the top sessions into blog posts. You’ll learn about several topics that will help set you on the path to maturity, growth, and transformation. We look forward to sharing best practices and thought leadership that will help you develop your plans now, for 2024 and beyond. 

In my role, I am fortunate to work closely with clients who are new to enablement and new to Seismic. Since our breakout session at Shift, the topic of change management has emerged more frequently. Two conversations come to mind – one with a well-established leader in software, and another with a growing business that was recently acquired by a tech giant. While their enablement efforts are unique, both organizations clearly understand the importance of change management in ensuring a thorough, scalable, and successful roll-out of Seismic. 

They recognize that successful adoption of new technologies isn’t just a matter of implementing cutting-edge tools. It requires a well-managed and effective change management strategy. Before we dig in, let’s define change management. Change management is the structured, systematic process of rolling out change to end-users. Effective change management mitigates operational disruptions and aligns resources that empower end-users to understand and accept changes that impact their role and responsibilities. Change management factors in individual work styles, preferences, and attitudes, as well as organizational outcomes – like successfully rolling out an enterprise enablement solution to multiple teams within an organization. 

Change management in the realm of technology is not just a procedural necessity. It’s the linchpin that determines whether organizations can seamlessly transition from legacy systems to new, transformative technologies in a way that minimizes disruption and maximizes intended outcomes. Enterprise solutions like Seismic impact every team in the org and require thoughtful planning to create new processes that drive innovation, efficiency, and competitive advantage. 

The benefits of applying change management speak for themselves: 

• 94% of projects met or exceeded objectives 
• 81% were at or under budget 
• 71% were on or ahead of schedule 

Three change management best practices to know 

As we’ve partnered with thousands of organizations on their enablement journeys, our experts have documented the following key elements to effectively manage change thoughtfully and intentionally. 

1. Start with the “why” 

Understanding that the path ahead is paramount to achieving business outcomes. Why change at all? Why rock the boat? Remember, the “why” should always be aligned to outcomes. You need to consider and clearly communicate the compelling reasons for change and the outcomes you’re driving toward. Communicating the “why” leads to alignment and clarity.  
 
Change is not easy, and there is no such thing as a “small change.” People will not always jump on board because they’re told a change is good. Leaders must be prepared for the challenges to come. Be clear about the headwinds and tailwinds associated with the impending change and lean on your stakeholders to drive initiatives forward. Frontline managers are key to driving change, so be sure to equip them with the fortitude, resources, and skills required.  

2. Change is a group project 

If we always did what was good for us, we would take the stairs every day, eat a clean diet, and go to the gym. We understand that people aren’t always logical when it comes to change. However, we can take steps forward by identifying how various personas can best accept and handle change. 

Everyone has their role in managing change, which means we need to be mindful of how we speak about it. Remember, we aren’t doing it “to” the people, but rather “with” and “for” them. This is walking the walk – lean in and get in the trenches with all levels across your organization. 

3. Connect like-minded individuals 

Across your organization, you’ll find people who work and act in different ways. These differences also apply to how they handle change. By tailoring your efforts to different adopter segments, you can drive change at scale.  

For example, “Early Adopters” are excited about new technology and want to help drive change forward. It’s best to lean on them as champions who can help bring their peers along with them. On the other hand, “Pragmatists” need change to be very clear and practical. They aren’t going to change unless you paint a clear picture of why. 

In today’s landscape, digital transformation is synonymous with organizational evolution. Organizations that want to mature and run best-in-class enablement programs must recognize the significance and impact of change management. Businesses must have a change management plan as they navigate the complexities of technological integration, market changes, and even internal disruptions. 

All in all, change management for new technology is not easy or optional. But it’s also not impossible when we take a thoughtful approach. Connect with Seismic’s Professional Services team to continue the conversation about implementing change management to ensure you’re starting the New Year with a plan that effectively transforms your entire organization. 

Is your team ready to win as one? 

This is just a snapshot of what we discussed at Shift ‘23. You can still get on-demand access to this breakout session and more with Shift Wrapped. Interested in joining us in person this year? Sign up to be the first to hear about Shift-related news here. And, stay tuned for the next post of this series which will share tips and tricks for planning your enablement roadmap! 

The post Win as one: Change management best practices  appeared first on Seismic.