Sales enablement is a must for any revenue organization looking to improve sales performance and increase revenue growth. Sellers agree. Recent research found that three-quarters of sales reps feel that sales enablement is effective at preparing them to reach quota.
But taking an ad hoc approach to sales enablement won’t yield great results. Instead, organizations must take a strategic approach, starting with building a sales enablement charter.
Whether you’re creating a sales enablement charter for the first time or are revisiting an existing one, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about sales enablement charters, including:
- What they are
- Why they matter
- What components are typically included in one
- How to build a winning sales enablement charter to guide your entire enablement strategy
What is a sales enablement charter?
Chances are, you’ve heard the phrase “sales enablement charter” at least a time or two. But what exactly is a sales enablement charter?
Essentially, a sales enablement charter is a roadmap or business plan for your sales enablement plan. The charter is a document that clearly outlines your sales enablement mission and goals, and it serves as the foundation for your entire sales enablement strategy.
A sales enablement charter is foundational to any winning sales enablement program. However, organizations often don’t take the time to establish one. In fact, recent research found that only 38% of sales enablement professionals have one in place.
Research found that only
Is developing a sales enablement charter worth the time and effort?
Absolutely. But why is a sales enablement charter so important?
All too often, organizations take an ad hoc approach to sales enablement, tackling any random tasks and requests that happen to come their way. This is a recipe for disaster.
Research shows that organizations with a more strategic approach to sales enablement see better results. Creating a sales enablement charter is an essential step in formalizing your sales enablement efforts.
By clearly defining your purpose, goals, and priorities in a sales enablement charter, you can help your team focus on what truly matters. That way, you’re more likely to achieve your goals and have a larger impact on the metrics that matter most to your organization.
Furthermore, a well-defined sales enablement charter drives cross-functional understanding and alignment. With a strong sales enablement charter in place, other teams will clearly understand what does (and doesn’t) fall under the purview of sales enablement and how best to collaborate with your team.
What are the key components of a sales enablement charter?
Sales enablement charters vary from organization to organization. As such, there is no single example relevant to every company.
However, you’ll likely notice that just about every sales enablement charter template includes many of the same components, such as:
Sales enablement vision
This statement describes where you want your sales enablement plan to go. Typically, vision statements are aspirational and provide a high-level view of the potential impact of sales enablement on the organization.
One example is: “To empower our revenue team to to drive outstanding customer experiences that grow revenue.”
Sales enablement mission
While the vision statement focuses on where you hope to go, your mission statement should focus on how you plan to get there.
An example of a sales enablement mission statement is:
Sales enablement goals
Your sales enablement goals should be aligned with your mission and the company’s overall objectives. Use the SMART acronym to avoid vague goals.
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
An example of a sales enablement goal is: Create and deliver a sales onboarding program that will reduce time to first sale by 10% for sales reps hired during the fourth quarter.
Sales enablement pillars
Even the best sales enablement teams can’t tackle everything. That’s why it’s important to document your sales enablement pillars in your sales enablement charter.
Essentially, a sales enablement pillar is an element of sales enablement. You will focus your time and effort on your chosen sales enablement pillars. Some examples include:
- Sales onboarding
- Role-based training
- Sales methodology training
- Train the trainer
- Sales kickoffs
- Product training
- Sales content creation
Enablement audience
These are the people who will be supported by your sales enablement initiatives. While sales reps are typically the primary focus, many organizations are broadening the focus of enablement to include other customer-facing teams, like:
- Customer success
- Marketing
- Solution consultants
It’s important to clearly define which teams your enablement initiatives will support. Doing so will keep your team focused and avoid any confusion and misunderstandings in the future.
KPIs
Without ongoing measurement, it’s impossible to know whether or not you’re on track to achieve your sales enablement goals. In your charter, define the KPIs you’ll track to measure sales enablement success and impact.
While the KPIs you should track depend on your goals, some examples include:
- Revenue growth
- Quota attainment
- Average deal size
- Conversion rates
- Retention rates
- Sales cycle length
- Time to first sale
- Time to quota
How to build your sales enablement charter
A sales enablement charter lays the foundation for a successful enablement strategy. While building a charter from scratch can seem overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be.
In fact, by following a few simple steps, you’ll be well on your way to creating a sales enablement charter that’ll guide your strategy and initiatives like a North Star.
Step 1: Assemble your team
Building a sales enablement charter isn’t something you should do alone. Instead, it’s important to collaborate with various teams to ensure alignment.
The first step is determining who will be on the sales enablement charter team. Be sure to include stakeholders from various teams, including:
- Sales
- Marketing
- Customer success
- Sales operations
Your sales enablement charter team will provide valuable feedback to help shape your charter.
It’s also important to include your execute sponsor, who will champion sales enablement throughout your organization.
Step 2: Develop your sales enablement vision and mission statements
Your vision and mission statements will help you articulate sales enablement’s purpose and how it will support the organization’s goals. While your vision statement will convey where you want to go, your mission statement will articulate how you will get there. Be sure to include both in your sales enablement charter.
Step 3: Identify your sales enablement pillars
These pillars will be your primary areas of focus. They will include ongoing responsibilities and new initiatives you plan.
Be sure to include relevant details for each sales enablement pillar, including:
- Overall goals and objectives
- Shorter-term goals
- The KPIs you’ll use to measure long- and short-term impact and success
- Any known risks and challenges you anticipate as you aim to achieve your goals
- What teams will be involved and how you will collaborate with them to achieve your goals
- Resources you will need to achieve your goal, such as team members or special sales enablement tools
- Who is responsible for what
Step 4: Define your audience
Some sales enablement teams focus exclusively on supporting sales reps. Others support additional customer-facing functions, like solution engineers and customer success managers. Be sure to clearly define your target audience. It’ll eliminate confusion down the road.
Step 5: Socialize your sales enablement charter
Once you’ve finalized your sales enablement charter, share it with key stakeholders throughout the company. That way, everyone will clearly understand the purpose and role of sales enablement and how to collaborate with your team.
Step 6: Revisit your charter regularly
A sales enablement charter isn’t (and shouldn’t) be set in stone. Instead, it’s important to review your charter regularly to ensure it remains aligned with your organization’s strategy and goals. If it’s no longer in sync, make the necessary adjustments.
It’s time to build your sales enablement charter
Today, most B2B organizations invest in sales enablement tools and teams. Yet, a mere 38% take the time to develop a sales enablement charter.
Now’s the perfect time if you’ve never built a sales enablement charter. With a charter in place, you can adopt a more strategic approach to sales enablement. When you make that shift, you’ll see a bigger impact on sales performance and revenue growth.
If you already have a sales enablement charter, now’s the time to ensure it aligns with your organization’s current goals. If it doesn’t, make the changes needed to get it there.
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By Rahul Mathew
By Christian Pieper
