AMA: Zoom Head of Product Marketing, App Marketplace, Sharon Markowitz on Sales Enablement

I love this question as customer advocacy is critical and should be part of a standard sales enablement program for priority launches and initiatives. There are many considerations for developing a case study or other sales enablement materials, namely the overall objective, target audience, and scope of content. Getting input and buy-in from sales will be critical, as they are a key partner and user of this content. Objective: Define the goal for the content such as acquisition, upsell, or usag ...Read More

As you are seeking solutions to reinforce training materials on a product launch or key initiatives, it is always helpful to initially understand why this is necessary. A brief survey and/or conversation with the sales leads that you are supporting can further direct so you can effectively optimize existing sales enablement efforts. There are different objectives and roles within sales (e.g. account executives, business development managers, and customer relationship managers) that need to be su ...Read More

It takes time to build relationships and here are some tips I’ve found to be helpful in my career when partnering with sales, from being open to feedback and delivering quick wins to celebrating team achievements and being a constant learner. This goes beyond the need to have shared goals and an understanding of roles and responsibilities. Be Open to Feedback When I first start working with a team, I conduct a listening tour to understand what's working well and where improvements can be made. I ...Read More

This is a great question as it's so important to think globally but act locally to effectively develop and deliver relevant sales enablement collateral. Whether you are launching a new product, or entering a new market with an established product, it's important to get customer input for messaging and what sales enablement material will be most impactful. New product launch When working for a professional social media platform (hint: see where I posted my article below), we were launching a new ...Read More

It is helpful to look at what needs to be achieved and how to achieve it to effectively ensure alignment between product marketing and sales for sales enablement. This framework may be applied to what each person is responsible for in product marketing. What Needs To Be Achieved Define shared goals. Examples include revenue targets (new customer acquisition, retention, upsell opportunities), lead generation (target and quality), and/or product adoption (adoption and usage rates for successful la ...Read More

Technology to support sales enablement will vary significantly, with key factors around product marketing’s responsibilities, size of the organization, and budget. Less is more, as ultimately, you want to ensure relevancy and team utilization (“team” utilization was intentional!).  CRM systems, sales enablement platforms (from content management to account-based marketing), and collaboration and communication tools are some of the most relevant groupings.  CRMs:  Salesforce and HubSpot are well- ...Read More

This is a very exciting challenge to have as a product marketer. In partnership with product and sales leadership, it's crucial to understand the relationship between the new and current buyer personas. For example, if the IT administrator is the current buyer persona and the new buyer persona is the head of a revenue-generating business unit, such as sales, there is likely a synergy since they are both part of the collective buying group for decision-making, especially if focusing on sales enab ...Read More

To effectively measure sales enablement success, product marketers should integrate both qualitative and quantitative methods: Alignment and KPIs: Establish shared objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) between sales and product marketing teams, with a focus on metrics aligned with sales outcomes. When a common KPI like sales is leveraged, in my experience, this allows for an elevated partnership even if the ways to influence the KPIs vary given expertise. Qualitative Insights: Proacti ...Read More