How does sales enablement change when you go from selling a product to selling a platform?

While you can have really compelling per-product pitches, the real challenge of selling a platform is getting prospects and customers to buy into a vision that unifying their systems is going to be a force multiplier for their company. The value is that 1 + 1 > 2. In selling a platform, it’s imperative the messaging is above-the-line focused because you’re trying to convince customers about the vision. There may be cases where a platform only has 80% of the features that a combination of poin ...Read More

It depends on where you are in the growth journey. If this is a strategy change - in terms of no longer selling a product to selling a platform, it's more about messaging & the art of the possible with a platform.   If you're further in the growth journey and have a complex product portfolio, where now you need to layer on a platform message, then it's about really ensuring your AEs have that foundational knowledge down. Regardless, with a platform, I find that (1) it's a more technical sale ...Read More

This is a tough question to answer because it is so multifaceted. So let's start with the basics when you are moving from product to platform, you're moving from selling one solution to selling multiple solutions. My first recommendation is to hire a separate role that focuses on Sales Enablement. The reason is that you will have to shift from application marketing to solution marketing and this also means shifting to solutions selling, and you will need someone who has a sales background.  If y ...Read More

Let's start with the difference between a platform and a product: Almost every SaaS product has APIs that let it integrate with other applications. A platform, however, plays a more active role in creating an ecosystem and acts as a central hub where how multiple products work and can thrive together. If the platform evolves to a point where it can serve up a marketplace for other products, then the sales enablement process must include the partners who are part of your ecosystem. In my mind, th ...Read More

When selling a platform, you're selling what a customer can accomplish, less what a customer is buying. Obviously in the SaaS world, a lot of our marketing is based on the product being the thing that gets a customer to a desired future state, but that's even more true when selling a platform. The big change is the customer's journey to get to that desired future state. Their path to usage is different, their stage in the purchase path is different, and the stakeholders needed in the room are di ...Read More

In my experience the shift from Product selling to Platform selling has meant that we've had to update the buyer personas we sell too, or at least expand them. It has meant we're no longer selling to a single buyer, but rather a buying committee - so sales has to be equipped with knowing who the members of that committee are, and what is important to them. Selling a Platform will also inherently evolve the pitch and sales motion as well. Sales enablement will be tasked with helping the sales org ...Read More

Two things need to happen when you make that shift from a sales enablement perspective. You need to change your narrative from a product to platform narrative You may need to up-level your sales team and heuristics by bringing on people who are comfortable making the jump to solution selling vs. product selling Product marketing can run with 1.) but you'll need a strong cross-functional handshake with sales and leadership to make two happen. You won't be successful without both. Let's get to the ...Read More

Sales enablement programs have to be designed with a hierarchy in mind, just like how there's a messaging hierarchy. You lead with the hero and follow with the supporting cast.  Based on the way this question is phrased, I'll assume that the move towards selling a platform (from product) was decided upon for good reason. And it does introduce more complexity: More platform-type of information Different packaging (and likely pricing) Content curation for different teams Where enablement may have ...Read More