How to Customize The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement to Work for Your Company

Mike Kunkle

🔹Author/Advisor/Course Creator: The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement | Modern Sales Foundations | Sales Coaching Excellence

Published Nov 22, 2024

Hey, Enablers, Happy Friday. Mike Kunkle here. Welcome to this week’s edition of Sales Enablement Straight Talk!

Today, I want to share some ideas about how to go beyond The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement framework and customize it to work for your enablement practice, based on how your company defines "enablement" and what functions you support. In some cases, this may mean scaling down and in others it might be flexing up. But in either case, you'll end up with the exact right enablement plan for your situation, and that's what matters most.

Introduction

The need for an adaptable and strategic approach to sales enablement has never been more important. While The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement offer a comprehensive framework that drives replicable and predictable results, applying this framework effectively may require customization to align with your company’s unique needs.

My usual strategic planning process for enablement incorporates a gap analysis that allows you to pare back and focus on key areas (meaning: focus on some building blocks over others). However, it doesn't cover steps to add what else might be necessary, outside of the building blocks framework.

This article will guide you through how to tailor the Building Blocks planning approach to your specific enablement practice, introducing expanded elements like the Commercial Effectiveness framework or other customized additions that reflect your company’s needs, desired outcomes, and priorities.

Customizing the Building Blocks: An Overview

The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement consist of 12 core blocks and 3 supporting blocks, all aimed at optimizing sales force performance. To achieve true enablement excellence and make an impact, practitioners should build a strategic enablement plan rooted in a comprehensive Situation Assessment of their sales force. This involves evaluating your current state, defining the desired future state, and understanding the gaps that need bridging.

The innovation in this approach comes when you integrate an expanded framework—such as my Commercial Effectiveness framework—or add custom elements specific to your enablement practice. This ensures that your plan is not only aligned with the strategic objectives of your organization but also reflects the unique challenges and opportunities your team faces.

IMPORTANT NOTE: For this article, I am going to assume you already have a sales enablement charter and are working cross-functionally with other department leaders. If that's not the case, however, get your charter in place or at least establish who you will be working with, and take them on the rest of this journey with you. At the end of the journey, you will be able to establish who owns what and who will support what, maybe even with a RACI matrix or responsibility assignment matrix. For more on charters, see the eBook in the Resources section.

[Click the image to view a larger version.]

Step 1: Start with a Situation Assessment of Your Sales Force

A solid enablement plan begins with a Situation Assessment, which acts as an internal discovery phase. This includes:

Contextualize Your Sales Force: Document who sells what, to whom, and how. Understanding the structure of your sales team, your sales model, their go-to-market approach, and their customer base is essential. I assume you're all over this, but I am sometimes surprised at the gaps in understanding that I see here.
Current State Analysis: This is Point A or the starting point. Evaluate current processes, methodologies, and tools, noting issues, limitations, and existing strengths. Document the COI of COIN-OP -- the Challenges in the current state, any strategic Opportunities that they might capitalize on, and the Impacts of the status quo (meaning, if they don't resolve the Challenges or enable the Opportunities).
Desired Future State Analysis: This is Point B or the destination. Continuing with COIN-OP, define the Outcomes senior leaders want to achieve, aligned with executive strategic objectives. Identify what success looks like and the Priorities that will guide your planning.
Gap Analysis: Conduct a Gap Analysis between these states to identify what will be required to move from Point A to Point B. This includes capabilities, skills, tools, culture change, talent development, improved onboarding, and whatever will be required to get to the Desired Future State. These are the Needs or N in the COIN-OP acronym.
Impact Analysis: Now, consider the Impacts and risks of the Current State, and the Outcomes and results in the Desired Future State, and whenever possible, dollarize them both. This allows you to compare the Impacts to the Outcomes to develop a compelling business case. And comparing the costs of N (Needs) and all the things necessary to achieve the Desired Future State, allows you to forecast a return on your investment. (Great for budget planning and getting the resources you need.)

Now, you clearly know what the Current State is for your sales force and what the executive expectations are for this planning period (Desired Future State). From this point forward, everything you do should be in support of the sales force achieving the Desired Future State Outcomes.

Pro Tip: Don't do this work alone in a vacuum. To truly understand reality and what is required to get to the Desired Future State (the Needs), and to gain alignment and buy-in to your later plans, you must engage senior sales leaders and their internal trusted advisors. It can't hurt to add the perspective of other cross-functional leaders (the other charter members), but doing this without the sales leader's perspective is a fool's errand.

Step 2: Assess and Customize Your Building Blocks

Once the Situation Assessment is complete, the next step is to analyze, adapt, and prioritize The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement or integrate aspects of the Commercial Effectiveness Framework as needed. The objective is to tailor the enablement strategy so that it completely supports what you've learned your sales force needs in the immediate future or next planning period, based on your Situation Assessment.

You will assess which Building Blocks, elements of the Commercial Effectiveness Framework, or whatever else are needed to get from Point A to Point B, based on the Situation Assessment.
You will assess the Current State of the selected Blocks/Elements/other factors compared to the Desired Future State -- meaning, where each Block/Element/factor needs to be, to support the Situation Assessment and achievement of the Desired Future State Outcomes.

However well you believe you understood that, from "You are assessing" to "the achievement of the Desired Future State Outcomes," please reread it again now.

Basically, you first assess which are most needed for this plan, and to what level of excellence they must be done.

Evaluating the Base Building Blocks

Start by evaluating the current state of each of the 12 core and 3 supporting Building Blocks. Assess whether or how much each is needed to support the Situation Assessment of the sales force. Once you determine which are needed, identify both the Current State and Desired Future State.

What you'll be left with are only the blocks needed at this time for this plan, and whether they are GEFN (Good Enough For Now) or whether you need to improve them.

[Click on the image to view a larger version.]

12 Core Building Blocks

Buyer Acumen: Assess how well your team understands the buyer personas, their COIN-OP, and the metrics that matter most to them. Is there a clear map of their buying process and exit criteria? As a reminder, COIN-OP is an acronym for Challenges, Opportunities, the Impacts of the status quo, their Needs (or what they need to move from the current to desired future state), desired Outcomes, and the Priorities of those Needs and Outcomes),
Buyer Engagement Content: Review whether your content effectively aligns with marketing campaigns, sales messaging, and buyer needs, ensuring it drives engagement at every buying stage.
Sales Support Content: Determine if the tools and job aids that you provide sufficiently reinforce your process/methodology and assist sellers effectively.
Sales Hiring: Evaluate the effectiveness of your hiring processes in selecting and onboarding top talent suited for their roles.
Sales Training: Check if your training programs are comprehensive, consistently supporting onboarding and ongoing development while addressing competency gaps.
Sales Coaching: Ensure your coaching model is well-implemented and engages both managers and reps in the process of continuous development.
Sales Process and Methodology: Confirm that your processes and methodologies align with the buyer’s journey and are optimized for seller tasks and outcomes.
Sales Analytics and Metrics: Investigate the robustness of your sales data and reporting to track, analyze, and inform strategy.
Sales Technology and Tools: Assess the utility and effectiveness of your current tech stack.
Sales Compensation and Recognition: Ensure that your plans motivate the right behaviors and deliver the desired performance outcomes.
Sales Manager Enablement: Confirm that managers are equipped with the training, tools, and systems needed to foster a coaching culture and drive team success.

3 Supporting Blocks

Supporting Blocks: These blocks tie the others together and support effective execution. Review your use of Systems Thinking, Communication Management, and Sales Support Services to ensure cohesive execution.

Systems Thinking: Apply systems thinking to create an environment that supports high performance. Implement a Sales Hiring System, a Sales Readiness System supported by a Sales Training System, and a Sales Management System (including a Sales Coaching System), to perpetuate the above building blocks and pull everything together. The core blocks are the performance levers, and the systems are how you execute.
Communication Management - Sales Force & Cross-Functional Collaboration: Become the single point of communication for the sales force, with a regular cadence/format. Develop a sales enablement charter and establish a cadence of communication with cross-functional collaboration partners to review collaboration efforts, progress, results, and revise the plans or charter as needed.
Sales Support Services: As needed, provide sales support via SLA for services such as: creating presentations, research, preparation, RFP support, deal desk, coaching support, and more - whatever other support the sales force requires.

Identify where each of these blocks stands: Are they strong and effective, good enough for now (GEFN), or gaps that require attention? Prioritize your focus accordingly.

Integrating the Commercial Effectiveness Framework

Beyond the base Building Blocks, if you are responsible for aspects beyond the Building Blocks framework, consider integrating aspects of the Commercial Effectiveness Framework when adapting your enablement strategy. This framework expands on sales enablement by including related functions that enhance overall commercial success:

Market Acumen: Evaluate your market intelligence and how well it's incorporated into strategic decisions. (Aligns with Buyer Acumen in the Building Blocks framework.)
Product and Customer Experience: Consider how product development insights and customer feedback loops are integrated to enhance alignment, as well as the level of customer experience you provide and how much friction exists (and whether it's good or bad friction.)
Sales Operations: Ensure your operational support complements your enablement efforts. Many Sales/Revenue Operations' elements are already baked into the Building Blocks (for example: Sales Process, Compensation & Recognition, Sales Technology & Tools, Sales Analytics & Metrics, and the various elements in the Sales Management System, including the Operating System and Sales Performance Management).
Marketing and Demand Generation: Align marketing initiatives and lead-gen campaigns with sales objectives to ensure cohesive messaging and buyer engagement.
Content Management: Assess how content strategy supports both marketing and sales goals.
Sales Enablement: Tailor training, coaching, and readiness programs for your specific sales roles and their requirements - the elements already present in The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement and the Systems that support them.

Customizing Your Unique Framework

An enablement practitioner should feel empowered to blend The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement, elements from the Commercial Effectiveness Framework, and any additional responsibilities unique to their role. This custom blend forms a cohesive strategy that meets the specific needs of the organization, at this time.

For example, if your team emphasizes Field Enablement support or has a strong focus on Digital Engagement or AI integration, consider adding these as custom blocks within your strategy. This ensures that your enablement program reflects the unique elements needed by your sales force, right now, to achieve the Desired Future State Outcomes.

IMPORTANT NOTE: While I do believe that all of the building blocks are important for achieving optimum long-term results, I clearly am suggesting that you select the blocks or elements that specifically will support what your sales force needs in your next planning period. The tie to the Situation Assessment is what will allow you to support the journey to the Desired Future State and give you the best chance possible to make a meaningful impact. At the same time, here are some important considerations:

If you did not select Buyer Acumen, Sales Manager Enablement (including Sales Coaching), Systems Thinking, and Communication Management (especially with your cross-functional charter team), I believe you should reconsider. I have never seen a truly significant impact or double-digit growth that did not include these blocks. I have published many other newsletters and articles that delve into these topics if you want to go deeper, but for now, suffice it to say that I would not skip these, if you intend for the sales force to change and develop, and if you want you, your team, and your larger cross-functional charter partners to be able to make and claim an impact.

Structuring Your Custom Framework: A Visual Guide

It helps some people, so I'll offer this suggestion. You can visualize your custom framework as a hub-and-spoke model with core Building Blocks or integrated Commercial Effectiveness elements as spokes supporting your central strategic goals. Adapt the configuration as necessary to build a structure that aligns with your business's top priorities. Some find the visual that they create to be a good framework for discussions with those outside the planning team, as well as a tool to speak shorthand with the cross-functional charter team during recurring meetings. If it makes sense to you, do it. If not, no harm, no foul.

Step 3: Force Field Analysis for Action Planning

With a tailored framework in place, you can now leverage Force Field Analysis (FFA) to develop your action plan. This methodology, adapted from Kurt Lewin's change management approach, is particularly effective for enablement planning. It involves:

Start with Context: Briefly capture a summary of the Current and Desired Future States, as a reminder.
Consider the "Sources of Forces:" This is helpful to keep key elements of your Situation Assessment, Building Blocks, or expanded frameworks top of mind. It's not mandatory but it does help spur brainstorming for the remaining steps. NOTE: I have sometimes found it helpful to do mini-FFAs for each force (one FFA per block, for example). It's more to keep track of, but it keeps the FFA from becoming an overwhelming jumble of data. And, since you need to plan for each block or factor, it sometimes makes the action planning easier later.
Document Driving Forces: These are the positive factors pushing you toward your desired future state, such as strong executive sponsorship, existing technology, a sales process that aligns to your buyers' journey, or a motivated group of sales managers with a growth mindset.
Identify Restraining Forces: These are obstacles that could impede progress, such as budget constraints, legacy systems, friction in the buying experience, or resistance to change. Include any factors or information that you should know but don't, as Restraining Force.
Weight the Forces: This is optional and subjective but can be helpful when prioritizing where to start or how deep to focus on a given force.
Create Your Enablement Action Plan: Focus on reducing or eliminating restraining forces first, followed by enhancing driving forces to create momentum. Ask yourself two simple questions: 1) "How can we reduce or eliminate the Restraining Forces?" and 2) "How we can add or strengthen the Driving Forces?" As you answer, document in the Action Plan format, automatically building your enablement plan. If you are doing this with your cross-functional partners, as suggested, it's a perfect time for RACI or another way to signify who owns what and who will support what. This is why you bring your partners with you on this strategic enablement planning journey. You now have a plan with buy-in from those who helped create it.

Closing Thoughts

Customizing the Building Blocks of Sales Enablement allows you to construct a framework that’s truly aligned with your organization’s strategic objectives and unique challenges. By beginning with a Situation Assessment, evaluating and expanding your Building Blocks, and employing Force Field Analysis for actionable insights, you create a tailored enablement plan capable of driving meaningful change -- the change and results that your executive team and senior sales leader want to see.

Customization ensures that enablement practices are not static but adaptive to what your sales force needs in your next planning cycle, making it a powerful driver for sustained performance improvement.

Lastly, not discussed in detail here but critical, remember to align on your impact measurement process and plan, with those who will be helping do the work, and the leadership recipients of the reporting. I've written about this extensively elsewhere, but didn't want you to forget it here.

This method works, Enablers. I didn't dream it up in a lab somewhere -- it's been built from many years of doing the work. Many of those were prior to the term "Sales Enablement" being coined, but the sales performance improvement work is the same. Do this well, and execute well, and you will make an impact!

Resources

To deepen your understanding and refine your approach, here are some additional related resources you can explore, as desired:

Book: The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement
eBook: How to Develop a Sales Enablement Plan That Delivers Results
Course: The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement Learning Experience
Course: Modern Sales Foundations (Sales Methodology block)
Course: Sales Coaching Excellence (Sales Coaching & Sales Manager Enablement blocks)

Articles:

The Surprising Power of Understanding ‘Who Sells What to Whom and How’

Past Newsletters:

Well, that's it for this week, Enablers! Did you learn something new reading/watching this newsletter? If you did, or if it just made you think (and maybe chuckle from time to time - bonus points if you snorted), share it with your favorite enablement colleague, subscribe right here on LinkedIn, and check out The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement Learning Experience. For other courses and content from Mike, see: https://linktr.ee/mikekunkle