Shawnna Sumaoang: Hello and welcome to the Win Win Podcast. I’m your host, Shawnna Sumaoang. Be a part of us as we dive into altering developments within the office and learn how to navigate them efficiently.

Analysis from Entreprenuer.com discovered that corporations lose as much as 30% in income annually on account of inefficiencies. On this present financial local weather, the significance of rep effectivity is at an all-time excessive. So, how can enablement leaders concentrate on serving to reps maximize effectivity to make each interplay with a purchaser depend? 

Right here to debate this matter is Shelly Walshe, the Director, Gross sales Enablement & Operations at Delta Dental. Thanks for becoming a member of, Shelly! I’d love so that you can inform us about your self, your background, and your position. 

Shelly Walshe: You guess. Slightly bit about my background. Proper out of faculty, I went proper into retail gross sales and advertising and marketing. After just a few years there, I leaped into healthcare, which was actually completely different. I used to be on this gross sales coaching staff and from there, I used to be promoted right into a gross sales management position the place I took these advertising and marketing abilities, these coaching abilities, and other people growth abilities into promoting. I discovered some success there after which moved right into a solely studying and growth coaching readiness operate. Apparently, I did effectively sufficient there with problem-solving and growing people who my staff was constructed out together with actually the developments of bringing efficiencies, effectiveness, and enablement into organizations. For me, that thread that I’ve had all through my profession of being artistic and fixing issues, and growing others is an ideal match for this position.

I’m accountable for a nationwide staff with numerous readiness, getting ready our gross sales kickoffs, instructing methods to organize the sector to be at their finest in entrance of the shopper, together with a few of the much less attractive and enjoyable issues like our gross sales incentive program and even another work with occasions out available in the market. In order that’s me and I convey my creativity and growing others and problem-solving to my work all day, day-after-day. 

SS: I like that. I believe that these are important abilities for anybody in enablement. Now, you’ve talked about that you simply’re always engaged on making an attempt to innovate primarily methods and processes to assist influence gross sales achievements and every little thing that they’re in a position to accomplish inside your group. How has this strategy helped you to drive effectivity amongst your gross sales reps? 

SW: What I learn about, and being a frontline vendor myself, is you’re within the deal, you’re within the second, and in the event you can’t get what it’s essential cross the end line or transfer the deal ahead. I convey that and I search for leaders and members of my staff which have that very same mindset. Not what we have to inform our sellers to do, however what we have to make them at their finest, make them actually prepared in entrance of the shopper. Effectivity is an ideal phrase. How do they discover issues quick? How are they prepared for the time being? Do they get them out of digging in an e mail, phoning in a pal, or having to come back again to the shopper the subsequent time? I believe that’s a spot the place we have now performed our greatest. We’ve acquired the answer the place the rep is working for the time being. In the event that they’re in an e mail, we’ve acquired one thing for e mail, they’re going to be within the subject, and we’re getting them prepared within the subject. 

Time is, particularly after the pandemic, it’s laborious to get in entrance of a buyer. It’s laborious to even get them on Zoom as a result of they’re slightly fatigued. It’s essential profit from what’s occurring. Whenever you’re together with your buyer and once you’re in entrance of them. I like expertise to try this and I’m fairly enthusiastic about what we’ve led to with Highspot as a result of that’s assembly our wants in much more methods than I might’ve anticipated.

SS: That’s at all times incredible to listen to. What are a few of the improvements you’ve been in a position to obtain since implementing Highspot and what influence have you ever seen from these improvements, particularly in terms of efficiencies? 

SW: It’s very apparent that Highspot can ship content material. It’s fairly apparent that it might pace folks up from the underside of the funnel to search out the suitable doc and discover the proper model, however we’ve dug rather a lot deeper there. I don’t wanna bypass that and concentrate on a few of the cool issues we’re doing. The truth that our sellers can discover what they want quick, it’s a minute right here, it’s a minute there, it’s having to return to the workplace and discover it, ready for a response. 

Not solely are our sellers getting what they want for the time being, however so are our prospects. It’s simply really easy to search out what they want with a few clicks to the purpose the place our sellers are asking for every little thing to enter Highspot. If we have now an asset that comes from our folks org, they ask if we will put this in Highspot. They need this to be their house base and I believe that’s fairly thrilling. We’ve performed some distinctive spots and pages and belongings that basically aren’t about content material supply, nevertheless it’s making it simpler for our sellers.

One instance is our firm is getting greater. There’s a variety of demand on time and capability, and our cross-functional companions are creating consumption types and vendor types. They ask that they fill out the shape to get the request for brand spanking new types or up to date types. They requested us to place it in Highspot and we simply put the hyperlinks in there as a result of they’re working in Highspot by way of both Salesforce or Outlook and when they should join with our model and artistic staff on an consumption kind we discover it in a Highspot and that offloads time. So, am I creating time? Perhaps. Creating capability? Certain. I’m rushing them up, making them more practical and environment friendly, and ensuring what they ship available in the market is as proper as it may be, is large. 

SS: I believe that’s incredible. I’d love to know, Shelly, I’m curious, have you ever come throughout challenges in terms of bettering effectivity, and possibly what are a few of these challenges that you simply come throughout, even inside your personal group, within the perspective of the financial system?

SW: Some efficiencies which have been led to, significantly associated to Highspot, is our capacity to get our specific proposals in entrance of our prospects. We do about 700 new enterprise proposals. It’s rather a lot. They go in all completely different instructions. They hit e mail and other people have completely different capacities of their e mail packing containers as they’re receiving it as a buyer or dealer, and we’re transitioning into utilizing Highspot to ship proposals.

So what does that do? Initially, it saves reissuing, loading information in a unique house or content material device or Google Docs, or a few of the safety points that we run into. It makes it quick and environment friendly and the most effective half about that’s that this piece of delivering one thing in a manner that’s actually good for the shopper, however good for us and good for advertising and marketing is that prospect opening the proposal. We’ve had anecdotes the place our rep says, I despatched one thing and the customer says, ‘seems to be nice,’ however I do know they haven’t opened it or they arrive again to it in every week. They’re gaining this intelligence about learn how to now strategy the deal in new ways in which they’ve by no means had earlier than.

As an alternative of within the second getting a name again from that purchaser asking a query, they’re already starting to organize, as a result of they’re noticing the customer is spending time on this web page or they preserve going again to the value. They are often extra prepared for the subsequent steps on this negotiation or deal-making. That’s been simply groundbreaking. We despatched it by e mail and didn’t know what was occurring behind the scenes, or who else was getting concerned, and our reps are saying that that is setting them up for achievement and making them more practical once they’re in entrance of the shopper the subsequent time. 

SS: I like that. I do know that your staff has seen a variety of nice success from participating their patrons by way of Highspot, significantly by way of the pitching functionality. The truth is, I’ve seen that you simply guys have achieved an 84% adoption charge of pitching, which is wonderful. Implausible work on that entrance. You talked slightly bit about a few of the pitching methods and the way it’s helped your staff enhance effectivity. I’d additionally like to drill into understanding a few of your finest practices for driving the adoption of pitching in Highspot and a few of the outcomes that you simply’ve seen as a enterprise due to leveraging pitching.

SW: I believe we began with my readiness staff. I liked Hamilton, so I’ll say speak much less, pay attention extra. Put ourselves within the sneakers of the vendor. Whenever you inform them you could pitch, you could enter into Salesforce, you could do one thing. There’s rather a lot that comes their manner as a vendor, and that’s simply not the mindset for them. They’re driving enterprise, they’re energized, they usually need to do, do, do, and go, go, go. To be instructed what to do is usually in battle with what you need to obtain. 

My staff does a variety of listening. What do you want? What can be useful? Whereas it wasn’t our finish recreation the place we needed them to do the pitching. You pitch a product, pitch a brand new manner of doing issues, pitch a sale prospect. I imply, that’s actually what initially you consider what Highspot will do for you. We had sellers inform us, prospects don’t need us to be dental consultants, they need to find out about wellness. That is vital to them. Which may not cross the end line on a deal, nevertheless it units us up as a top quality healthcare firm that basically is dedicated to oral well being and can do effectively with the members that be part of us. We began with some thought management webinars that had been new to the corporate. We had been getting out, like telling our story of why oral healthcare issues and why we care about it, so we created webinars. 

Previously, our course of was not an thought. We did have interaction advertising and marketing with some campaigns, however that didn’t assist our sellers. They’re type of blind to campaigns. They don’t actually know what’s happening. They don’t know who’s going. Our campaigns could not even contact the individual the vendor desires to connect with the occasion. Our first launch in pitches was a extremely thought-provoking webinar to people who the sellers need to present worth to, they usually liked it. Our adoption charge has even grown since you bought that stat. We are actually at 90%, which is unparalleled for something I do with sellers to get them to come back alongside. 

As soon as that they had the outcomes and the engagement and I may see the info, I believe we’re over 5,000 attendees within the final two quarters at these wellness webinars. Previously, we’d be fortunate if we had 10 or 12 attendees in 1 / 4, so the outcomes are there, the purchasers are thanking our reps for inviting them, and it’s simply been a terrific approach to introduce them to Highspot. Now, they’re saying, what else can I do? How else can I exploit this device? We invited them in based mostly on what they wanted first, and that set us off and working.

I’ll add, we’ve discovered in an enormous manner with ours. Highspot skilled providers staff. We meet with them weekly, they know us, we all know them, and we make investments time with them. It’s a kind of conferences the place I believe others may say one thing got here up, and may’t make it, however we made it a precedence as a result of we gained a lot from these calls, whether or not it’s for a brand new thought or we have now an issue to unravel. Our partnership is like none different I’ve ever had with a vendor. I’ve a devoted employees and my readiness staff truly employed somebody for the position. I used to be including a brand new coaching place and we sought out somebody that had expertise with instruments like this and that tech mind that she brings to the job actually superior us as effectively. It acquired us to the place we are actually sooner as a result of she may actually stroll each side. Not solely can she be tech, however she’s additionally actually embedded with gross sales, so she is aware of learn how to navigate very effectively.

Lastly, to that adoption charge and the usage of pitching, they run a set of workplace hours as soon as every week. They only invite folks in and ask them what they need to check out, and what do you need to ask us. Whether or not the reps simply use these workplace hours for one marketing campaign, one thought, or one occasion, it will get folks utilizing the device very hands-on. It’s ongoing and it’s how we’re doing enterprise now. We aren’t launching a device and hoping that individuals will use it and sending out stories that decision them out for not utilizing it, which is oftentimes how gross sales leaders will say we purchased this, however you’re not utilizing it. Get in there and also you higher use it. It is a completely completely different strategy, and I believe it’s working very effectively. 

SS: Completely. Completely different approaches for various groups typically that is the case. Now, I need to shift gears slightly bit and we talked about a few of the much less attractive elements. I do know although that your staff has seen some actually nice outcomes in terms of governance inside Highspot and I believe a variety of enablement practitioners don’t instantly take into consideration how vital governance is. Are you able to share extra about your finest practices for governance and the way that has helped your staff optimize efficiencies?

SW: The partnership with advertising and marketing has been important. It is a device that we purchased in for enablement, and our advertising and marketing group, like many, is simply busy. They’re chasing, they’re doing campaigns, however their measurements weren’t essentially aligned with ours. Gross sales would get annoyed as a result of that they had no thought what advertising and marketing was doing, and why gross sales weren’t getting what they needed from them. We introduced in our model and artistic companions alongside. We pitched them by saying, it’s ours, we’re going to run it, we’re going to personal it, we’re going to handle it, however we wish you to come back alongside and see what it’s like. 

We’re just a few weeks into implementation and I don’t assume we’re going to ever shake our advertising and marketing companions as a result of they’ll see the worth of the device. They’re utilizing Highspot themselves to search out content material as a result of it’s simpler than the place they’ve been housing it on SharePoint. Now we have customers exterior of gross sales which have discovered concerning the device and the place to search out content material. We’re simply actually selective and sensible about what we hyperlink to and curate a really logical group based mostly on the gross sales cycle and the vendor’s wants. 

As an alternative of masterminding or copying the present file system or group, as a result of my staff is so near sellers, they ask how do you search for one thing? What do you name it? How are your prospects asking for content material? The result that we didn’t anticipate is that advertising and marketing is studying extra about frontline sellers and what they want and what prospects are asking for just by how we’re organizing our spots and our content material into Highspot.

Now, we’re slightly greater than a yr in and it’s time to start to assessment content material that’s not getting used and sunsets these items. The information stats are coming in proper now. We simply had our gross sales kickoff and our new chief of brand name and artistic, noticed a few of the information factors. For example, our video views are seen effectively over one hundred percent, generally 200%, which means prospects and the receivers are watching it a number of instances or sharing it with others. That was not essentially a precedence for our model and artistic staff, however I checked out him throughout the room and mentioned I believe it’s essential go make some extra movies. We don’t want the flyers and the slide decks, we want video. 

Once more, the place do you spend your time and make investments? Every little thing doesn’t should be there. It’s what the vendor wants now, and we have now these listening posts and people workplace hours and being actually related with them in different ways in which it’s simply an at all times factor that we’ll do for positive as a result of that’s the way you make it’s finest. It’s reacting to what was occurring available in the market, and you may’t do this in the event you’re not at all times participating with these friends cross-functionally and at all times listening to out of your sellers.

I like the enter or suggestions function. That had by no means existed in any of our content material. Previously on the SharePoint website, after you picked up a doc and also you noticed a mistake, you didn’t know what to do with it. That’s been a win that I wouldn’t have put down in my necessities when on the lookout for a device, nevertheless it’s serving to my staff the place there may be some studying alternatives, but in addition bringing about some fast wins for our sellers to get paperwork up to date or modified. That’s effectivity. All of the little items actually add up.

SS: I like that. Lately your staff determined to develop your use of Highspot to incorporate coaching and training. How have you ever been in a position to enhance the effectivity of your gross sales staff with a unified enablement platform that comes with coaching and training? 

SW: It was one among my highest priorities after I noticed a single resolution with every little thing we wanted. So, bringing about what the reps want, the place they’re working, whether or not they’re in Salesforce, on the street, or in e mail. When a buyer asks you a query a couple of matter you discovered about at your gross sales kickoff three months in the past, the place’s the data? What ought to I say? What do I present them? What am I imagined to know? 

We’re evolving and getting every little thing into Highspot. The truth is, my coaching chief has that in her, in her signature line, ‘Questioning the place one thing is? Did you look within the Highspot?’ Every little thing’s there that you’ve got a single supply of knowledge, so when you’re about to pitch a deal they usually’re asking about our effectiveness with equality, they’ll say ‘I do know there was one thing nice and I do know there’s some phrasing that was actually terrific, however I must brush up my abilities’. That content material is prepared for you. The search brings up not solely the flier or the video that you simply may ship but in addition serves up, proper in entrance of you, every little thing that it’s essential know so you may refresh. 

You possibly can think about emails, storage of information, and the place it’s. It’s unlikely {that a} fast-paced, fast-moving vendor is taking the time to cease, dig by way of emails, or ask somebody. Generally I name it the legends and tales and make it up on the spot the place it’s essential transfer quick they usually don’t have time to do all their analysis, however we serve that up for them in Highspot, even when they’re not pondering they need to refresh their studying. There it’s for them. 

We’re seeing some good engagement. We’re simply getting began and studying and bringing them alongside, so we’re going to get our onboarding going, however man, I wouldn’t do it some other manner. I simply wouldn’t. It’s multi function place. That’s driving adoption as effectively. Whereas I may not want a collateral piece, I need to reply a buyer query. Let’s say an e mail is available in with a buyer query. I can ping a solution, however our reps are actually behaving the place they go to Highspot to get the training, and whereas they’re getting that studying, they’re like, Ooh, I didn’t see this advertising and marketing collateral piece. It’s actually cool. I didn’t even realize it existed. Let me not solely reply the query however assist it with a extremely good reply. 

That wouldn’t have occurred with out tying these two items collectively. It’s simply merely the attention of what’s obtainable by way of that straightforward search. Speak about effectivity, proper? Not solely effectivity, however the high quality of the rep in entrance of the shopper, after which the shopper’s expertise, like they’re getting the most effective set of knowledge for the time being.

SS: I believe that could be a incredible grounding precept, Shelly. To shut, I’d love to listen to about the way you and your staff are going to proceed to drive the innovation that we talked about on the onset of this podcast to enhance effectivity and the way you propose to leverage Highspot to assist in the approaching month.

SW: Now we have such large goals of the place we need to go. Certainly one of my favourite little nuggets that got here out of some artistic pondering on my advertising and marketing occasions staff was utilizing QR codes and linking to a spot. I constructed these actually stunning touchdown pages for patrons who’re participating with us at a convention or out within the subject. Previously, we’d hand out stacks and stacks of paper that in all probability didn’t make it previous the resort room on the way in which again to folks touring house. The QR code expertise linking again right into a spot means a lot extra effectivity.

Now we have a rep who created his personal touchdown web page with a type of his enterprise card, like who he’s, and a few his favourite belongings, and he printed that QR code on a T-shirt. He wears it at occasions and when he’s out within the subject and it says, scan me. He’s seeing that after the occasion, engagement by prospects and prospects again into his website and his web page, so he can ping them and verify in on them.

There are efficiencies for our staff not having to trace delivery content material, collateral items, after which numerous data that they’ll get. There are additionally extra studying alternatives we need to construct in in order that we’re shifting our gross sales new rent onboarding into the training platform, and we’ve dabbled in video recordings and competence checks, and functionality checks. We need to do rather more of that. We’re not fairly on the spot the place we’re in a position to tie outcomes to analytics. That’s on my plan for later this yr. We need to discover the magic that Highspot is creating for our reps and construct that out much more for others, whether or not that’s constructing finest practices, extra studying alternatives, and so forth.

I discussed creating extra movies. That’s going to be a direct hyperlink to the info that we’re getting from Highspot that builds the case. Constructing video with our model and artistic staff is fairly taxing on their time they usually didn’t have an enormous dedication there. Now we will see straight how that resonates available in the market and the way vital that’s for sellers to get their story throughout. That’s a spot the place we’re going to assist them enhance their effectivity out within the subject to get what they want that works the most effective and that tells our story for them in order that they’re priming that prospect for the second that they are often in entrance of them. 

I can’t wait to see what we ship by the top of the yr as a result of we’ve performed a lot so rapidly and uncovered alongside the way in which issues I by no means thought had been even attainable and didn’t even assume we may do. I’m positive some unknown outcomes will likely be seen and possibly I’ll be again in a yr to toot my very own horn over right here about how nice we’ve impacted our staff’s effectivity by getting them what they want, once they want it, and making them even higher once they’re in entrance of a buyer.

SS: I like that and I like the way you guys create this tradition of creativity and innovation over there at Delta Dental. Thanks, Shelly, a lot for becoming a member of us as we speak on this podcast. I actually respect your insights. 

SW: You guess. It was a pleasure. 

SS: To our viewers, thanks for listening to this episode of the Win-Win podcast. Remember to tune in subsequent time for extra insights on how one can maximize enablement success with Highspot.