Saying that the modern sales floor is vastly different from decades ago would be an understatement. In the past, salespeople had the upper hand. They had all the knowledge, encouraging shoppers to buy specific products that addressed their needs.

But today? The shoe is on the other foot!

Customers are more informed than ever; old-school techniques won’t cut it in today’s connected world. Providing sales enablement resources is an excellent step in the right direction, equipping your representatives with plenty of tools to engage potential customers. But to appeal to the modern customer, you must provide more value and take things one step further.

Cue real-time enablement.

What Is Real-Time Enablement (RTE)?

You’re likely already familiar with the concept of sales enablement, but what is real-time enablement?

Simply put, it’s a method of providing relevant and personalized sales content in real time. That means supporting your reps with relevant and contextual resources to the sales experience they’re currently in. Think of it as a more responsive and reactive form of traditional enablement.

It goes further than simple marketing materials and sales scripts. With real-time enablement, you’re providing relevant content catered to that customer. The goal is the same: Help buyers decide and close a sale. But it’s inherently more reactive, delivering impactful content on the spot.

This sales enablement strategy is game-changing. Not only does it help your reps address concerns and objections instantly, but it also empowers your team to step into any sales situation more confidently than ever.

Why Is It Important for Sales Teams?

Sales leaders have a lot to gain from implementing real-time enablement strategies. They can transform the sales process, leading to better results and more wins. More importantly, RTE improves the customer journey and empowers your team to work more efficiently.

Let’s look at some reasons that real-time enablement is essential for modern sales teams.

Customer Expectations Have Never Been Higher

The expectations buyers have today are much different from what they were in the past. Today, people expect to speak to well-informed sales reps who anticipate their needs.

If a potential buyer can do their own research to learn about a product or service, your reps need to know even more. Nothing can ruin a sale faster than an inability to answer questions about a product or service. It’s a massive turn-off for buyers and can often stop the buying process entirely.

The knowledge expectations are higher than ever, so your team needs to have those real-time resources ready. Fumbling responses and taking time to dig through a ton of resources isn’t a good look. Real-time enablement is reactive, putting the relevant information and content in front of your sales force when they need it most.

Buyer Knowledge Needs Change in Real Time

Another factor your team must contend with is the constant evolution of knowledge. Think about it: How long does it take for you to learn about something on the internet? A couple of minutes? Maybe even a few seconds?

The thing about modern buyers is that they’re masters of multitasking. You can be speaking with a prospect while they’re doing lightning-fast research online. It happens more often than sales professionals realize.

Within the same conversation, that buyer might learn more about your product or service, dramatically changing your reps’ enablement needs. Buyer knowledge evolves in a single sales call, forcing your team to react instantaneously.

There’s no time to spare, so having real-time strategies in place makes all the difference.

New Buying Signals Demand New Sales Tracks

Buying signals refer to actions that might indicate a prospect’s changing interests during the buying process. These signals could suggest that a potential customer is about to become a full-fledged customer. Of course, there are no guarantees, but your team will use those signals to reach out at the right time and provide sales content strategically.

So what does that have to do with real-time enablement?

With the changing sales landscape, buyers are showing newer signals. The traditional indicators your team relied on in the past are no longer relevant. What’s worse is that those signals can change pretty quickly.

Your reps need to readjust their strategies quickly to avoid losing the sale. Those new signals demand new sales tracks, and best practices say real-time enablement is the most efficient way to respond.

Evolving Buyer Personas Help Personalize Sales Enablement

Another significant change in modern sales is that buyer personas continue to evolve. In the past, you could stick with concrete personas that detailed who your target customer was. They rarely strayed, and you could develop enablement resources catered to every type of person you were selling to at the moment.

But evolving personas present unique opportunities and challenges. Your customers are complex, and personas often change and merge.

Real-time enablement paves the way for personalized sales content. Instead of relying on concrete persona profiles, you can support your team with resources catered to every prospect. It adds a personal touch that customers appreciate.

Contextualized Content Drives Customer Self-Recognition

Contextualization is the cornerstone of real-time enablement. It’s about delivering content that’s relevant to what’s happening right now in a sales interaction. Sales calls are dynamic, and things change on the spot.

Your reps might feel they are going in the right direction, but then the prospect learns something new that stops them from going further into the sales funnel. In those moments, reciting rehearsed sales scripts and delivering irrelevant content won’t do you any favors.

But contextualized enablement resources leave a positive impact. It all comes down to reacting to changes as they occur and responding to shifts in the sales interaction. Real-time enablement makes that possible.

Customers Reward Relevance and Respect 

Earlier, we talked about buyer expectations. While not necessarily an expectation of all companies, modern buyers value respect and relevance.

They want to feel respected as a customer. No one wants to feel like they’re nothing more than dollar signs. Modern buyers aren’t keen on invasions of privacy and massive data collection, either.

When your salespeople respect them and create a pleasant sales experience, they are more likely to make a purchase. The same goes for creating frictionless buying journeys with relevant content. The fewer friction points buyers experience across interactions the better.

Your team can improve the customer experience at every turn with real-time enablement. In turn, prospects are more likely to reward you with a sale.

Build an Optimal Sales Training Program With Flockjay

Go beyond traditional enablement! Support and empower your team by giving them tools they can use to provide relevant and contextualized sales content. Modern sales are even faster paced than before, and countless variables could change interactions at any moment.

By surfacing enablement resources in real time, your sales force can react on the spot and continue guiding prospects through the buyer’s journey. With Flockjay, you can equip them with the tools they need to face any sales situation.

Flockjay is a multi-faceted platform with many features that can help you build a knockout sales team. From peer-to-peer knowledge sharing to powerful training tools and impressive real-time enablement resources, Flockjay has it all.