Sales enablement

Sales Enablement

Overview

Sales enablement materials are tools, not documents. If a rep can't find the right asset in 30 seconds during a call, it might as well not exist. The best enablement is concise, persona-specific, and structured for rapid access.

This skill coordinates the creation of a complete sales enablement package: pitch deck, one-pagers per persona, objection handling docs, demo scripts, and a GTM playbook aligned to the sales process defined in pipeline-management.

Load pipeline-management first if no stage definitions exist — enablement assets must map to specific stages (Goal, Actions, Exit Criteria) and SPICED fields, not float as disconnected PDFs.

When to Use

• "Create a sales enablement package for our new product"
• "Build a pitch deck"
• "Write a one-pager for our champion"
• "Create objection handling docs"
• "Build a sales playbook"
• "Arm our reps with competitive materials"

Authoritative Foundations

• Winning by Design — GTM Playbook Development Kit. The sales playbook is the operational layer of the sales process. Each playbook section maps to a pipeline stage: what to do (Actions), what evidence to capture (Exit Criteria), and which SPICED questions to ask. Reps use the playbook; managers inspect against the same criteria in deal reviews.
• Winning by Design — SPICED. Discovery questions, demo framing, and proposal language should elicit Situation, Pain, Impact, Critical Event, and Decision — organized by stage, not as a flat script.
• Force Management — Command of the Message. Before Scenario → PBOs → Required Capabilities → Defensible Differentiators. Every asset traces to this for message consistency across deck, one-pager, and battlecard.
• Corporate Visions. "Why change" → "why you" → "why now" progression converts better than feature-forward presentations.

Prerequisites

• Positioning and messaging defined (use positioning-messaging)
• ICP and personas documented (use icp-scoring)
• Competitive intelligence gathered (use competitive-intel)

Step-by-Step Process

Phase 1: Asset Inventory

Determine what's needed:

Asset	Audience	Purpose	Priority
Pitch Deck (10-15 slides)	Prospects, demos	Present value, drive to next step	Highest
One-Pagers (per persona)	Champions, post-meeting	Enable internal selling	High
Battlecards (per competitor)	Reps in competitive deals	Win competitive situations	High
Objection Handling Doc	Reps on every call	Handle pushback confidently	High
Demo Script	Reps running demos	Consistent, compelling demos	High
ROI Calculator	Economic buyers, CFOs	Quantify value	Medium
Case Studies (sales format)	Late-stage prospects	Prove results	Medium
Sales Playbook	All reps, onboarding	Central reference for everything	Medium

Phase 2: Asset Creation by Persona

Every asset should be persona-aware. A deck for a CTO has different content, examples, and proof points than one for a VP of Sales.

Persona	Key Concerns	Relevant Proof	Deck Focus
CTO / VP Eng	Integration, security, scalability	Technical case study, architecture diagram	Technical depth
VP Sales / CRO	Revenue impact, ramp time, adoption	Revenue metrics, rep productivity data	Business impact
CEO / Founder	Strategic, defensible growth	Market positioning, competitive moat	Vision + outcomes
Champion (internal)	Easy to sell internally, safe choice	One-pager, internal memo template	Enablement

Phase 3: GTM Playbook Structure (WbD-Aligned)

The playbook mirrors pipeline-management stage definitions. Structure by stage:

Playbook Section	Maps To	Contents
ICP & Personas	Pre-Target	Who we sell to, disqualifiers
Stage 1–2: Target & Connect	Target, Connect	Outreach templates, Situation questions
Stage 3: Discovery	Discovery	SPICED question bank, Impact quantification
Stage 4: Solution	Solution	Demo scripts per persona, Champion development
Stage 5–6: Proposal & Negotiate	Proposal, Negotiation	Pricing talk track, Andy Whyte MEDDICC scorecard (0/1/2), Champion test card
Objection Handling	All stages	Top objections by stage, not generic list
Competitive Positioning	Solution onward	Battlecards with talk tracks
Handoff to CS	Closed Won	AE → CS package template (SPICED summary)
CRM Quick Reference	All stages	Stage names, exit criteria fields, conversion targets

Each section must reference the Exit Criteria fields reps populate in CRM. Managers and reps use the same document for execution and inspection.

Output Format

Sales enablement package:

# Sales Enablement Package: [Product/Feature]

## Assets Produced
- [ ] Pitch Deck (10 slides, 3 persona variants)
- [ ] One-Pagers (CTO, VP Sales, Champion)
- [ ] Battlecards (Competitor A, B, C)
- [ ] Objection Handling Doc (6 categories, 30+ objections)
- [ ] Demo Script (3 variants: first demo, deep-dive, exec overview)
- [ ] ROI Calculator
- [ ] Case Studies (2-3, sales format)
- [ ] Sales Playbook (central reference)

## Access
- Deck: [link]
- Playbook: [link]
- All assets: [folder]

Quality Check

• Playbook sections map to pipeline stages from pipeline-management
• SPICED questions organized by stage with CRM field names
• Every asset references the core positioning and messaging framework
• Assets are persona-specific (not one-size-fits-all)
• Reps can find any asset in under 30 seconds
• Battlecards include talk tracks, not just feature comparisons
• Demo script tested with a live audience
• All metrics and claims verified and sourceable

Common Pitfalls

1. One deck for everyone. A CTO and a VP Sales care about different things. If your deck works for both, it works for neither.

2. Feature dumps as decks. Slides that list features without connecting them to customer problems are skipped. Every slide answers "so what?"

3. No talk tracks in battlecards. A feature comparison table without language the rep can actually say in a call isn't a battlecard — it's a reference doc.

4. Assets nobody can find. PDFs buried in a Drive folder. Build a single access point (Notion, SharePoint, dedicated Slack channel).

5. Static assets. Enablement degrades monthly. Schedule quarterly reviews to update metrics, add new competitors, and retire stale decks.

Execution Artifacts

• references/framework-notes.md — Named frameworks and reference tables
• templates/output-template.md — Deliverable shell for agent output
• scripts/check-output.py — Lightweight deliverable validator
• references/force-management-playbook.md — Repo root: Command of the Message, alignment cadence

Related Skills

• pipeline-management: Sales process and stage definitions (prerequisite)
• pitch-deck-builder: Detailed slide-by-slide deck construction
• battlecard-builder: Competitive battlecard creation
• demo-scripts: Demo script writing
• objection-handling: Objection taxonomy and response frameworks
• positioning-messaging: Foundation positioning these assets draw from