An archived version of this Briefing is available for playback. ITSMA members with online access may access the archived Briefing by clicking on the “Playback” button above. Nonmembers who purchase the Briefing will receive an email with a link to the archived replay.

2010 is a year of marketing transformation and one area that remains at the top of the priority list is sales enablement. Marketers have made progress in trying to reduce the cost and effort to move opportunities through the buying process, but the fact remains that most sales teams and business development resources still spend more time on marketing related activities than they should.

According to ITSMA’s 2009 Sales Enablement survey, sales people and business developers averaged 23% of their time on indirect selling activities that were almost all marketing related. A number that high should be unacceptable to senior management. Part of the problem is that companies have cut marketing funding and resources that are needed to enable sales. The other part involves marketing’s need to focus the resources it does have on the areas that will have the greatest impact.

So what are the primary impact points to improve sales enablement? ITSMA has identified five areas critical for high performance in sales enablement that are discussed in this briefing. They include:

• Marketing and Sales Integration
• Sales Process Clarity
• Lead Generation Maturity
• Sales Tool Alignment
• Collaborative Account/Territory Planning

In this Online Briefing, Dave Munn, President & CEO of ITSMA, discusses how to find out what separates high performers from average performers in sales enablement. You will also hear from Ed Daly, Senior Director, Field Enablement & Marketing at Cisco Systems, and Charles Brower, Marketing Director, Information, Communications & Entertainment, KPMG, who will provide insight on where they have had the greatest impact on sales and how they approach sales enablement. In a year where marketers are focused on transformation, take time out of your busy day to review this briefing.