Allego® Data Shows Sales Reps Lack Answers to Nearly Half of Product Questions Asked by Customers

A study of B2B sales and marketing leaders reveals insights into the benefits of sales enablement, from onboarding new reps to revenue generation

Allego, the leading sales enablement platform provider, today announced new research on the current state of sales enablement for companies nationwide. The report, “Who Owns Sales Enablement?” provides insights into this emerging function and the training and revenue challenges companies face without it.

“Two things stood out from the report’s findings: sales reps need more training and support to be successful in the hybrid era and companies that have a clear understanding of sales enablement goals, tasks and roles are more likely to achieve their revenue goals,” said Yuchun Lee, Allego CEO and co-founder. “Having a dedicated sales enablement program with clear ownership within the organization and implementing a platform to provide reps with 24-hour access to training, content and tools are among the steps successful organizations have taken to optimize hybrid buyer interactions, reinforce selling skills and help reps better articulate their company’s products.”

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Allego surveyed over 300 B2B sales and marketing leaders to gain their perspectives on how incorporating a sales enablement approach has impacted their teams. Sales enablement as a fully defined initiative is in its infancy at many companies. The respondents shared how sales enablement has driven revenue growth and produced more effective sellers. Additionally, the findings shed light on the obstacles to sales enablement success, such as competing company priorities and lack of a dedicated team — factors companies considering sales enablement should be aware of and work to improve.

Key findings from the report include:

Lack of Sales Enablement Leads to Inadequate Seller Training, Which Impacts Sales Effectiveness

• On average, reps don’t know the answer to 40% of product questions asked by customers.
• Nearly 70% of companies say their sales reps frequently stray “off message” when they sell.
• Almost half of companies say inadequate seller training is a key factor in missing revenue goals.

Top Pain Points of Sales Enablement Teams

• Reps don’t effectively sell to customer needs.
• New hires underperform after training.
• Sales content is difficult to keep up to date.
• Marketing and sales aren’t aligned.
• Reps don’t understand use cases.

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Companies With Sales Enablement See Better Results

• Companies that have a formal sales enablement program are 10x more likely to consistently hit their revenue goals.
• Reps at companies that have a formal sales enablement platform are 26% more likely to say they are very confident in their sales ability.
• 79% of marketing professionals say their revenue would drop more than 30% without an effective sales enablement program.

Sales Enablement Platforms Help Companies Overcome Training Challenges

• Reps at organizations that use sales enablement platforms are 73% more effective at understanding and presenting new products and features.
• Reps with access to a sales enablement platform are almost 6x more likely to say it’s easy for them to get the sales materials they need to sell effectively.

“This data supports what we’ve known for years: inadequate sales training and enablement leads to missed revenue,” said Marc McNamara, founder and chief enabler at The Enablement Group. “With today’s highly competitive sales and hiring environments, it’s critical that sales enablement be held accountable for both sales reps’ individual success as well as the overall organization’s. This can be achieved by providing the right content to meet individual buyer needs and training reps with the selling skills and product messaging they need to keep customers engaged and earn their business.”

Survey Methodology
Allego surveyed 330 B2B sales and marketing leaders in 2021. Respondents were screened and sampled in partnership with Lucid, a global survey panel provider. The margin of error for this study is +/-5.3% at the 95% confidence level.