Sales Enablement · 4 min read
The difference between sales training and sales enablement
Training builds skills. Enablement builds the conditions for sellers to use them. The two work best when they are designed together.
The terms are often used interchangeably, but they describe different things. Sales training develops skills and knowledge. Sales enablement is broader: it equips sellers with the content, tools, processes and coaching they need to perform consistently.
Training is an event within a system
A workshop on discovery can build capability quickly. Whether that capability is used depends on the system around it: the CRM fields sellers complete, the questions managers ask in deal reviews and the resources available before a call.
Enablement owns the before and after
Good enablement teams think about readiness before training, and reinforcement and adoption afterwards. They connect learning to onboarding, playbooks, methodology and manager coaching.
Where an external partner fits
An external training partner can bring specialist expertise, facilitation and fresh perspective. The best results come when that partner aligns to your methodology and language and supports your enablement plan, rather than introducing a parallel one.
A practical test
Before commissioning training, ask what will be different in the CRM, in deal reviews and in one-to-ones afterwards. If the answer is ‘nothing’, you have a training event, not an enablement initiative.