This article comes from Sannidhi Jhala’s talk, ‘Training analysis & business impact: measuring success’, at our 2023 Seattle Sales Enablement Summit, check it out in full here.

Like many enablement leaders, I've lost sleep worrying if our team could be at risk in the current climate. But when our CEO emphasized enablement's vital role in empowering top sales talent, it reaffirmed the immense value we provide.

While our goal remains helping sales teams win more and work smarter, how we do it has changed quite a bit! In this article,

I'll share 3 ways I've evolved our approach using training analytics to drive real business impact.

My aim is to provide tactical tips so you can demonstrate your team's strategic value and cement your role as an indispensable partner.

By way of introduction, I'm Sannidhi Jhala, Senior Manager of Global Go-to-Market Enablement at LinkedIn, and I lead a talented team that empowers LinkedIn's sales to hit their goals.

I hope you find these insights helpful as we advance enablement's influence together.

So, let's dive in!

Become great problem finders, not just problem solvers
Define value like your customers do
Master level 3 of Kirkpatrick’s model
Final thoughts

1 - Become great problem finders, not just problem solvers

In the past, enablement meant experienced sales folks telling others how to sell. Today, we’ve got to go beyond solving known issues to uncovering hidden challenges using data. I call this becoming problem finders.

Finding the right problems gets you that seat at the leadership table. Solving known issues is just baseline stuff – uncovering hidden pain points shows your true strategic value.

For example, when my CEO asked me to create training on selling multi-year enterprise contracts, I didn’t just run off and design a program.

Instead, I first analyzed data on behaviors of our top enterprise deal closers.

Lo and behold, I found five key habits that made these top performers 23% more likely to land enterprise contracts compared to reps not demonstrating these behaviors. Powerful insight, right?

But here’s the kicker – only 20% of our salesforce exhibited these habits! I realized if the other 80% adopted these behaviors, we could drive $100 million in incremental revenue. Now that’s an eye-opener for any CEO.

My discovery allowed me to pivot the enablement focus away from a generic enterprise sales training. Instead, we could focus on scaling the key behaviors driving top performance on these deals company-wide.

Finding problems

And the best part? You can drive similar problem finding insights even if you’re a small team with limited resources. Just follow these two simple steps:

1. Interview your top performers to identify what makes them different from the pack. Look for key themes top players demonstrate that others skip.

2. Review available sales data to quantify and validate those behavioral differences. Identify the most high-value habits you can prove will move the needle.

💡 For example, look at win/loss data in your CRM. Or analyze call recordings through tools like Gong. Even simple Excel reports can surface themes.

Focus enablement on spreading those two or three most high-value behaviors, rather than diluting your efforts. Use data to spotlight what truly drives results.

That’s how any team, large or small, can shift from solving known problems to uncovering issues that warrant enablement investment.

Try it out – the insights you’ll get will surprise you!

2 - Define value like your customers do

Once you’ve zeroed in on high-value problems worth solving, make sure your solutions deliver value as defined by the customer.

For instance, some reps selling our LinkedIn Learning LMS focused primarily on course completion rates. But through deeper discovery, I realized customers cared more about skills developed for internal mobility and career growth.

It didn’t matter if employees completed more courses – if they didn’t gain career-boosting skills, the client didn’t see value.

Our training analysis revealed a potential mismatch between what we measured versus what the buyer truly valued.

Value is subjective

This is a common challenge since value is subjective. As a consumer, I happily pay $15/month for Amazon Prime’s fast delivery. But shelling out $50/month likely exceeds my perceived value threshold.

My willingness to pay depends on the benefit I believe I’ll receive.

That’s why enablement teams must put themselves in their customer’s shoes. Avoid making assumptions about value. Instead, dig into desired outcomes and tailor programs accordingly.

For example, conduct focus groups or interviews with executives, managers and reps to answer questions like:

- What challenges are you trying to solve in the next 12 months?

- How will you measure the success of our enablement partnership?

- What does sales excellence look like to you?

Identify disconnects between your assumptions and their definitions of value. Then align enablement KPIs and programming to their vision.

This deep discovery takes time but prevents misalignment. Only by speaking our customers’ language can we drive adoption and impact!

3 - Master level 3 of Kirkpatrick’s model

We’re all familiar with Kirkpatrick's renowned 4 levels of training evaluation:

Level 1: Reaction – Did learners enjoy the training?

Level 2: Learning – Did learners gain knowledge and skills?

Level 3: Behavior – Did learning transfer to changed behaviors on the job?

Level 4: Results – Did the behavior change impact sales results?

In my experience, enablement teams often stop at Level 1 or 2. We deliver great training and measure satisfaction and knowledge gains. But we hope learners apply it, and that sales results improve.

To truly move the needle, you’ve got to nail Level 3 – changing behaviors in the field. My team analyzes Level 3 data to identify the most valuable selling habits of our top performers.

For example, analysis of call recordings in Gong might show your A-players consistently:

Tailor messaging to each stakeholder’s needs
Lead with unique value propositions
Ensure executive involvement

We’d then interview those superstars to understand how they prepare to master those skills. Their tactics inform enablement design to teach others these behaviors.

But you can go even deeper. For instance, we break down the highest value habits into micro-behaviors. If an exec overview call is critical, what specifically makes it impactful?

👔 Address each exec by name and role

📈 Succinctly articulate their business goals

📝 Draw a line from goals to your solution

👟 Close by outlining next steps

This granularity allows us to build skills through role play. Learners practice the exact key behaviors that drive results until they become second nature.

The more tactical you get, the better you can replicate what sets top performers apart through deliberate practice.

Use Level 3 analysis to guarantee enablement impact, not just hope for it.

Final thoughts

So that brings us to the end!

I hope these ideas help you demonstrate your team's immense value and cement your role as an indispensable sales transformation partner.

The future looks bright for enablement leaders embracing training analytics to drive change. Let's bend the revenue curve and transform sales effectiveness together!

Boosting sales performance: 3 key ways to measure training impact & business success