Sales enablement content: Strategy, examples, management

Sales enablement is bigger than ever, and with its current trajectory, it’s only heading in one direction: up. There’s an influx of people stepping into enablement roles; 61% of organizations hired at least one enablement pro in the past year.

One of the great things about enablement is that it can help professionals build a career in sales enablement, attracting people from so many different backgrounds, such as the sales team itself, product marketing, learning and development, marketing, and more.

By its nature, sales enablement encompasses so many elements that it can be hard to pick them up. Someone with a sales background may have more to learn when it comes to enablement’s learning and development aspects, and vice versa.

In this article, we’re going to be focusing on sales enablement content, both internal and external-facing. We’ll cover:

What is sales enablement content?

Sales enablement content is any resource that helps your sales team engage prospects and close deals more effectively. It's the foundation of a strong sales enablement content strategy, providing reps with the right information at the right moment in the buyer's journey.

This content falls into two main categories:

Internal content: Training materials, competitive battlecards, and sales playbooks that educate your team
External content: Case studies, product demos, and pitch decks that prospects actually see

The best sales enablement content does double duty—it makes your reps more confident and your prospects more informed. Let's explore each type in detail.

What is internal sales enablement content?

Internal sales enablement content equips your reps with the knowledge and resources they need to sell confidently. These materials stay within your organization—they're designed specifically for your own sales team, not for prospects or customers.

The goal? Give your reps everything they need to understand your product portfolio and sell it effectively. This content reinforces your coaching and training programs while serving as a consistent source of truth.

It'll put the product/service into context and encourage them to imagine how the product could be implemented within a business.

Your internal content strategy should address the specific selling challenges your team faces daily. The most effective materials include:

Battlecards that provide quick answers to competitive questions and highlight your differentiators. These give reps confidence when prospects ask "How do you compare to X?"
Sales scripts and objection-handling templates that address common customer pushbacks. From cold call openers to follow-up emails, these ensure consistent messaging while saving reps time.
Training materials like short videos, product guides, and FAQ documents that keep key knowledge front-of-mind. These help reps stay sharp between formal training sessions.
Sales playbooks that outline your methodology, ideal customer profiles, and proven strategies for different scenarios.

But really, there's no limit to the shapes that internal content can take, as long as it communicates its key message to reps effectively and helps them close more deals.

External sales enablement content: What prospects actually see

External sales enablement content is what moves deals forward. Seismic’s latest data shows buyers are already more than halfway through their evaluation before they speak to sales, so your content has to earn its keep early.

This customer-facing content—whether owned by marketing, product marketing, or sales enablement—must deliver real value, not just product features. Sales enablement should absolutely have input because this content exists to support reps as they work to close deals.

Here's what actually influences buying decisions:

Case studies and success stories

Nothing sells like success. Case studies prove your solution works by showcasing real results from similar companies. Include specific metrics and outcomes to make them compelling—prospects need evidence of real-life value you've provided to previous customers.

Product demos and explainer videos

Visual content helps prospects understand your solution quickly. Keep demos focused on solving specific problems rather than showing every feature. These assets allow prospects to put your product into context and understand how it would benefit their company before further discussions.

Industry reports and thought leadership

Educational content positions your company as an expert while helping buyers justify their decision. Detailed industry reports offer insights that prospective customers can apply to their own work and back up the points reps already discussed in conversation.

Part of sales enablement's job is ensuring content covers each part of the process—and that it never wastes your prospects' time.

Creating internal sales enablement content

We’ve covered how to create content that sales reps will actually want to use more in-depth before at SEC, but we’ll run over it in this article as well.

Involve multiple parties

When you’re producing content that’s intended for internal use, involve multiple groups in the creation if you can.

Ask the salespeople (the target audience!) what they feel like they need and what they’d like to have on hand as content.

Ask the marketing team and product teams if there’s existing content that can be repurposed and used for sales enablement.

This sort of cross-functional collaboration and two-way feedback helps the sales team feel included, and not like content is just being thrown at them.

This communication is also important in that it ensures the marketing team's messaging is on the same page as the sales team's - meaning less confusion for the prospect as they progress down the sales funnel.

Ask yourself what problem you're solving

Another consideration is this: what problem are you trying to solve?

Have you noticed that your reps struggle to differentiate you from competitors? Then you have to keep that at the forefront of your mind as you create content. Make sure this piece of content specifically targets that problem you want to solve.

A single piece of content can’t be a seller’s bible that addresses every single issue that could ever pop up.

Focus on solving one problem at a time and you’ll find more success than trying to cram every answer into one piece of content.

Creating external sales enablement content

External content broadly has the same role as internal content, which is to help sellers sell more effectively. The key with customer-facing content is to ensure it has real value not just to your rep, but to the prospect as well.

Consider the full buyer journey

We’ve seen the statistics. It used to be that sales was seller-centric, but now the buyer can be up to 60% of the way through the buyer journey before your organization even makes contact.

They probably know about you, before you know about them.

What does that mean for the content that you want to provide to prospects?

It absolutely has to be more than general information about your product/service. It needs to be more than what the prospect can pull up in under two minutes in a web browser.

To create good customer-facing content, one of the most important aspects is to put yourself in their shoes. If you were interested in purchasing your product/service, and had shopped around a bit, what would you want to know in more detail?

As we mentioned before, you’d want an industry report that highlights the need for the product/service, you’d want to see it in action and in context.

If you had a genuine interest in a product/service and a rep presented you with a PDF that had some top-level statistics and nothing more, you’d feel a bit disappointed. You’d want more.

So bear that in mind when you’re creating content aimed at prospects. What does a prospect want to have to hand after a first meeting? What do they want to read right before closing the sale?

Building your sales enablement content strategy

So far, we've discussed what sales enablement content actually means, and what to consider when creating a piece of content in a vacuum.

However, in real life, sales enablement professionals have to have a content strategy. This means that rather than just making a piece of content and leaving it there, you instead have a plan and every piece of content is created and stored as detailed by that plan.

A winning sales enablement strategy framework isn't just about creating content—it's about creating the right content and ensuring it drives results. Here's how to build a strategy that actually moves the needle:

Step 1: Audit your existing content

Start by cataloging what you already have. We touched on this above, but ensure that auditing your organization's content library is something you're doing on a regular basis.

Marketing or another department may have whipped together a really useful piece of content for their own use, but if you're not auditing the organization's content you might miss it. You'll likely find marketing has created assets that sales doesn't even know exist.

Step 2: Map content to your buyer journey

Again, this is a point we mentioned above but it deserves a spotlight in this section. Tie specific pieces of content to steps in the buyer journey.

Different content works at different stages. Early-stage buyers need educational content, while decision-stage prospects want ROI calculators and implementation guides. This means taking the guesswork away from your sales reps, so that they know exactly what content to use, and when. Knowing when to use content is just as important as having good content.

Step 3: Implement a content management system

Even great content fails if reps can't find it. Use a sales enablement platform or content management system to organize, distribute, and track your materials. Make it searchable and mobile-friendly so your team can access what they need, when they need it.

Step 4: Measure and optimize performance

As the old saying goes, information is power. The more you know about which content is being used most often and what content is most effective, the better.

Track which content actually influences deals. Enablement metrics 101 guide for success can help you pinpoint exactly what you need to track. If you're tracking the content's performance you can then make adjustments and learn from what works. Use these content analytics insights to double down on what works and retire what doesn't.

Step 5: Train your sales team on content usage

You can make the best content in the world, but if you don't have proper processes that train your sales team on how to use that content, it's useless.

You can't just throw a load of content into the pile and expect reps to use it. Train them and teach them how to use it strategically, situationally, and effectively and then you'll reap the benefits. Your best content ideas come from the field, so set up regular feedback sessions where reps share what's working, what's not, and what they wish they had, ensuring that conversations, not content, drive your efforts.

Step 6: Keep content fresh and relevant

Just like how sales enablement doesn't stop at onboarding (and instead continues into "everboarding" and continuous coaching), when it comes to content your strategy must be long-term.

Don't create the content you need now and never revisit the strategy. As your organization inevitably grows and expands, and the sales landscape changes, you'll have to create content that will allow reps to create relationships with new buyer personas, and that uses new technology.

Set quarterly reviews to update your content library. Markets change, competitors evolve, and your product improves—your content needs to keep pace. 7 top tips for successful sales enablement can help you adapt and avoid stagnation.

Start building your sales enablement content today

Sales enablement content bridges the gap between what your reps know and what they need to communicate. Whether it's internal training materials or customer-facing collateral, the right content empowers your team to have better conversations and close more deals.

Your sales enablement content strategy doesn't need to be perfect from day one. Start with your biggest gaps—maybe it's competitive battlecards or case studies—and build from there.

Remember: the best content comes from listening to your sales team and understanding your buyers. Keep those feedback loops open, measure what matters, and continuously refine your approach. The case for sales enablement can help reinforce how critical these steps are to success.

Ready to transform your sales enablement content strategy?

Creating impactful sales enablement content requires the right knowledge, tools, and frameworks. Creating a world-class enablement strategy can provide the roadmap you need to excel.

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60+ battle-tested templates: Including battlecards, sales playbooks, and content mapping frameworks mentioned in this article
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What is sales enablement content? (And how to create it)