Sales people are the heart of any company. More significantly, productive sales people are often the difference between company success and failure. Sales force automation has been used to drive sales force productivity, usually from the perspective of sales management, with an emphasis on sales pipeline management and forecasting.

A new approach to driving sales productivity is emerging, focused instead on optimising the productive interactions between the sales person and the customer. This sales enablement addresses what is often a thin line between business success and failure, the difference being sometimes as little as remembering to send an e-mail to a prospective customer, or it could be as significant as making sure that a proposal is in on time. Even that might entail something as simple as a pop-up reminder before it gets lost in the crush of a demanding day.

Sale enablement is targeted to meet not just the needs of senior management, but also the sales person. This paper will outline how sales enablement is a central component of a successful customer relationship management strategy and distinguishes sales enablement from traditional sales force automation.