Introduction

Have you ever tried to win a game without knowing the rules or what winning looks like? That’s what sales can feel like when there are no clear goals in place. Without defined targets, your sales team might be working hard, but they’re likely just running in different directions—working on individual initiatives rather than toward a common, measurable purpose.

Setting clear, actionable sales enablement goals helps you chart a path to success, align your teams, and track real progress. But effective goal-setting is more than just jotting down numbers on a whiteboard. It’s about understanding your business objectives and creating goals that empower your team to hit their targets consistently.

In this blog, I’ll show you how to create sales enablement goals that aren’t just inspirational—they’re attainable and results-driven.

Table of Contents

1. Understand Your Business Objectives

2. Use the SMART Framework

3. Align Sales and Marketing Teams

4. Focus on Different Stages of the Sales Funnel

5. Prioritize Skill Development and Training Goals

6. Set Metrics for Content Usage and Effectiveness

7. Establish Regular Review and Adjustment Cycles

1. Understand Your Business Objectives

Before you can set any meaningful sales enablement goals, you need to understand your overarching business objectives. Your enablement goals should directly contribute to the larger goals of your company—whether that’s increasing revenue, expanding into new markets, or improving customer retention.

For example, if your business objective is to expand into a new market, your sales enablement goal could focus on equipping your team with the knowledge and resources specific to that market. This might involve creating market-specific training modules or new buyer personas that reps can use in conversations.

Think of it like this: the business objective is the destination, and the sales enablement goals are the waypoints along the journey that guide you there.

2. Use the SMART Framework

Goals that are too vague will never deliver real results. The SMART framework—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—is a simple and powerful way to ensure your sales enablement goals are clear and actionable.

• Specific: Instead of saying “Improve sales performance,” a specific goal would be “Increase the number of leads converted to customers by 15%.”

• Measurable: Use quantifiable data to determine success. “Increase sales reps’ quota attainment by 20%.”

• Achievable: Your goals should be challenging but realistic. It’s important that the goals motivate your team without setting them up for failure.

• Relevant: Make sure the goal aligns with your overall business objectives. If your company is focusing on customer retention, ensure your goals contribute to that.

• Time-bound: Set a deadline. “Achieve a 10% improvement in onboarding completion rate for new sales reps within six months.”

Using the SMART framework ensures everyone knows what’s expected, how success will be measured, and by when.

3. Align Sales and Marketing Teams

It’s a tough one (if you know, you know), but if you can’t do it, it’s a big pitfall for getting enablement right. When these two departments work in silos, it’s hard to create goals that benefit the entire customer journey.

Consider setting shared goals, such as:

• Lead Quality Goals: If marketing’s goal is to generate high-quality leads, sales enablement can set a goal for increasing conversion rates for those leads.

• Content Utilization: Marketing might produce content, but it’s sales enablement’s role to ensure that content is being used effectively. A goal could be “Ensure 90% of sales reps use at least one new piece of content in customer interactions each month.”

Aligning these goals creates a feedback loop that benefits both teams. Marketing produces more relevant content based on feedback, and sales can better engage prospects using targeted materials.

4. Focus on Different Stages of the Sales Funnel

Sales enablement goals shouldn’t only focus on closing deals—they should also target other stages of the sales funnel. Breaking down the funnel and setting specific goals at each stage ensures a holistic approach.

• Top of Funnel: Goal: “Increase the rate of follow-up with new leads within 24 hours to 95%.”

• Middle of Funnel: Goal: “Ensure 100% of sales reps are trained on using the latest product demo by the end of Q3.”

• Bottom of Funnel: Goal: “Increase the win rate for proposals by 10% over the next quarter.”

By having different goals for each stage, you ensure the entire sales process is efficient, effective, and aligned with customer needs.

5. Prioritize Skill Development and Training Goals

The effectiveness of sales enablement often comes down to whether your salespeople are consistently developing their skills. This makes setting goals around training and coaching absolutely essential.

• Training Completion Rate: Set a goal for onboarding new hires quickly and thoroughly. “Decrease the onboarding time from 12 weeks to 8 weeks while maintaining a 90% knowledge check pass rate.”

• Roleplay Practice Frequency: Platforms like Solidroad allow for interactive roleplays and assessments. You could set a goal for reps to complete at least two AI-driven roleplay scenarios each week, with a focus on objection handling or negotiation skills.

These training goals help ensure your team isn’t just informed, but continually improving and adapting to new challenges.

6. Set Metrics for Content Usage and Effectiveness

Content is a core part of sales enablement, but not all content is created equal. Setting goals around content usage and effectiveness helps you understand what’s working and what’s not.

Consider goals such as:

• Content Adoption: “Ensure 80% of sales reps use the latest case study during customer meetings within one month of its release.”

• Content Performance: “Track and increase the usage of top-performing content by 25% over the next quarter.”

With Solidroad, you can track how reps use content in simulated sales calls, providing insight into what pieces resonate most and which ones need improvement.

7. Establish Regular Review and Adjustment Cycles

The best plans adapt as conditions change, and your sales enablement goals should be no different. Set up regular review cycles—monthly, quarterly, or as needed—to see how your team is progressing against the goals you set.

During these reviews:

• Analyze Performance Data: Use data from your CRM, sales enablement platform, and performance dashboards to understand what’s working.

• Gather Feedback from Sales Reps: Ask reps for input on what’s helping them and what feels like a roadblock.

• Make Adjustments: Based on the data and feedback, adjust your goals as needed. Maybe your goal for win rates needs more coaching support, or perhaps content adoption goals need better alignment with what prospects are asking for.

This regular review process keeps your goals relevant, focused, and achievable as your business needs evolve.

Conclusion

Creating effective sales enablement goals is about more than setting targets for your team. It’s about understanding where your business is headed, aligning your strategies across sales and marketing, and ensuring your reps have what they need to perform at their best.

By using the SMART framework, aligning sales and marketing efforts, setting targeted goals for every stage of the sales funnel, and regularly reviewing progress, you’ll be setting your team up for consistent success. And with tools like ours (Solidroad), which provide real-time training, assessment, and performance insights, you can create a dynamic sales enablement environment where your reps grow, adapt, and thrive.

Sales enablement isn’t just about arming your sales team with content—it’s about setting goals that inspire real results, helping them learn, and tracking their progress every step of the way.

FAQ

1. What’s the difference between sales goals and sales enablement goals?

Sales goals are focused on results—like revenue targets or number of deals closed. Sales enablement goals are about creating the environment and resources that help reps achieve those sales goals, such as improved training or more effective content usage.

2. How often should sales enablement goals be updated?

Sales enablement goals should be reviewed at least quarterly. Regular reviews help adjust for changes in the market, the sales team’s needs, or shifts in business objectives.

3. How can Solidroad help in setting and achieving sales enablement goals?

Solidroad provides AI-driven roleplays and assessments that help sales teams continuously practice and refine their skills. By tracking performance and providing actionable feedback, Solidroad helps ensure that sales enablement goals are always focused on real, measurable improvements.