This article comes from Rebecca Mann Kelly’s insightful talk at the #GTM24 summit, hosted by our sister community, Go-to-Market Alliance.

Have you ever had an epiphany about sales enablement, only to realize it came from making an epic mistake? If so, you're not alone. 

I'm Rebecca Mann Kelly, and I've just wrapped up a 20-year career at Western Union, where my last role was leading the North American payments business, including our entire sales effort. 

Before that, I had the exciting (and sometimes terrifying) experience of creating an enterprise sales function from the ground up.

Throughout my career, I've learned that every game-changing insight I've had about building effective sales enablement came from either making a colossal mistake myself or watching someone else make one. 

So today, I want to share some hard-earned wisdom with you, so you don't have to make the same mistakes I did.

As Warren Buffett once said, "It's good to learn from your mistakes. It's better to learn from other people's mistakes." 

So, let’s dive in!

Mistake #1: Over-indexing on CRM technology

We've all been there. You're facing sales challenges, and someone suggests, "Hey, if we just buy that big, expensive CRM software, all our problems will be solved!" Sound familiar?

Don't get me wrong – CRM technology is essential. You can't run a modern sales operation without it. But here's the thing: technology alone never solved any business problems. It's only the thoughtful implementation of a CRM that can actually contribute to the effectiveness and success to your sales enablement function.

A recent survey revealed that the greatest area of technology overspend in American companies is software licenses. And guess who's the biggest offender? CRM platforms. I'm not saying don't get a CRM, but many companies grossly overspend here without getting the value they should.

Here's another common pitfall: letting IT and engineering make all the decisions about CRM software. I love our tech folks, but this is a disaster waiting to happen. 

Why? Because the CRM platform is an enabler of the sales and go-to-market strategy – it's not the strategy itself.

At Western Union, we once had five different Salesforce licenses operating simultaneously, all managed by the engineering team. It was a mess. So, what should you do instead?

  • Lead the requirements gathering yourself
  • Position yourself as the business owner of the platform
  • Prioritize features and set the roadmap
  • Articulate how the CRM enables your overall go-to-market approach

Remember, you need to take the bull by the horns and stop being a victim of someone else's CRM decisions.