Current Highspot analysis of greater than 500 world organizations revealed that by having a scientific strategy to habits change, you might be 34% extra prone to have enablement actions which can be aligned with key enterprise priorities. So how will you create a scientific strategy to drive outcomes by means of enablement?
Shawnna Sumaoang: Hello and welcome to the Win Win Podcast. I’m your host, Shawnna Sumaoang. Be part of us as we dive into altering tendencies within the office and the way to navigate them efficiently. Right here to debate this subject is Alexa Barden, progress enablement at Rapid7. Thanks for becoming a member of, Alexa! I’d love so that you can inform us about your self, your background, and your position.
Alexa Barden: Thanks a lot, I’m pleased to be right here. My identify is Alexa Barden. I’ve served in a couple of totally different roles and fields post-college. I began out my profession extra within the particular schooling realm. I’ve all the time had that knack for studying and enablement. Then I moved into varied sorts of help, and account administration roles, adopted by coaching and growth, after which lastly the place I’m now, gross sales enablement.
From my instructional background and my present enablement position, as I mentioned, I’ve all the time had that deep ardour and curiosity within the learner’s journey and their expertise from begin to end. With the ability to implement applications and see that full circle and full spectrum of the learners actually having the ability to grasp that materials and the content material and the ideas behind it’s all actually tremendous rewarding to me.
Particularly, my position at Rapid7 has additionally seen a couple of totally different faces, just like my profession. I started having a hand extra so in our onboarding. by means of new rent facilitation, actually serving to to construct out a worldwide gross sales institute program, after which it moved into extra of an ongoing mission and program administration kind of position, the place I’ll work with totally different stakeholders throughout the enterprise to assist higher perceive their wants throughout their segments and assist to carry these to life.
Then the third a part of my position which is form of the place Highspot actually comes into play is concentrated round our enablement tooling and in addition loads of the information in analytics that form of stay in these. I hope to extract that information from varied sources and distill that down right into a extra digestible format for our management for my boss, for our workforce as an entire, to assist form of paint that full image into, no matter that initiative is and the way it’s doing and ensuring it’s profitable.
SS: I really like that. You talked about the important thing elements of your enablement technique at Rapid7 and also you talked slightly bit about how Highspot helps you carry a few of that to life, however are there different ways in which Highspot helps you carry that technique to life?
AB: Yeah, undoubtedly. I might say past simply being a content material repository, and I believe we’ll most likely get into this as nicely, we’re new clients of the Coaching and Teaching portion. Utilizing now for a studying administration system in addition to content material administration, our reps are absolutely outfitted and enabled and capable of see every part in that single pane of glass view. They’re capable of now have coaching combined in with the on a regular basis content material that they’re taking a look at.
They will dive in and study extra about no matter that given subject could be pertaining to our merchandise or our options. It’s actually cool that our sellers are capable of have that full integrative expertise.
SS: Let’s discuss your personal journey in enablement at Rapid7, since you touched on it once more in your introduction, however you grew to become the answer proprietor of Highspot a few yr in the past. Are you able to share slightly bit about your journey over the previous yr?
AB: Yeah, undoubtedly. I might say it wasn’t essentially deliberate, however Highspot kind of fell in my lap and I’m very pleased about it. It was beforehand underneath one other workforce member who was dealing with totally different facets of onboarding and our business phase. Actually having a devoted and targeted proprietor has been nice since we concentrate on particularly the wants inside Highspot, enhancing the expertise for our sellers, and actually cleansing up that system.
Nobody had traditionally had the time to give attention to it, in order that grew to become my focus. It’s actually led me to kind a ardour and virtually craft now for all issues Highspot. I work with every part from the UX design, the spot and tagging construction, and doing deep dives into that analytics piece, so getting actually detailed data on how our sellers are doing, what they’re taking a look at, what they’re clicking on, what they’re sending to prospects and clients, it’s been an enormous assist to our workforce to have a devoted particular person actually taking the time to give attention to that.
SS: As an answer proprietor, you’ve made loads of important adjustments, together with, as you talked about a second in the past, implementing Coaching and Teaching and actually reorganizing your Highspot occasion. Are you able to inform us extra about this evolution of your enablement journey with Highspot?
AB: It began out with loads of points being surfaced after I moved over to actually proudly owning the system. One of many largest ones I used to be seeing amongst our sellers was content material findability, and to be candid, our system was slightly messy. There have been loads of outdated supplies in there. There was only a surplus of spots. There have been an entire bunch of tags that weren’t essentially getting used. There weren’t actually any governance insurance policies in place. It did make it troublesome for sellers to search out what they wanted each shortly and effectively.
On high of this, there wasn’t essentially a constant appear and feel throughout our spots, throughout our touchdown pages. It made it slightly messy wanting and overwhelming virtually as if slightly on our homepage and like I mentioned, there wasn’t loads of consistency there. All of the banners seemed slightly bit totally different, headers and issues like that. I might say the cohesion was additionally slightly bit missing. That was form of what began me on my journey. How will we handle a few of these issues to make the system, initially, make us use it to its full potential and in addition make it a extra pivotal and important a part of our vendor’s day-to-day duties?
The primary steps that I decided have been wanted was beginning with basically from a clean slate and doing a whole revamp of the system, that means beginning out with discovering all of that outdated, low-value content material that lots of people weren’t taking a look at, and dealing to clear that out, get that muddle out of the best way. That was step one there, after which from there, it was a phased strategy by way of as soon as every part was cleaned up ensuring that we condensed it down, so it lowered the quantity of spots, tags, and so forth and so forth.
SS: Simply to drill in slightly bit on the way you revamped your occasion, I do know that you just guys went from having, as you talked about, a considerable variety of spots to a choose few, which helped to enhance findability. In actual fact, I believe you guys now have 87% content material findability, which is incredible. How did this transformation assist you to enhance the effectivity of your workforce?
AB: That discount was an enormous assist as a result of now it actually comes down to 3 core areas that our sellers can go to search out content material, that are content material associated to any of our resolution choices, content material associated to our folks and our processes, so the groups that our gross sales group may interface with, after which additionally our newest form of information, updates, recordings from our all fingers classes. For those who’re on the lookout for something now, it’s solely going to be in a type of three sections.
That basically helped to remove that trial and error, that guessing. It’s making our reps much less reliant on that aimless looking, simply popping in any form of phrase and seeing what comes up. Now that we’ve carried out these easy three spots, we’ve lowered our tags considerably.
We’re seeing that our reps are literally utilizing these tags extra in the event that they’re on the lookout for a selected product, they will simply go click on into that product tag and both go to a sure curated touchdown web page or overview web page for that tag, or they will simply see that generic content material view of every part pertaining to that particular tag. We’re seeing so much much less aimless or doom-searching, no matter you form of need to name it, which is strictly what we have been on the lookout for. That’s one of many largest enhancements we’ve seen.
SS: That’s incredible. We’ve talked about this a couple of instances. I do know that you just lately carried out Highspot’s Coaching and Teaching capabilities. How are you planning on incorporating Highspot Coaching and Teaching into your onboarding and ongoing coaching applications?
AB: That is one thing we’re tremendous enthusiastic about. We’re shifting previous that transitional part of shifting all of our content material over and constructing out all of these studying pathways within the Coaching and Teaching occasion. One of many drivers and issues we’re most enthusiastic about is what I discussed slightly bit earlier, that full integrative expertise and having the ability to floor key coaching proper subsequent to no matter collateral or gross sales deck or one pager it could be. They will simply go from studying about X on this one-pager to letting me go forward and take this studying path about this as nicely to additional my data on the subject.
We’re additionally excited concerning the stage of visibility we’ll be capable to get now utilizing Coaching and Teaching. With issues like, scorecards arising on the horizon, completion charges, progress, and issues like that, we’re actually wanting ahead to getting that full image in certainly one of every part collectively the place you’ll be able to see issues like completion charges click on quantity, issues like that on any specific web page or piece of content material to digital promoting metrics, multi functional single area.
We will actually assist to focus our managers and prepare them to allow them to use this data with their sellers to assist them with teaching, and in addition so our workforce could make extra knowledgeable selections about what coaching is nice and what we must always difficulty extra of, and possibly what coaching isn’t so nice and we may reduce on. It’s actually form of a double-edged sword there the place we might help out from a supervisor teaching standpoint and in addition as an enablement workforce to raised inform our technique shifting ahead.
That’s what we’re most enthusiastic about by way of Coaching and Teaching after which particularly with our onboarding as nicely. One of many issues that we’ve been engaged on particularly is to create studying paths for every of our roles now as a result of the scope of enablement contains not solely sellers however buyer success, our help group, and our gross sales engineers.
Serving to to construct out these extra individualized or personalised pathways for all of these folks in a single unified, simply accessible location. That’s additionally what we’re actually enthusiastic about to have that studying web page and you may simply soar shortly into your role-specific studying path, and I believe that’s one thing we’re actually excited to begin constructing out by way of our onboarding.
SS: Sounds wonderful. You all have already got an 89% recurring utilization charge of the platform, which is unimaginable, and it exhibits that you just guys are already seeing nice outcomes from the entire work that you just’re doing to optimize your use of Highspot. Are you able to share some greatest practices for a way you’ve pushed adoption?
AB: I might say form of the largest driver for us at Rapid7 has been having very clear and concise communication with our go-to buyer workforce form of all through the method from begin to end. Working to maintain sellers within the loop about adjustments and in addition taking that point to teach and prepare on these adjustments and greatest practices actually goes a great distance, I discovered, versus form of simply placing out an announcement in a publication or an electronic mail possibly having some breakout classes or phase based mostly sections to coach up our customers and ensure they’re additionally utilizing the system most effectively.
One other side I discovered that’s big is having that government buy-in from our management and having that trickle down and having them additionally actually clarify the why behind the significance of a software akin to Highspot. In our case, we’ve been getting our groups tremendous enthusiastic about the entire AI capabilities popping out with Highspot, and we’ve been coining it as ‘expertise as our teammate’. What meaning to us is getting the instruments to give you the results you want, which is strictly what Highspot does. This enables us to unencumber time, unencumber sources, and as extra capabilities come out with Highspot Copilot, we all know there’s an enormous alternative to get managers extra intertwined of their workforce’s day-to-day. Additionally probably strengthen the relationships between not solely supervisor to vendor, but additionally enablement to the sellers as nicely.
In a long-winded reply that’s form of how we work to drive adoption in these three areas is having that clear, concise communication having that government buy-in, after which additionally phrasing it as one thing that’s new and thrilling. Let’s discuss the entire new AI capabilities. Let’s discuss digital promoting. Let’s discuss auto-generating descriptions and Highspot having the ability to reply your questions. I believe serving to to construct that pleasure is tremendous vital additionally.
SS: Know-how as a teammate, that’s excellent. What enterprise outcomes have you ever seen since implementing Highspot?
AB: We’ve touched on a few these, however as you talked about, we’ve seen great enhancements in findability charges, as you famous, however simply general higher consumer expertise. Fascinated by how our reps are literally going into the system, discovering issues and since our spots and our tags have been narrowed down so considerably, this simply left little room for guessing by way of the place one thing may stay within the system. Our click on paths are tremendous easy. As I mentioned, when you’re on the lookout for one thing pertaining to a type of three subjects, our resolution choices, our folks in our course of, or our newest information, there are solely three areas you’ll be able to go to.
It leaves little room for interpretation, for guessing and I discovered that limiting down in our occasion and for our firm and creating simplicity has been what’s pushed these outcomes probably the most. Conserving it easy, preserving it concise, ensuring that we have now a constant governance coverage in place, so there’s all the time stakeholders that we’re working with which can be stepping into and reviewing issues on a sure cadence to ensure that they’re nonetheless getting used, that they’re nonetheless useful, and in the event that they’re outdated, ensuring that they’re form of simply eliminating them so that they’re not cluttering up the system.
SS: Inform me, Alexa, what’s subsequent for you and your workforce as you proceed to evolve your enablement journey with Highspot?
AB: Subsequent for us is working fairly intently with our product entrepreneurs and what we’re actually working to do is assist to create virtually a ebook or a selected space the place we are able to have a ton of digital promoting templates. Relating to each our merchandise and elements of our gross sales course of. There are simply accessible fast templates that our sellers can simply seize on the prepared and pop in no matter they should customise to make the shopper or prospect really feel seen, really feel heard, and make it an actual curated expertise for them whereas additionally nonetheless having these templates within the again finish. It’s only a fast grab-and-go. If we’re within the discovery part, let me go forward and seize that discovery template.
That’s form of the place we’re headed. We’ll be doing a full launch of all of this collectively, so Coaching and Teaching greatest practices use circumstances. We have already got some smaller cohorts in there proper now, and we’re seeing nice success with that, however after we roll out to the broader group arising at our gross sales kickoff, we’re actually excited to try this in tandem with our new digital promoting templates and in addition greatest practices with these. It may be form of an enormous bundle abruptly the place we are able to create the hype for it and get folks prepared for this new age of digital promoting.
SS: I really like that, Alexa. Simply since you introduced up your SKO, how are you guys leveraging Highspot to help your gross sales kickoff?
AB: We all the time have a devoted and curated touchdown web page expertise. Our kickoff so not just for scheduling, to have that outlined for people as a result of we’re a worldwide group understanding when every part goes to be occurring is tremendous vital, but additionally as a useful resource for every part kickoff. It’s the place all of our recordings can stay. We will create totally different pathways for every kind of subject that’s mentioned or for every day, somewhat, and we’ve organized it in several methods prior to now, however we all the time wish to have that be our hub for all issues kickoff and Highspot.
That’s simply the place our sellers know to go, the place our stakeholders know to go. and it actually creates that ease of use only for our customers to really feel assured in understanding what’s going to be mentioned, getting that recording in the event that they weren’t capable of attend and in addition form of further sources as nicely, and form of what’s up subsequent, what’s to come back. Having that each one outlined in a curated hub has been tremendous useful for us and we’re trying to proceed that shifting ahead as nicely.
SS: I do know SKO is high of thoughts for lots of parents proper now.
AB: It’s that point of yr for certain.
SS: Final query for you, Alexa, what recommendation do you’ve got for others who need to improve their enablement maturity journey with Highspot?
AB: I might say the largest factor is to maintain asking questions. I’m certain my account workforce, I’ve pushed them nuts a handful of instances, however that’s okay. Simply preserve asking. The extra you recognize, the extra you’re going to have the ability to enhance the expertise. Whether or not that be about reporting, greatest practices, utilizing the system, concerning the visible consumer expertise no matter you and your workforce are hoping to study extra about, don’t be afraid to ask.
The extra you study concerning the system and the extra outfitted you might be, the higher you’ll be at coaching your personal groups on it as nicely. I can’t essentially converse for the entire Highspot employees, as I discussed, however my particular account workforce has been completely unimaginable all through our Coaching and Teaching implementation. We’ve been assembly twice weekly, typically thrice weekly, no matter it takes to form of get the questions answered. They’re all the time there for us, they usually’re superior.
In the event that they don’t know the reply, they’re discovering it for us inside a really quick time window, which is nice. That’s actually what it’s. It all the time simply retains asking questions as a result of there’s by no means going to be an excessive amount of data you’ll be able to have. It’s all the time going to assist higher put together you. So all the time be studying.
SS: Thanks a lot for becoming a member of us. I actually respect it.
AB: Thanks a lot for taking the time to talk with me. I really like speaking about Highspot. I may do all of it day, so anytime you let me know.
SS: Thanks for listening to this episode of the Win Win podcast. Be sure you tune in subsequent time for extra insights on how one can maximize enablement success with Highspot.
