Our 2023 Ones to Watch report is right around the corner*, highlighting a selection of awesome enablement stars that you need to know about to enhance your expertise.

(Update: You can find the full Ones to Watch report right here! It's packed with insights and predictions from 50 enablement stars)

Among other things, we asked our stars to predict 2023's hottest sales enablement trends. Ahead of the release we’re giving a sneak peek into their views on topics such as:

  • Artificial intelligence
  • Going back to basics
  • Innovation
  • And more…

(That’s on top of it being a glimpse into who stars on our list!)

Read on to kickstart your year and add a new dimension to your sales enablement plans for 2023. 👇💪

The potential of artificial intelligence

Thomas K. Cheriyan, SEC Ambassador

“The biggest trend that I see impacting enablement is perhaps artificial intelligence.

“Like most of you, I’ve always been skeptical of it and haven’t seen a true AI platform that adds any value to a sales rep. However, I recently came across ChatGPT and I truly believe it's a game changer.

“The fact that this technology can help write emails and other types of content in a very personalized, natural way can provide a huge lift to SDRs and AEs who spend countless hours on this task.

“I can only imagine that all of the engineering teams across all of the sales tech tools that we’ve come to grow and love will be all over this tech and incorporate this into their products within 2023 and beyond”.

Going back to basics with sales skills

Aaron Evans, Co-founder, Flow State

“There will be a massive focus on sales skills.

“Many enablement functions have been too back-end focused, building process and structure and need to understand that sales culture and skill is hugely important.

“This will also affect enablement organizations’ hiring strategy, with a need for enablers with a successful sales background.”

If you trust in enablement, you’ll reap the benefits

Simon Gilks, VP Revenue Operations, Speechmatics

“I believe that 2023 is going to be a tale of two halves. The first involves people being nervous about investing in a function which can easily be classed as an additional cost to the business, and therefore we’ll see slower growth in the function earlier in the year.

However, those that have a plan and measure what they do will very easily be able to not only show the value of the function but demonstrate that they are saving money - and will grow their teams and expand what they do.

So I think the companies that get it will really benefit, and those that don't will lose out and in 2024 will be kicking themselves asking why they didn't take it seriously sooner.”

Enablement specialization will continue

Celine Grey, Director of Sales Enablement, Normative.io

“Two things come to mind: enablement specialization and enablement practices widening their reach outside of revenue teams.

“First, the specialization of enablement will continue to grow. The times of the one-person enablement team are dying out.

“Organizations understand the value and necessity of specialized expertise in BDR, Product, Customer Success, Sales Engineers, Coaching, Professional Services, Lead Generation, Competition and Leadership enablement practices.

“Secondly, the rise of enablement outside of revenue teams - enablement has proven its value and will continue to grow to other business units, enabling everyone in the organization to be successful.

“I look forward to seeing an increase in Chief Enablement Officers informing and supporting the wider organization.”

Innovation will remain an enablement imperative

Jaren Krchnavi, Global Head Sales Enablement, Siemens Grid Software

“Enablement will continue to be a field of pure innovation because innovation is needed to stay ahead of the curve.

“You cannot stay still in enablement. You need drive and a continued hunger to learn.

“The sales tools are getting better, sales methods are adapting to meet current realities.

"Enablement professionals need to be out there exploring, testing and bringing the best of the best to their sales organizations and reinforcing to ensure adoption. Keep an eye on the digital space.

“The tools are going to be more integrated, making it easier for sales to manage their accounts, prospect, share content, etc. and it will all be mobile ready.

“The data coming out of these tools will allow enablement, operations, marketing and sales leaders to further fine tune the sales and revenue engine to make it purr.”

Tie your enablement programs to the right things

Nick Lawrence, Curriculum Design Manager, Snowflake

“We are in a pretty unstable market right now - companies are making layoffs and many enablement teams are being affected.

“I believe many enablement teams will make the mistake of trying to prove their value by tying their programs to lagging sales metrics (pipeline coverage, win rates, or deal size).

“Tying an individual program to any sales outcome is extremely difficult because they are dependent on so many variables. I fear enablement teams will lose credibility if they go this route.

“Instead, enablement teams should associate their programs to behaviors and things they can directly influence.

“Trying to convince the C-suite that your program developed $X amount in pipeline is a stretch; but showing how your program led to the application of a specific behavior like properly prioritizing their time on the right accounts and showing how engagement among accounts with the highest potential lifetime value has increased is doable and demonstrates credible value.”

Make it clear that enablement is key

Ben Purton, Director of International Enablement, RingCentral

“We will need to get in the trenches with sales and help them more than ever before due to market forces.

“I’d strongly argue enablement is more key than it ever has been. Let’s all help each other as a profession.

“If organizations are firing enablement then this means they do not understand enablement - and we can influence that. Let’s get ahead of that as soon as possible”.

Stay tuned for more!

There you have it - a glimpse at what just a selection of our Ones to Watch think lies in store for the enablement function in 2023.

There’s a lot more in store for you in our full report which is live to download right now!

In the meantime, why not join our Slack community and share your predictions for the next 12 months with 5,000+ of your peers?