“Best” sales enablement in B2B is not a logo list.
The best enablement is the approach that changes seller behaviour, improves buyer outcomes, and creates measurable uplift in win rate, deal velocity, and forecast confidence — without forcing your teams into a one-size-fits-all playbook.
In this pillar guide, we’ll cover the traditional “big hitters” (platforms, training providers, and large consultancies), where they shine, where they can fall short, and how a tailored enablement model — including Mentor Group’s “your way, not our way” approach — can deliver faster adoption and more durable impact.
Sales enablement has expanded beyond content libraries and onboarding.
Gartner uses the term revenue enablement platforms for tools that unify enablement across customer-facing functions (sales, customer success, marketing, partners, pre-sales). (gartner.com)
In practice, effective B2B enablement combines: - Messaging and narrative (how you create relevance) - Process and stage evidence (how you progress decisions) - Skills and behaviours (how sellers execute) - Content and tools (how work is supported and scaled) - Coaching and reinforcement (how it sticks)
Most buyers evaluate enablement via one of three routes.
Platforms in this space typically combine content management, guidance, training, and analytics.
Examples often recognised in software categories and market lists include Seismic, Highspot, Showpad, Allego, Mindtickle, Bigtincan, Gong, Salesloft and others. (g2.com)
Where they shine: - Centralising content and playbooks - Scaling onboarding and coaching workflows - Improving visibility into what’s being used and what’s working
Where they can fall short: - Tool adoption doesn’t automatically create behaviour change - Teams often upload more content than sellers can find or apply - Without clear standards (stages, next steps, proof), analytics can reflect noise
Global providers often combine research-backed programmes, facilitation, and reinforcement.
Examples include firms positioned as sales training and consulting organisations, such as RAIN Group and Richardson, alongside other major providers in the category. (rainsalestraining.com)
Where they shine: - Structured skill development and manager coaching - Common language and repeatable frameworks - Scalable training delivery (in-person, virtual, blended)
Where they can fall short: - Framework-first roll-outs can misalign with your actual sales motion - Training can fade without workflow integration, inspection, and reinforcement - Teams may learn concepts but not embed new habits in deals
Many organisations turn to large consultancies for sales transformation, operating model, and sales effectiveness work. (consultancy.uk)
Where they shine: - Executive alignment and operating model design - Governance, process, and cross-functional change - Programme management at scale
Where they can fall short: - Heavier delivery models can be slower to embed at frontline level - Risk of designing ‘ideal process’ rather than improving the process you actually run
Many enablement programmes fail for one reason:
They import a methodology instead of improving the way your teams sell today.
That typically creates: - Low adoption (“this isn’t how we sell here”) - Extra admin instead of better deal progression - Stage inflation and poor forecast trust
In B2B, the best enablement is specific to: - Your ICP and buying journey - Your deal complexity and deal cycle - Your roles and hand-offs (SDR/AE/AM/CS, SE, legal, procurement) - Your current capability and data quality baseline
If you’re choosing an enablement approach (or fixing an existing one), use this checklist.
Good enablement makes progress visible: - Stronger next-step quality (mutual, calendarised buyer commitments) - Clearer stage evidence (what must be true to progress) - Better qualification (impact, stakeholders, decision process)
If enablement only increases “touches”, you’ll get busier — not better.
The best enablement fits how teams work: - In the CRM - In pipeline reviews - In deal notes and mutual plans
If the model lives in a slide deck, it won’t survive quarter-end pressure.
Most behaviour change happens through frontline managers.
If enablement doesn’t equip managers to coach weekly — with simple prompts, evidence checks, and practical routines — it won’t stick.
Define success in pipeline terms: - Conversion improvement at a specific stage transition - Reduced stage ageing in an overloaded stage - Reduced close-date slip rate - Increased win rate in target segments
Enablement without measurable pipeline impact becomes “training theatre”.
The traditional leaders are often the right choice when: - You need an enterprise-grade platform to organise content, training and analytics at scale (gartner.com) - You need a structured curriculum to raise baseline skills across large teams (rainsalestraining.com) - You need operating model and governance change across functions (kornferry.com)
But even then, you still need a translation layer: how does this become the way we sell here?
Complex B2B selling is full of variation: - Multiple stakeholders - Non-linear buying journeys - Procurement and security steps - Industry-specific objections and risk profiles
Tailored enablement wins because it: - Builds around your ICP, sales stages, and real buying friction - Removes the specific constraints slowing your pipeline - Improves adoption by fitting existing workflow - Embeds reinforcement so behaviour change becomes habit
Mentor Group’s enablement philosophy is simple: start with your reality, not a generic playbook.
That typically means: - Diagnose: use pipeline and CRM signals to identify where Value, Volume and Velocity are leaking - Design: co-create the few behaviours and standards that will change outcomes fastest - Enable: train and practise the specific moments that move deals (next steps, stakeholder alignment, commercial readiness) - Embed: reinforce through manager cadence, deal-note standards, and workflow integration
This model doesn’t compete with platforms or programmes — it makes them work.
If you already have an enablement platform, Mentor Group helps align: - Stage evidence and definitions - Deal note standards - Coaching prompts and weekly routines - Content mapped to decision moments (not content volume)
Most B2B organisations benefit from a blended approach.
Use this as a guide: - Platform-led when the problem is access, scale, and consistency - Training-led when the problem is skill gaps and manager coaching - Tailored enablement-led when the problem is adoption, workflow fit, and pipeline friction
The best programmes combine all three — with tailored enablement as the layer that drives adoption and measurable pipeline change.
If you want results quickly, start with the smallest set of standards that improve pipeline truth: - Mutual, calendarised next steps - Evidence-based stage criteria - Close dates anchored to buyer commitments - Consistent deal notes for coaching
Then build role-based enablement around the biggest pipeline leak.
If your enablement stack looks impressive but your pipeline still stalls, slips, or inflates, the problem is rarely effort — it’s fit and reinforcement.
Book a meeting with Mentor Group to identify what’s really slowing your pipeline, which behaviours will move it fastest, and how to embed enablement your way, not our way.
What is the best sales enablement for B2B companies? The best enablement is the approach that changes seller behaviour and improves measurable pipeline outcomes (conversion, velocity, slip rate, win rate) while fitting your ICP, sales motion, and workflow.
Are sales enablement platforms enough on their own? Platforms can scale content, training, and analytics, but they don’t automatically create behaviour change. You still need evidence standards, coaching cadence, and reinforcement in workflow. (gartner.com)
What are the most common enablement ‘big hitters’? Many organisations consider enterprise platforms and established training providers; examples frequently recognised in market lists and software categories include Seismic, Highspot, Showpad, Allego, Mindtickle and others. (thesoftwarereport.com)
When should a company choose a tailored enablement approach? When adoption is low, pipeline issues persist despite training/tools, or your sales motion is complex (multiple stakeholders, governance steps, long cycles) and generic playbooks don’t fit.
How do you measure enablement success? Track pipeline outcomes: stage conversion, stage ageing, close-date slip rate, win rate, and forecast accuracy — not just content usage or training completion.
What does ‘your way, not our way’ mean in practice? It means diagnosing your real pipeline friction, designing enablement that fits your existing motion and CRM workflow, and embedding reinforcement through manager cadence and standards.