If you’re searching for the “best” sales enablement for a B2B company, you’ll quickly run into a familiar fork in the road:
The right answer is rarely “either/or”. For most B2B organisations, the best results come from a blended enablement mix — with clarity on what each component is responsible for.
This guide helps you choose the right mix (platform-led, training-led, tailored enablement-led), avoid the most common adoption traps, and build an enablement approach that improves measurable pipeline outcomes.
Enablement can mean different things depending on who you ask. For clarity:
Technology that supports enablement at scale, typically including content management, guidance, training, playbooks, and analytics.
Programmes and facilitation that develop skills, frameworks, and manager coaching capability.
A model that starts with your reality (ICP, buying journey, sales motion, constraints, and CRM workflow) and designs enablement to fit — so it’s adopted, reinforced, and measurably improves conversion, velocity, and forecast confidence.
Platforms and programmes scale what already exists.
If your stage definitions are vague, your next steps are inconsistent, and your close dates aren’t anchored to buyer commitments, a platform will scale inconsistency — faster.
The fastest path to “best enablement” is to establish the minimum standards that make pipeline truth possible: - Mutual, calendarised next steps - Evidence-based stage criteria - Close dates tied to buyer commitments - Consistent deal notes for coaching
Once those standards exist, platforms and training become dramatically more effective.
Before you pick a vendor or programme, identify the dominant problem you need to solve.
You need to organise content, reduce duplication, standardise onboarding, and improve visibility.
Best-fit enablement mix: - Platform-led (primary) - Tailored enablement (to align standards and workflow) - Training (targeted)
Your teams have knowledge, but deals stall because sellers and managers don’t execute consistently.
Best-fit enablement mix: - Training-led (primary) - Tailored enablement (to embed into workflow and coaching) - Platform (supporting)
You already have tools and training, but behaviour change isn’t sticking.
Best-fit enablement mix: - Tailored enablement-led (primary) - Platform (to scale what works) - Training (role-specific practice and reinforcement)
Conversion drops, stage ageing rises, or late-stage slip is increasing.
Best-fit enablement mix: - Tailored enablement-led (diagnose the leak and design the fix) - Training (to practise the behaviour change) - Platform (to operationalise and reinforce)
Platforms can be a strong investment — but only if they’re chosen and implemented with adoption in mind.
A platform works best when it supports an existing selling motion — not when it tries to replace it.
Training becomes “best” when it produces durable behaviour change.
If training is not reinforced in manager routines, it will fade — even if the content is excellent.
Tailored enablement is the adoption and impact engine.
It focuses on three things generic approaches often miss:
It aligns enablement to: - Your ICP - Your buying journey (including governance steps like procurement, security, legal) - Your deal complexity and typical objections
It fits how teams actually work: - Your CRM configuration and data quality baseline - Your stage definitions and hand-offs - Your pipeline review cadence
It turns enablement into habits through: - Manager-led coaching prompts - Evidence checks in pipeline reviews - Standard deal note templates - Clear “definition of done” for stages and next steps
Here are practical examples of how B2B companies often combine components.
Outcome focus: - Improved conversion in early-to-mid transitions - Reduced stage ageing
Outcome focus: - Reduced late-stage slip - Improved win rate in complex deals
Outcome focus: - Increased adoption of the few behaviours that move deals - Improved forecast confidence
Use these questions in your selection process.
Mentor Group’s approach is designed for organisations that want enablement to be adopted — and to move pipeline outcomes.
Rather than importing a rigid methodology, Mentor Group starts with your reality: - Where pipeline is stalling, slipping, or inflating - Which behaviours and standards will change outcomes fastest - How to embed those behaviours into CRM workflow and manager cadence
This is the “your way, not our way” layer that helps platforms and training deliver measurable value.
For the broader view of what “best” sales enablement looks like in B2B — and how to compare traditional big hitters with tailored enablement — read the pillar blog here: https://www.mentorgroup.com/sales-training-insights/best-sales-enablement-for-b2b-companies
Is a sales enablement platform enough to improve performance? A platform can scale content and guidance, but it won’t create behaviour change on its own. You still need standards (stages, next steps, evidence) and reinforcement through manager cadence.
When should a B2B company choose tailored enablement? When adoption is low, your sales motion is complex, or pipeline issues persist despite tools and training. Tailored enablement aligns enablement to your ICP, workflow, and real buying friction.
What’s the best enablement mix for most B2B organisations? A blended model: platforms for scale, training for skills, and tailored enablement to ensure fit, adoption, and reinforcement.
How do we measure enablement success? Measure pipeline outcomes: conversion at key transitions, reduced stage ageing, reduced close-date slip, improved win rate, and improved forecast confidence.
How do we avoid ‘training theatre’? Ensure training is tied to real deals, reinforced weekly by managers, and embedded into workflow (CRM notes, pipeline reviews, evidence checks).
What does “your way, not our way” mean in enablement? It means starting with how your teams sell today, diagnosing your specific pipeline friction, and designing enablement that fits your motion — so adoption is high and impact is measurable.