Ben Cotton

Without doubt, one of the most exciting parts of being a marketer today is the perpetual challenge of finding new channels and tactics to leverage. Identifying opportunities that we think will create business value is not only a lot of fun, it’s key to driving future growth. For that reason, organisations need to invest in the discovery and cultivation of such opportunities.

I lead sales enablement for HubSpot out of Dublin, Ireland and my role encompasses sales content, sales training, deal support and sales productivity. While my attention is laser focussed on helping our sales organisation hit quota, lately I’ve been thinking about how HubSpot’s partner marketing and sales agencies, of which there are more than 3,400 can sell sales enablement as a monthly recurring service.

Sales enablement is a rapidly emerging, but immature function. Many companies are investing in the creation of sales enablement teams, but as they’re so new, there’s a distinct lack of thought leadership, standardised measurement and best practices available. Subsequently, people often (and understandably) struggle to fully grasp the function.

I’m fascinated by the software as a service (SaaS) business model and how it’s enabling a new breed of company to build innovative products, create categories, rewrite go-to-market playbooks, and change the world. While building and launching a product is one thing, continually iterating on it and providing services that people want to use year after year is quite another.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking at Inbound Marketing-Dagen which took place in Oslo, Norway. The event was organised by HubSpot partner agency, MarkedsPartner and I gave a talk on how to plan sales and marketing. It’s always fascinating to visit another country and gain insight into its marketing industry, practitioners and clients.

I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating. I’m privileged to lead sales enablement for HubSpot out of EMEA. Helping our sales teams in Dublin, Ireland to hit quota is challenging, rewarding and lots of fun. We have a world class sales organisation and it’s my role to partner with them to ensure they succeed.

Recently, I’ve been evaluating what’s most important to me, namely family, friends, health and work, and how I can do better at each. But I’ve not just been thinking, I’ve been doing too. I’ve consciously been trying to form new habits that bring greater consistency, routine and organisation to my life - words that don’t always sit well with a marketing job at a fast growing technology company.

I’m privileged to lead sales enablement for HubSpot out of EMEA and as part of my role I get to set the direction, goals and KPIs of the team. Helping our rapidly expanding sales team in Dublin, Ireland to succeed is challenging, rewarding and lots of fun. But selecting the right metrics to gauge the impact of sales enablement is tough.

The inherent predictability of the software as a service (SaaS) business model makes it attractive to business leaders, customers and investors alike. Predictable costs and revenue can and should lead to predictable growth. But to ensure this happens, and to be clear, it’s easier said than done, you must execute flawlessly.