The 2024 SELL conference has wrapped up, leaving behind fresh insights and practical knowledge. The event explored thought-provoking themes such as leader alignment, outcome-driven strategies, frameworks and competencies, skill gaps, and professional development. Let’s explore what we learned.

Executive Alignment Is Crucial

Stephanie White and Dayna Williams kicked off the conference with a seminar focused on executive thinking. Their complementary perspectives offered attendees an exclusive look into the minds of C-suite executives. The masterclass highlighted the importance of strategic alignment, strong visual communication, and trust-building.

The speakers shared valuable tips, stressing the importance of effective communication.

• Begin with the punchline.

• Brevity matters—cut 15 percent of your data and info for every level up it goes.

• Visuals are key—use clean, straightforward graphics and charts.

AI Is Here

AI’s growing role in sales was a common theme throughout the event. However, speakers also emphasized the enduring importance of practice. Dr. Stefanie Boyer highlighted the power of reinforcement in seller enablement, sharing insights from her research on educating business leaders.

Many sessions underscored how important practice and feedback are for sales reps. However, managers might not have the time or expertise to deliver targeted, timely feedback. AI coaching tools offer a promising solution that can help fill this need providing feedback at scale.

Results Matter

A recurring theme throughout many sessions was the idea of “getting a seat at the table.” Two quotes that resonated were, “A seat at the table has to be earned” and “Be careful what you wish for.” In short, with a seat at the table comes accountability. Ultimately, results matter. Mike Kunkle’s masterclass exemplified this principle, offering a comprehensive outcomes-focused approach to developing enablement strategy. His session included valuable resources, from ChatGPT shortcuts to proven strategies, leaving participants buzzing about the invaluable toolkit they could adapt to their businesses.

The above themes and ideas echoed throughout many other breakout sessions during the conference.

• Sally Ladrach shed light on an outcome-oriented enablement philosophy, featuring a dynamic and iterative framework of Problem – Plan – Build – Launch – Retro – Repeat, illustrating practical application of these concepts.

• Alexa Bacchi and Jackie Clifford from Indeed unveiled a strategy to leverage both leaders and systems for driving transformation and business impact. Their presentation centered around employing existing tools and people to spur change and coach others.

• Lindsay Hoyle from SmartSheet translated “do more with less” into action, proposing methods on defining contributions to avoid overwhelming responsibilities. This seamlessly led into Greg Qualls’s candid discussion about sales training, where he shared some reasons why it might be unappealing to sellers. It was eye-opening to realize that not all issues stemmed from the training itself, but often from the trainer’s perceived intentions.

• Lauren Brownstone and Dave Noonan closed the event by sharing unique approaches to enhance to boosting professional effectiveness within the business. They illuminated the paths to strategic agreements with sales leadership and regular performance consultations, bridging theory and practice in sales enablement.

ATD SELL remains a distinct platform for enablement practitioners to build sales capabilities within their revenue-driving teams. Fostering candid conversations, it sparks understanding and calibration of work for optimum outcomes. This year’s event was a testament to its value, and we are eager to welcome you next year in Phoenix!