As you all know, ASTD recently turned the page to start a new chapter as the Association for Talent Development (ATD). Some of you may be wondering what that means for the Sales Enablement Community of Practice, so I’d like to share a story with you…

When I started my career cold-calling C-level executives, I suffered from that oh-so-common fear of heights. I didn’t understand what an industry veteran with double-digit years of experience could learn from me, a recent college grad.

Then, as I went through robust training programs and countless coaching sessions, role-plays, and peer workshops, I gained more confidence. But it didn’t end there. I was also equipped with a CRM and other tools that helped me be more efficient and get to know my prospects before I even reached out to them. My product marketing team also put together cheat-sheets with real situations our customers went through every day and scripting on how I could leverage those situations to position our solutions. In the blink of an eye I had gained a mini MBA and was an SME on all the major issues facing my customer base. 

I realized that I spent so much time speaking with my customers that I could bring invaluable insight to them about their own peers, insight they would not be able to get easily otherwise. Although the training programs were at the core of my success, the army of people that helped me reach my full potential did so much more than train me–they developed me as a sales professional and equipped me with the resources I needed to succeed.

We are a global community of people who develop sales talent, and I hope you are as excited as I am about this change and about the doors it opens for this community.

Lastly, I want to invite you to get involved and contribute to the community. Be it ideas, war stories, content, or tactical tools and templates, chances are your peers would benefit from it. The more you contribute, the more you can learn from each other.

I’m here to help!

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