The Sales Enablement Function Lost Its Product-Market Fit: Here’s Why

I've spent the best part of a decade working with Sales Enablement functions. Firstly as a consultant delivering GTM transformation for one of the Big4 consulting firms, then as the Cofounder of Uhubs helping Revenue leadership assess, benchmark and improve the capabilities of their teams.

In my current role as Uhubs CEO I have on average 5-10 conversations per day with Chief Revenue Officers at B2B Sales Organisations.

In this article I've leveraged my personal experience and observations to summarise three reasons why the sales enablement function has lost its way:

1. Lack of a clear identity and purpose - leading to significant variation in roles, responsibilities, and skillsets (no two enablement functions look the same).
2. Misalignment to KPIs and the revenue strategy - many enablement teams become trapped in reactive initiatives rather than driving strategic programs.
3. Struggles to demonstrate measurable value - compounded by the growing capability of AI agents, which will only intensify cuts to enablement roles.

Over the last decade, the sales enablement function grew rapidly, promising to be the glue that held sales teams together during periods of hyper-growth. But somewhere along the way, sales enablement lost its product-market fit. What began as a promising function to support revenue leaders has become, in many cases, a source of frustration for sales teams and scrutiny for leadership.

To understand why this happened, let’s unpack the journey of sales enablement and the factors that have led to its current challenges.

1. The Growth-at-All-Costs Era Fueled the Demand for Enablement Roles

During the zero-interest rate policy (ZIRP) era, businesses operated in a “growth at all costs” environment. Revenue leaders were under immense pressure to ramp up hiring and onboard new sales reps quickly. This created a significant demand for roles that could bridge the gap between hiring and productivity. Enter sales enablement.

The function was envisioned as a way to accelerate onboarding, provide training, and support sales teams with tools and processes to close deals faster. This demand triggered a wave of hiring for enablement roles, even in organisations that hadn’t clearly defined the scope or purpose of the function.

🔑 Key takeaway: To ensure long-term value, sales enablement must evolve from a reactive stopgap for hypergrowth challenges into a strategic partner that aligns with organisational goals and measurable outcomes.

‍

2. The L&D Migration and the ‘Glorification’ of Enablement

The promise of better pay and perceived importance in the organization attracted many learning and development (L&D) professionals to transition into sales enablement roles. However, this migration introduced a significant challenge: many of these individuals had little to no sales experience.

In some organizations, enablement became a glorified extension of L&D. Instead of strategic initiatives tailored to the nuances of sales, enablement teams were delivering generic training programs that failed to resonate with salespeople. For many sales reps, enablement became synonymous with irrelevant sessions that interfered with their ability to hit quota.

🔑 Key takeaway: To restore credibility, enablement must move beyond generic training to deliver tailored initiatives, led by professionals with credible sales experience.

‍

3. A Lack of Alignment and Understanding Among Revenue Leaders

Another critical issue has been the lack of understanding of the sales enablement function among CROs and VPs. Most revenue leaders have never worked in enablement roles themselves, leading to confusion about where the function should sit within the organisation. Should it be part of marketing, RevOps, or revenue leadership?

This ambiguity has often resulted in enablement being deprioritised or misunderstood. Without a clear place in the organisational structure, enablement teams struggled to gain the authority or resources needed to drive meaningful impact.

🔑 Key takeaway: To maximise impact, sales enablement must clearly define its value proposition and secure alignment with revenue leaders by demonstrating its strategic contribution to business outcomes.

‍

4. A Function Without Consensus on Purpose

Sales enablement is still a relatively new discipline, and there is limited agreement on its definition or purpose. While some view it as a strategic partner to sales leadership, others see it as a tactical support role. This lack of consensus has made it difficult for enablement professionals to articulate their value or align their efforts with broader business goals.

🔑 Key takeaway: To overcome this ambiguity, sales enablement teams must establish a clear and shared definition of their purpose within the organisation, ensuring alignment with leadership’s strategic objectives and business outcomes.

‍

5. Reactive, Tactical Initiatives Instead of Strategic Impact

In many cases, sales enablement professionals defaulted to doing what revenue leaders asked for, often without a strategic lens. This reactive approach led to a proliferation of ad hoc initiatives—sales playbooks here, a training session there—without a cohesive strategy or measurable impact. Over time, this eroded the credibility of enablement teams and diminished their perceived value.

🔑 Key takeaway: Enablement needs to map the capability 'baseline' first, prior to embarking on any training or enablement initiatives.

‍

6. Failure to Align with Commercial KPIs

Perhaps the most significant challenge for sales enablement has been its inability to align with commercial key performance indicators (KPIs). Without clear metrics to demonstrate how enablement drives revenue growth, retention, or efficiency, many teams found it difficult to prove their impact.

This lack of measurable outcomes has left revenue leaders and boards questioning the value of enablement investments. By 2022, when economic uncertainty led to budget cuts, enablement roles were among the first to be eliminated.

🔑 Key takeaway: To demonstrate value, enablement teams must focus on leading indicators linked to revenue outcomes, ensuring every initiative directly supports measurable business goals.

‍

7. The Market Pullback and Its Fallout

The economic downturn in Q4 2022 exposed the fragility of the sales enablement function. As organisations re-evaluated budgets, roles that couldn’t demonstrate a clear return on investment (ROI) were cut. Many enablement professionals found themselves scrambling to justify their roles, but the narrative was already set: enablement was seen as an operational cost centre “nice-to-have,” rather than a strategic revenue accelerating “must-have.”

This perception has persisted, and scrutiny around enablement investments remains high. CROs and VPs are now more cautious, often questioning whether enablement is worth the investment at all.

🔑 Key takeaway: Sales enablement teams must proactively tie their initiatives to measurable revenue outcomes, demonstrating their role as a strategic driver of growth rather than an operational expense.

‍

8. The Role of AI in Redefining Enablement

The rise of AI agents has introduced both challenges and opportunities for sales enablement. Many tasks traditionally performed by enablement professionals—such as onboarding, training, and content delivery—can now be automated using AI tools. For instance:

• Personalised Learning Paths: AI-driven solutions can create tailored learning journeys for sales reps based on their capabilities, performance data and role requirements.
• Content Recommendations: AI tools can analyse sales interactions and recommend the most effective playbooks, case studies, or templates for specific deals.
• Performance Insights: AI can provide real-time feedback on sales calls, highlighting areas for improvement and offering actionable advice.
• Administrative Automation: Scheduling training sessions, tracking progress, and generating reports can all be streamlined through AI, freeing up time for more strategic initiatives.

While these advancements can enhance efficiency, they also raise questions about the future of the sales enablement role. If AI can handle much of the tactical work, enablement professionals will need to pivot towards strategic, high-impact initiatives that AI cannot replicate. This includes fostering alignment with commercial goals, driving organisational change, and providing human-centric coaching.

‍

The Path Forward: Rebuilding Sales Enablement’s Product-Market Fit

For sales enablement to regain its relevance, the function must undergo a transformation. Here are a few ways enablement can rebuild its product-market fit:

1. Define a Clear Purpose: Enablement teams need to establish their role as strategic partners to sales leadership, with a focus on driving measurable outcomes.
2. Start with a capability assessment: Having a competency framework that you measure the team against is the 'fabric' of your enablement strategy. If you don't understand what 'good looks like' or where the gaps are, it's impossible to prioritise your initiatives where they matter.
3. Use your capability baseline to establish a Proactive, Strategic Approach: Use your capability assessment process to align each quarter with revenue leaders on improvement areas, priority leading indicators / KPIs. Build your quarterly priorities off the back of the process.
4. Align with Commercial KPIs: Every enablement initiative should tie directly to key leading indicators, such as stage conversion, process adoption, competency improvement, volumetric conversion.
5. Embrace AI as an Enabler, Not a Replacement: Leave the admin work to AI agents, they are coming for it whether you like it or not 😊 Leverage AI tools to enhance your effectiveness while focusing on tasks that require human insight, strategy, and empathy.‍
6. Educate Revenue Leaders: CROs and VPs must understand the value of enablement and how to integrate it effectively into their organisations.

‍

Conclusion

Sales enablement’s journey is a cautionary tale of what happens when a function grows without a clear purpose or alignment with business outcomes. However, the potential for enablement to drive significant impact remains. By addressing its past missteps and embracing new technologies like AI, the function can reclaim its place as an essential component of revenue operations.

The question now is not whether sales enablement can succeed, but whether organisations are willing to redefine its role and invest in its future.

What’s your take? Has sales enablement lost its way, or is it simply evolving? Let us know your thoughts!