Sales Enablement From Scratch: Strategy, Structure, and First 90 Days
This briefing distils practical ideas and decision frames from a live, expert-led conversation about what it takes to build enablement from an early starting point, how to avoid falling into reactive support, and how leaders can create enough structure for the work to sustain and compound.
Key highlights
1) Assess organisational readiness first
Enablement often gets hired at a moment of strain, but recognising the need for help is not the same as being ready to support the function properly.
This briefing shows why early success depends on understanding whether the business has enough clarity around goals, ownership, strategy, and leadership behaviour for enablement to build on.
This briefing shows why early success depends on understanding whether the business has enough clarity around goals, ownership, strategy, and leadership behaviour for enablement to build on.
“The question is, are they ready for it, and are they willing to make the changes that need to be made for enablement to be successful?”
– Devon McDermott
– Devon McDermott
2) Begin with diagnosis
What sounds well-scoped in interviews often looks very different once you are in the role.
That is why the briefing argues that the first serious move is not launching programmes or producing assets, but understanding how the business actually operates, where the real friction sits, and what different teams need most.
That is why the briefing argues that the first serious move is not launching programmes or producing assets, but understanding how the business actually operates, where the real friction sits, and what different teams need most.
“The listening tour is, in my opinion, your secret weapon in the first week. It gives you real clarity before you do anything.”
– Devon McDermott
– Devon McDermott
3) Create enough structure to make the work clear
Once the listening tour gives you a clearer view of the business, the next job is to give the work some shape.
The point is not to build a heavy process too early, but to create enough structure for stakeholders to understand what enablement covers, how requests get judged, and how success will be assessed.
The point is not to build a heavy process too early, but to create enough structure for stakeholders to understand what enablement covers, how requests get judged, and how success will be assessed.
“So when we’re building our enablement approach, we just want to answer three questions. What problem are we solving for? How does enablement show up? So that’s like the tactics we’ll employ. And then the most important piece, how do we know it’s working? When those are clear, when we have the system, we can then scale and navigate change and set the infrastructure to move away from those reactive motions.”
– Devon McDermott
– Devon McDermott
4) Use the charter to define how the function will work
Once the work has some shape, it needs clearer boundaries.
This briefing shows how the charter helps position the function, define how it operates, clarify what enablement owns (and what it does not), and prevent the role from becoming the default home for every request.
This briefing shows how the charter helps position the function, define how it operates, clarify what enablement owns (and what it does not), and prevent the role from becoming the default home for every request.
“The other thing that’s important is that the charter is really a sales tool. It’s kind of your business case. You’re building belief in your Enablement function before anybody sees results. So coming in with a plan with an approach, with the rigor that’s flexible, fluid and signed off on, great way to build that trust and rapport.”
– Devon McDermott
– Devon McDermott
5) Build for compounding value in the first 90 days
When very little exists, everything feels urgent, every request sounds reasonable, and the temptation is to say yes to everything.
The briefing makes the case that early enablement works best when quick wins are tied to foundation-building work, simple ways of working, reusable assets, and a clear progression from foundation to repeatable execution to optimisation.
The briefing makes the case that early enablement works best when quick wins are tied to foundation-building work, simple ways of working, reusable assets, and a clear progression from foundation to repeatable execution to optimisation.
“We know when like literally nothing exists, everything feels urgent, important, everyone has an opinion, and you kind of like want to say yes to everything because you’re like, well, I’m new, right. I need to show them how great I am. Don’t do that. You’re going to burn yourself out, and you’re not going to build anything that lasts.”
– Devon McDermott
– Devon McDermott
What you’ll learn
- How to tell whether the business is actually ready for enablement
- Why the listening tour is one of the most important early moves, and how to use it to understand how the business really works
- How to create enough structure to make the work clear, explain priorities, and reduce reactive noise without overbuilding
- How to use a charter to clarify scope, set expectations, make trade-offs visible, and protect focus
- Why the first 90 days should build leverage, not only visible activity
- How to prioritise quick wins, MVPs, and reusable assets that leave something useful behind
Who this briefing is for
- Enablement leaders stepping into a first-hire or early-stage role, and building from an incomplete starting point
- Teams introducing enablement into fast-moving businesses where goals, ownership, and operating structure are still taking shape
- Enablement practitioners who need to create focus, boundaries, and credibility before the function gets overwhelmed by reactive requests
- Leaders responsible for turning early enablement work into something repeatable, useful, and durable