Your reps aren’t the problem. Your enablement strategy is.
- Melanie Fellay
- May 2
- 5 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
We just wrapped one of the most honest conversations I’ve had in a long time, unpacking the findings of our 2025 Impact of Enablement report, which surveyed 100+ enablement leaders. And one stat still has me reeling:
👉 Only 1.6% of teams believe more than 80% of their content is used.
In a world where budgets are under scrutiny, platform contracts are renegotiated every 12–18 months, and teams are being asked to do more with less, that stat should be a wake-up call.
Because if we zoom out, the signal is clear:
Enablement is at a breaking point. And we need to stop treating the symptoms and start fixing the system.
Let’s get one thing straight: enablement isn’t failing because your reps don’t care.
Enablement is failing because the tools we’ve given them weren’t built for the way work actually happens today.
Your reps aren’t lazy. They’re busy. Incredibly busy.
They’re juggling more deals, more stakeholders, and more pressure than ever. They don’t have time to dig through outdated portals, decipher folder hierarchies, or navigate five different logins just to prep for a call.
And when the content they do find turns out to be inaccurate or irrelevant?
They stop trusting it altogether.
That’s what’s driving the low adoption numbers we saw in the report:
55% of teams cite poor platform adoption as a primary reason for churn
92% say reps use less than 60% of their content
Over 60% say content decay is their top challenge
This isn’t a motivation problem. It’s a system design problem.
The content decay crisis no one wants to admit
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: your content is aging faster than you can manage it.
That shiny new case study you published three months ago? The product has already changed.
That onboarding deck you spent weeks building is already out of date, thanks to a pricing update or a new GTM motion.
We live in a world where change occurs daily. Yet most enablement systems still rely on manual tagging, expiration dates, and the hope that someone, somewhere, will remember to update the deck.
Spoiler alert: they won’t.
I’ve had customers tell me they wake up to a list of “expired” content flagged by the system, while already behind on urgent launches, team training, and leadership reporting.
We’ve given people a false sense of control. A checkbox that says “verified” doesn’t mean anything if the data it’s verifying is stale.
That’s why we need to stop throwing humans at the problem and start building systems that self-correct.
AI isn’t just for call transcripts and draft emails. AI should help us detect content conflicts, surface inconsistencies, and suggest updates in real time. That’s where we’re innovating at Spekit, because content decay isn’t just a content problem. It’s a revenue risk.
Complexity is the enemy of adoption
We’ve been sold this myth: more features = more impact.
But the data tells a different story.
80% of teams say their reps don’t use at least
40% of platform features
Presentation builders, live decks, and digital sales rooms are often the least used
Only 22% say their platform even supports just-in-time delivery
What that tells me is this: the features we’re adding aren’t solving rep problems. They’re solving demo problems.
They look shiny in a pitch deck, but they don’t make life easier for the people actually doing the work.
Here’s what reps really need:
A fast way to find the right content
Trust that the content is accurate
Zero disruption to their flow
Everything else? Noise.
One of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned—both as a founder and a former BizOps leader—is this: simplicity scales.
Not because it’s trendy. But because complexity doesn’t.
Enablement teams are underwater and no one’s talking about it
More than 1 in 5 enablement leaders spend at least 5 hours a week on platform admin tasks.
Not building onboarding paths. Not coaching managers. Not measuring impact.
Just… clicking.
Five hours. That’s an entire workday every week spent configuring menus, managing tags, uploading assets, troubleshooting access, and cleaning up content.
Imagine if we gave those hours back.
What if instead of chasing down expired assets, you were building a report that actually influenced next quarter’s pipeline strategy? Or coaching your managers on why reps are ghosting Stage 2 deals?
Admin overhead is the silent killer of impact. And the more complex the platform, the heavier the burden.
The fallacy of enablement ROI and what to measure instead
I get this question all the time: “How do you prove the ROI of enablement?”
And I always ask back: “What’s the ROI of Uber? Of Amazon Prime?”
You don’t calculate ROI for products you can’t imagine living without. You feel their value.
You open the app. You get what you need. It works. Instantly.
That’s how enablement should feel.
Yes, we should track influence. Yes, we should measure outcomes. But chasing down the exact dollar attribution for a deck download? It’s a distraction.
Instead, ask:
Did this content change the rep’s behavior?
Did it show up when and where they needed it?
Did it move the deal forward?
Usage isn’t the goal. Impact is.
And the closer you deliver knowledge to the moment of action, the more measurable that impact becomes.
Content isn't just content. It’s trust, confidence, and conversion.
Let’s zoom in on the moment that really matters: the rep is writing an email. It’s late. They’re tired. And they have no idea if the asset they’re about to attach is even relevant anymore.
In most systems, they’d have to dig. Check Slack. Ask a peer. Maybe guess.
With just-in-time enablement, their workflow whispers to them:
“Here’s the latest case study for that industry. It’s been performing well. Want to include it?”
That’s not just a better UX. It’s a better deal outcome.
Because every moment you save your rep from friction, you’re giving them more time to listen, personalize, and close.
What we should be optimizing for
If you’re evaluating enablement platforms or thinking about switching (like 30% of teams in the past 18 months), here’s what matters:
Can your reps find what they need in under 10 seconds?
Is your content staying accurate without eating up your team’s calendar?
Do your reps trust the system or avoid it?
Is your platform helping you identify gaps, or just report vanity metrics?
Can your enablers spend more time enabling and less time cleaning up messes?
If the answer is no, you don’t need more features. You need a different philosophy.
The future of enablement is already here
It’s:
Contextual – Embedded into the tools reps already use
Personalized – Tailored to deal stage, persona, and seller behavior
Effortless – Consumer-grade UX that makes doing the right thing easy
Unified – One platform, not six disconnected systems and a Google Drive
Dynamic – Content that evolves with your business
Measurable – Tracking what actually drives revenue
This isn’t a wishlist. This is what the best teams are already building.
We’ve seen it firsthand at ZoomInfo, Equifax, and dozens of other companies that’ve embraced a just-in-time approach. Not because it’s trendy. But because it works.
So what now?
If you're in sales, enablement, revops, or marketing, this report is for you.
If you're frustrated with tools that create more work than they solve, if you're tired of building docs that go unused, or if you're being asked to prove ROI without being given the time or tools to drive it...
You’re not alone.
And more importantly, you’re not stuck.
Enablement isn't a feature. It’s not a department. It’s a design challenge.
And the future belongs to the teams that solve it.
Let’s make enablement feel invisible, impactful, and indispensable together.
