Enablement, Sales, ai-enablement

From Sales Enablement to Revenue Enablement: What Changed in 10 Years

By John Rivers — On November 21, 2025

Enablement has come a long way.

Ten years ago, enablement meant crowding reps into hotel conference rooms, huddled around grainy projectors, printed training decks, and stale donuts. Content was scattered, training was sporadic, and enablement was focused solely on supporting sales.

Since then, everything's changed: how we buy, how we sell, and how revenue teams operate. The question is: how has enablement evolved to empower modern go-to-market teams?

As buyer expectations shifted and technology advanced, so did the responsibilities placed on revenue teams, and enablement's role in kind. In this article, we'll explore what's changed over the past decade, what's driving that transformation, and why the most successful organizations are rethinking enablement altogether.

The rise of revenue enablement

Enablement in the last decade was owned almost exclusively by sales, with limited involvement from marketing, operations, and customer success. It focused on managing static content libraries and coordinating isolated training sessions. At Seismic Shift, Seismic Co-founder and Board Advisor, Doug Winter opened the conference by reflecting on that early stage. "We were introducing training people to content people — and they worked at the same company."

Fast forward to today, and enablement spans every revenue-facing function. Sales, marketing, customer success, and revenue operations now sit at the same table, collaborating to support the entire customer journey. This approach, known as revenue enablement, equips teams with the skills, content, and insights they need to maximize every customer interaction.

Based on a report by HBR Analytic Services: 90% of organizations recognize the value of cross-functional collaboration, yet only 37% say they're doing it well.

Why sales enablement alone wasn't enough

Sales enablement, while foundational, couldn't keep up with the pace of change. The rise of digital-first buyers — who now spend just 20% of their time with sales reps during the buying cycle — fundamentally redefined how revenue teams engage. Buyers expect personalization, immediacy, and insight. Static content and sporadic training weren't built for that kind of selling landscape.

"It used to be one-size-fits-all. This is what you get — we hope you like it," Doug said at Shift. "Today, the demand is for personalized, proactive, in-the-moment enablement that's suited to the individual and the situation they're in."

Enablement had to evolve from an internal support role into a strategic, cross-functional discipline — one that connects sales, marketing and customer success around the buyer.

"Enablement is no longer just a tactical support function; it's an agent of driving transformation and strategic changes throughout your company." - Doug Winter

The new pillars of modern enablement

Revenue enablement today is about aligning teams, integrating workflows, and using data to drive smarter decisions. Based on Doug Winter's keynote from Shift and findings from the HBR report, here are the biggest changes that define this transformation:

1. From siloed to strategic

Enablement has moved from the sidelines to the C-suite. What used to be a support function is now a driver of strategic transformation. According to the HBR survey, only 25% of organizations feel highly successful at training revenue-focused employees, despite nearly 90% naming it a top priority. Enablement needs to fill in the gap between intention and impact.

2. From content chaos to AI-powered intelligence

Enablement used to be built around static content libraries and one-size-fits-all models that quickly went out of date. As Doug noted at Shift, "Today, it's about content that's personalized, contextual, and smart."

Modern enablement connects people, content, and data inside one integrated platform. AI surfaces the right assets, tailors messaging to the individual buyer, and guides sellers with real-time insights. This intelligence makes teams sharper and more consistent across the entire customer journey.

3. From reactive training to continuous coaching

Enablement used to stop after onboarding. Today, it never stops. Modern teams are using AI-driven coaching to deliver real-time feedback, simulate customer conversations, and build confidence through continuous practice.

As Doug said at Shift, "Sellers can now practice at home, without worrying about doing a bad job in front of their boss." With on-demand coaching and personalized guidance, sellers can develop faster, perform better, and keep improving with every interaction.

AI is transforming enablement

AI isn't just enhancing enablement, it's redefining it. The HBR study found that 70% of organizations using AI for enablement reported increased productivity. AI helps summarize calls, personalize emails, guide coaching sessions, and automate admin tasks — freeing teams up to focus on what matters most: engaging customers.

"AI is like a genius teammate that never sleeps," noted Mark Dodds, CRO of Elastic, during Shift.

Seismic's Aura AI is changing the game for enablement. With capabilities like generative search, automated lesson creation, and presentation-building agents, it's helping revenue teams scale insights, personalize interactions, and close more deals faster.

Empower your team with revenue enablement

The shift from sales enablement to revenue enablement has transformed the way companies drive growth. Where sales enablement focused on supporting sellers, revenue enablement aligns every customer-facing function — from marketing to customer success — on maximizing every interaction across the buyer journey.

As customer expectations evolve and AI unlocks new levels of productivity, the best organizations will be those that see enablement not as a support function, but as a strategic engine for success.

Want to see how leading organizations are winning with revenue enablement?

  • Download the full report: Accelerating Growth Through Revenue Enablement — Harvard Business Review Analytic Services
  • Book a demo to see how AI-powered enablement can impact your team today.