Sales enablement is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. But here’s the tricky part: who should own it? Should it be the sales team or the marketing team? Or maybe both? This question creates confusion in many companies, especially as they grow and scale. The following stats break down what companies are doing today and what actually works. We’ll explore each stat and turn it into an actionable insight so you can decide what’s right for your business.
1. 65% of organizations report that sales enablement is owned by the sales department
Why sales often takes the lead
Most companies naturally default to having the sales team own enablement. Why? Because sales teams are closest to the action. They feel the pressure of quotas. They know what tools they’re missing. So it makes sense they’d want to control how they’re trained and supported.
When sales owns enablement, the focus is usually on immediate pipeline impact. You’ll see faster training cycles, more attention to onboarding, and more practical tools like call scripts and objection-handling guides.
The trade-off
But here’s the catch: sales-led enablement often lacks the strategic depth that marketing can offer. Sales may prioritize short-term wins over long-term brand consistency or market positioning. If enablement stays too reactive, it might not support long-term growth.
What you should do
If your sales team owns enablement, make sure they’re not doing it alone. Get marketing involved in content creation. Involve product teams in messaging. Have regular syncs to align goals across departments.
Enablement can be sales-led—but it needs to be cross-functional to actually work.
2. 25% of companies say marketing leads their sales enablement efforts
When marketing owns enablement
In some companies, marketing takes the lead on enablement. This usually means more polished content, better messaging consistency, and stronger alignment with product positioning.
Marketing teams are good at packaging information in a way that resonates. They’re used to creating compelling materials that communicate value clearly. That’s a big plus when it comes to sales decks, case studies, and one-pagers.
What could go wrong?
Here’s the downside—marketers don’t always know what actually happens in a sales call. They don’t hear customer objections or questions. So sometimes the materials they create aren’t practical enough for real conversations.
Reps end up ditching the slide decks and making their own. That leads to misalignment and confusion in the field.
How to fix it
If marketing owns enablement, make sure they have regular access to sales calls, win/loss reviews, and rep feedback. Co-create content with top reps. Make every piece of enablement material go through a “field test” before full rollout.
The closer marketing stays to the buyer conversation, the more useful their work becomes.
3. Only 7% of organizations have a dedicated enablement function reporting directly to the C-suite
Why this is a missed opportunity
Sales enablement is often treated as a side project. Only a handful of companies give it direct visibility at the leadership level. But that’s a mistake.
When enablement rolls up to the C-suite, it gets real resources. It gets a seat at the strategic table. That’s when it can actually influence hiring plans, product rollouts, and market positioning.
Enablement as a strategic function
Think about what enablement touches: new hire success, revenue ramp-up, messaging consistency, rep productivity. That’s a lot of impact. Leaving all that buried three layers down in a department misses the big picture.
What you can do
If your company is serious about growth, consider giving enablement its own leader—someone who reports directly to the CRO, COO, or CEO. Let them sit in on go-to-market strategy meetings. Treat enablement as a business lever, not just a training function.
This simple structural change could reshape your entire sales performance trajectory.
4. 72% of high-performing sales teams have cross-functional sales enablement shared between sales and marketing
Collaboration is the winning formula
The best teams don’t argue about who owns enablement. They build it together. That’s what this stat shows. When sales and marketing both contribute to enablement, results improve across the board.
Sales brings the field insight. Marketing brings the message. Together, they create tools that reps actually use.
Shared ownership = shared success
Cross-functional enablement leads to better communication, tighter feedback loops, and faster iteration. Reps start to trust the content because it reflects what they actually experience in the field.
And marketers love it too—because their content gets used and tied to real pipeline.
How to structure it
Create a “Revenue Enablement Council” with leads from sales, marketing, product, and CS. Set shared KPIs. Assign an enablement program manager to keep everything running smoothly. And most importantly—create a system for ongoing rep feedback.
5. 58% of companies with sales-led enablement report higher win rates year-over-year
What makes sales-led models effective
When sales owns enablement, the focus tends to be very tactical. That’s not a bad thing. Reps get tools that help them close deals faster—scripts, call frameworks, and buyer playbooks tailored to the pipeline.
Sales knows where deals get stuck. So when they’re in charge, enablement directly addresses those friction points.
The link to performance
Higher win rates aren’t accidental. Sales-led enablement often comes with tighter feedback loops. Reps know where to go for help. They trust the content because they helped create it.
It becomes a real-time system, not a once-a-quarter training workshop.
Make it sustainable
The key is to avoid burnout. Don’t overload your sales leaders with enablement duties. Hire or assign a dedicated enablement resource—even if it’s just one person—to manage the program. That way, your sales team gets the benefit without losing focus on selling.
6. Organizations where marketing owns enablement see 23% higher content usage rates
Why content quality matters
When marketing runs enablement, content quality tends to go up. It looks better, sounds better, and aligns more closely with the company’s brand.
That’s why reps are more likely to use it. They don’t have to fix slides or rewrite email templates—they can just plug and play.
The visibility effect
Marketing also does a better job promoting content internally. They use internal newsletters, Slack announcements, and launch campaigns to make sure reps know what’s available. That drives adoption.
Make it work for sales
To avoid the “content graveyard,” make sure marketing is listening to rep feedback. Hold quarterly “content audits” where sales can vote on what’s helpful, what’s outdated, and what’s missing.
Also, make sure every piece of content is easy to find. Invest in a single enablement hub or content library with filters, tags, and search.
7. Companies with dual ownership of sales enablement are 31% more likely to hit revenue targets
Why shared ownership wins
When both sales and marketing co-own enablement, you get the best of both worlds. Sales contributes insight from the field. Marketing refines it into structured, consistent messaging. Together, they create a system that’s balanced, responsive, and targeted.
This setup tends to outperform single-owner models because it closes the gap between planning and execution. Marketing knows what’s working on the ground. Sales knows what’s coming next from campaigns. There’s no guessing—just aligned execution.
Revenue growth doesn’t happen by accident
Companies that hit revenue goals consistently aren’t just lucky. They have repeatable systems. Dual ownership of enablement makes that possible by ensuring that all parts of the revenue engine—messaging, training, content, and coaching—move in sync.
How to implement it
Set up shared OKRs between sales and marketing leadership. Have both teams contribute budget to the enablement function. And make cross-functional feedback mandatory for every major initiative—from onboarding playbooks to new deck rollouts.
This approach doesn’t just improve collaboration—it improves outcomes.
8. Only 19% of organizations have clearly defined sales enablement ownership in their org chart
The cost of confusion
Most companies don’t know who really owns enablement. The result? Confusion, duplicate work, outdated resources, and frustrated reps. Without a clear owner, enablement becomes a patchwork of disconnected efforts.
Reps don’t know where to go for support. Marketers push content that gets ignored. Sales leaders run redundant training sessions. It all leads to wasted time and missed revenue.
Clarity drives accountability
When ownership is defined, accountability follows. You get clear workflows. Faster updates. And better tracking of what’s working. Reps start to trust the system—and when they do, they actually use it.
Your next steps
Update your org chart. Assign a single point of contact for enablement, even if it’s a hybrid role for now. Publish that owner internally. Let people know who to contact for training, content, onboarding, and feedback.
Clear ownership is the first step toward real impact.
9. 47% of sales reps say they’re unclear who owns enablement within their organization
When reps don’t know where to go
This stat is alarming—but not surprising. Almost half of reps say they don’t know who owns enablement. That means they’re either creating their own materials or ignoring what’s provided. Neither outcome is good.
Reps need to move fast. If they don’t know where to find support, they’ll default to guesswork. That leads to inconsistent messaging, missed opportunities, and slower deal cycles.
This isn’t a rep problem—it’s a leadership problem
If reps are confused, leadership hasn’t communicated clearly. You can’t expect reps to follow a system they can’t see. You need to over-communicate who owns what and where to go for help.
Tactical fix
During onboarding, include a short section on enablement ownership. Show reps where the content lives. Introduce them to the enablement lead—live or via video. And every quarter, send a short update email reminding everyone who runs enablement and what’s new.
Visibility builds usage. Usage builds revenue.
10. When sales enablement reports into sales, ramp time is reduced by 20%
Speed matters in onboarding
The faster new reps ramp, the faster they start selling. When enablement sits inside the sales org, onboarding becomes faster and more relevant. Why? Because sales knows exactly what new reps need to succeed.
The training focuses on real-world scenarios, not generic theory. New hires get to shadow live calls, practice on real objections, and use tools that reflect current deals.
Faster doesn’t mean sloppy
This stat doesn’t mean you should rush training. It means you should cut out the fluff. Focus only on what helps new reps book meetings and close deals in their first 90 days.
That’s where sales-owned enablement excels. It’s focused, fast, and tested in the field.
Your playbook
If your reps are taking too long to ramp, take enablement out of the classroom and into the pipeline. Build a checklist of real selling activities: first cold call, first discovery, first demo. Track how quickly new reps hit those milestones.
That’s the difference between training and enablement. One teaches theory. The other drives outcomes.
11. In marketing-owned enablement models, reps spend 30% less time creating their own content
Why self-created content is a red flag
If reps are making their own decks, writing their own email templates, or stitching together one-pagers, something’s broken. It usually means the content library isn’t working—or it doesn’t exist.
In marketing-owned enablement systems, content creation is centralized and intentional. That reduces the time reps waste recreating materials. Instead, they focus on selling.
Content is fuel for sales
Marketing teams know how to build content that scales. When they lead enablement, every touchpoint—emails, case studies, battle cards—is part of a broader messaging strategy.
And when reps know exactly where to find it, they stop reinventing the wheel.
What to fix
Audit how much time your reps spend making content. If it’s more than an hour per week, that’s too much. Invest in a searchable content hub. Assign someone on marketing to own enablement requests. And make it easy for reps to give feedback when content isn’t working.
You don’t need more content—you need more usable content.
12. Only 14% of organizations have enablement owned by a standalone enablement department
Why this model is still rare
Dedicated enablement departments are still the exception, not the rule. Most companies don’t invest in a standalone team until they hit a certain scale—usually 300+ employees or more.
Before that, enablement is handled part-time by sales managers, marketers, or even HR.
But it’s growing—for a reason
When enablement becomes its own function, it gets focus. It’s no longer fighting for attention inside another team. That means better onboarding, more strategic content planning, and stronger alignment across the revenue org.
Companies that invest in a standalone team usually see better performance across the board—especially in fast-scaling environments.
How to transition
You don’t need a 5-person team to start. Assign one full-time enablement lead. Give them ownership of onboarding, training, and sales content. Have them report into the CRO or revenue operations.
Once you see the impact, scaling that team becomes a no-brainer.
13. 62% of organizations with formal enablement ownership outperform competitors in quota attainment
Structure drives performance
The word “formal” here is key. It means enablement isn’t being treated as a side task. It’s not something someone does between meetings. It’s a defined responsibility, with clear ownership, budget, and outcomes.
When enablement is formally owned—whether by sales, marketing, or a dedicated team—it becomes a strategic asset. And that shows up in the numbers.
Quota attainment improves because reps are better prepared. They’re trained faster. They use better content. And they get support that’s tied to actual business goals—not just learning goals.
Informal efforts fall short
In companies where enablement is vague or scattered, quota attainment usually suffers. Reps get mixed messages. Training is inconsistent. And there’s no clear system for feedback or improvement.
The outcome? Missed targets, slower deals, and frustrated teams.
Turn this stat into action
Start by writing down who owns enablement. Define their responsibilities. Then share that definition across the go-to-market team. Don’t wait for your company to grow before getting serious.
Even a scrappy startup can build a strong enablement function if they treat it with intent.
14. 33% of companies transition enablement ownership from marketing to sales as they scale
Growth changes the game
In early-stage startups, marketing often takes the lead on enablement. They create the decks, write the messaging, and arm the sales team. But as the company grows, sales starts to take over.
Why? Because the challenges shift. It’s no longer about building awareness. It’s about hitting aggressive quotas, onboarding fast, and executing at scale.
At that point, enablement becomes more about daily sales motion than branding or messaging.
The handoff is tricky
When you move enablement ownership from marketing to sales, there’s a risk of losing strategy and consistency. Messaging can get diluted. Content may become less polished. And reps might start going off-script.
You need to plan this transition carefully.
How to do it right
Create a joint task force to manage the handover. Document what’s working in the current system. Define what needs to change. And make sure marketing still stays involved—especially in content creation and buyer messaging.
Just because sales owns enablement doesn’t mean they should do it alone.
15. 40% of B2B companies have changed enablement ownership in the past 2 years
Ownership isn’t fixed—it evolves
Nearly half of B2B companies have switched enablement ownership recently. That tells us two things: first, enablement is becoming more important. Second, companies are still figuring out the best structure.
Some shift it from sales to marketing. Others create a new standalone function. Some merge it into revenue operations. It depends on the business model, team size, and growth stage.
Why companies make the change
Ownership changes usually happen for one of three reasons:
- The current model isn’t working.
- The company has scaled and outgrown the old structure.
- Leadership has changed, and so have priorities.
These shifts aren’t bad. But they do create confusion if not managed well.
What to do during a transition
Communicate early and often. Let teams know why the shift is happening and how it’ll benefit them. Set short-term goals to stabilize the system. And don’t make changes just for the sake of change—tie them to real pain points.
Done right, a change in ownership can unlock serious gains.
16. Sales-owned enablement correlates with a 26% increase in pipeline velocity
Faster movement, better revenue
When sales runs enablement, deals move faster. That’s what this stat shows. And it makes sense. Sales-led enablement tends to focus on practical tools—like qualification frameworks, call scripts, and buyer readiness checklists.
These tools remove friction. Reps spend less time guessing and more time advancing deals.
Why speed matters
Pipeline velocity is one of the most overlooked growth metrics. It doesn’t just measure how many deals you have—it shows how fast they move through the funnel.
A slow pipeline means revenue is delayed. A fast pipeline means faster cash flow, quicker rep success, and more accurate forecasts.
How to improve your velocity
Audit your deal stages. Where do reps slow down? What resources are missing? Then build enablement tools to support each stage—discovery, proposal, negotiation, close.
Treat enablement as a performance engine, not a training department. That shift alone could shave weeks off your sales cycle.
17. Marketing-owned enablement programs see 2x higher adoption of new messaging frameworks
Better messaging rollouts
When marketing owns enablement, new messaging sticks better. That’s because marketers know how to launch things. They use internal campaigns. They track adoption. They build training around the rollout.
Reps don’t just get a new deck—they get a full package. Talking points. Email templates. Objection responses. And a clear “why” behind the message.
Why reps follow it
When messaging feels official, supported, and easy to use, reps adopt it. But when it’s just a slide buried in a folder, it gets ignored.
That’s where marketing shines. They know how to create launch moments that drive behavior change.
How to do it well
Next time you launch a new message or positioning, treat it like a product launch. Plan a rollout. Host a kickoff call. Use enablement sessions to reinforce key points. And gather feedback from reps after a few weeks to fine-tune.
The result? Messaging that actually gets used—and drives results.
18. Organizations with unclear enablement ownership experience 2.3x more sales-marketing misalignment
The alignment killer
When no one owns enablement, the finger-pointing starts. Sales says marketing isn’t delivering. Marketing says sales isn’t using the content. And both sides get frustrated.
This misalignment shows up in the data—wasted campaigns, poor handoffs, and inconsistent messaging in the field.
Misalignment = revenue drag
When sales and marketing don’t speak the same language, deals get messy. Prospects hear one thing from an ad and something else on a call. That erodes trust and lengthens the buying cycle.
It also wastes time. Teams end up duplicating efforts or redoing each other’s work.
Fixing the root cause
The fix is simple—but not easy. Assign a single owner for enablement. Give them the job of aligning both teams. Create shared enablement goals, like deck adoption or content usage. And hold both teams accountable for results—not just handoffs.
Alignment starts with ownership. Without it, everything else breaks.
19. Only 10% of organizations review enablement ownership as part of annual strategic planning
Why this is a problem
Most companies revisit headcount, marketing spend, and sales targets every year. But they rarely review who owns enablement. That’s a huge miss. Enablement isn’t just a support function—it’s one of the biggest levers for sales productivity.
If it’s not being reviewed during strategic planning, there’s a good chance it’s not evolving with the business.
The risk of staying static
As companies grow, the needs of the sales team change. What worked for a 10-rep team doesn’t work for a 50-rep team. If enablement ownership doesn’t evolve with that growth, you end up with outdated systems, irrelevant content, and slow onboarding.
This creates a hidden drag on revenue that gets worse over time.
Make it a boardroom topic
Include enablement in your annual planning meetings. Review performance metrics like rep ramp time, win rates, and content usage. Then ask—do we have the right owner? The right budget? The right structure?
Enablement shouldn’t be buried under “miscellaneous training.” It should be treated like a revenue function. Because that’s exactly what it is.
20. 55% of enterprises assign sales enablement leadership to a VP-level role within sales
Enablement is growing up
In large enterprises, enablement is no longer an afterthought. It’s a strategic function, led by someone at the VP level. That means it has real influence, a clear seat at the table, and the authority to drive change.
This VP often oversees onboarding, training, content, coaching, and analytics—essentially owning the rep experience from hire to quota.
Why seniority matters
When enablement leadership is buried three levels down, it gets ignored. But when a VP runs it, initiatives move faster. Decisions stick. And enablement gets budget and headcount without fighting for it.
More importantly, reps and managers take it seriously.
How to think about leadership structure
If you’re an enterprise-level org—or getting there—it may be time to elevate your enablement function. Promote your top enablement lead to VP or director level. Give them cross-functional oversight. And treat them as a strategic partner, not a service provider.
This shift changes how enablement is perceived—and how effective it becomes.
21. 48% of organizations say sales enablement ownership has a direct impact on win/loss outcomes
Ownership affects outcomes
Almost half of organizations say the way enablement is structured changes their win rates. That’s huge. It means ownership isn’t just an internal debate—it’s directly tied to whether you win or lose deals.
If enablement is well-owned, reps are prepared. They know how to position. They have the right content. They’re trained to handle objections. And they go into calls with confidence.
The wrong structure costs you
When enablement is scattered, everything feels disconnected. Messaging changes don’t reach the field. Training is inconsistent. New reps take months to ramp. And prospects can feel the lack of alignment.
Over time, this shows up in your loss reasons—poor rep performance, unclear value, weak follow-up.
What to monitor
Track your win/loss trends over time. When ownership of enablement changes, does win rate improve or decline? Are reps giving feedback about training gaps or content problems?
Use win/loss analysis to connect the dots between enablement structure and deal success.
22. 36% of organizations move enablement ownership based on product launch cycles
Why flexibility helps
Over a third of companies shift enablement ownership depending on what’s happening in the business. During a major product launch, marketing might take over to ensure tight messaging. During a growth push, sales may take the lead to drive execution.
This flexible model can work well—if it’s managed clearly.
But it can get messy
Shifting ownership too often creates confusion. If reps don’t know who to go to for support, they’ll stop asking. And if responsibilities aren’t clearly handed off, important projects fall through the cracks.
The result? Missed opportunities during your most important GTM moments.
How to use this model effectively
If you plan to shift ownership seasonally or by campaign, document it in advance. Share a simple calendar that shows who’s leading what and when. Create a handoff checklist for transitions—like who owns the content library, who runs training, and how feedback loops stay intact.
Agility is powerful—but only when it’s planned.
23. 70% of companies with high-performing enablement teams have a joint governance model
What governance really means
A joint governance model means that both sales and marketing (and sometimes other teams like product or customer success) have a say in how enablement is run. It doesn’t mean everything is decided by committee—it means there’s shared input, shared goals, and shared ownership of success.
This creates alignment. Everyone has skin in the game. And decisions are better informed by multiple perspectives.
The result: performance
High-performing enablement teams aren’t just well-staffed—they’re well-connected. They don’t operate in silos. They work across the org, pull in insights, and build programs that serve the full customer journey.
That’s what governance makes possible.
How to build it
Form an enablement steering group with leads from sales, marketing, product, and customer success. Meet monthly. Review what’s working, what’s coming, and what reps are asking for.
Most importantly, make sure enablement goals roll up to shared business metrics—like pipeline conversion or revenue per rep—not just activity completion.
24. Sales-owned enablement correlates with a 19% increase in seller engagement with CRM
The CRM connection
When enablement sits inside the sales org, reps tend to use the CRM more. Why? Because the training, templates, and processes are built with sales in mind. They’re tailored to the actual workflows that reps use every day.
This means the CRM stops feeling like a chore—and starts feeling like a tool.
Engagement = better data
When reps engage more with the CRM, you get better data. That leads to more accurate forecasts, clearer pipeline visibility, and stronger performance coaching.
It also makes your enablement programs better, because now you can track what’s working at every stage of the funnel.
How to improve CRM adoption
Tie your enablement efforts directly to CRM workflows. Build training inside the CRM. Use sales stages as the structure for coaching and content. And reward usage—not just outcomes.
If your CRM is a pain point, moving enablement under sales could help turn it into a strength.
25. Only 12% of marketing-owned enablement teams track post-sale metrics like retention or upsell
Why post-sale performance matters
Sales enablement isn’t just about getting to the close—it’s also about what happens after. Retention, expansion, and customer success all connect back to how well the initial sale was handled. That means enablement should stretch beyond the first deal.
But when marketing owns enablement, that post-sale focus often gets lost. Only a small portion of those teams track metrics like renewal rates or upsell volume.
This creates blind spots
If enablement stops at closed-won, you miss crucial insights. You don’t see what messaging drives long-term loyalty. You don’t know which onboarding tools lead to better product adoption. And you don’t understand how sales behaviors impact lifetime value.
That limits your ability to improve.
How to connect the full journey
Enablement teams—regardless of who owns them—should track customer outcomes. Create a feedback loop with customer success. Review post-sale data to understand what worked in the buying process. Use that to update your playbooks and training.
Selling doesn’t stop at the deal. Neither should enablement.
26. In 61% of fast-growth startups, enablement starts under marketing before moving to sales
The startup pattern
Early-stage startups often start with marketing running enablement. It makes sense—marketing is usually responsible for defining the message and building the first decks. They know the positioning, and they’re often closer to the product team.
But as the company grows and sales teams expand, ownership tends to shift toward sales.
Why this model works—for a while
At the start, this structure helps establish brand consistency and message clarity. Reps get trained on what to say and how to say it. But as the go-to-market motion becomes more complex, marketing-led enablement starts to fall short.
Sales needs more than just good messaging. They need deal coaching, territory plans, objection handling, and stage-specific tools. That’s when ownership needs to evolve.
Planning for the handoff
If you’re in a startup that’s scaling fast, plan this transition before problems show up. Set a trigger—like hiring your 10th rep or reaching a revenue milestone—that signals it’s time to move enablement under sales.
That way, the shift feels intentional—not reactive.
27. Companies with dedicated enablement roles under marketing report 22% more consistent branding
Why consistency pays off
One of the clear strengths of marketing-led enablement is branding. When marketing runs the show, everything—decks, templates, case studies—follows a unified visual and verbal style. This builds trust with prospects and reinforces credibility.
A consistent brand makes reps look more professional. It also helps buyers feel like they’re part of a polished, well-organized experience.
But branding isn’t just about looks
Consistency goes beyond logos and colors. It’s about how the product is described. How value is framed. How pain points are addressed. And when that consistency spans all content, reps don’t have to guess what to say.
They become brand ambassadors, not freelancers.
How to lock in consistency
Even if enablement lives under sales, keep marketing involved in every content review. Use approved templates. Set guidelines for tone, messaging, and formatting. And audit decks regularly to make sure reps aren’t going rogue.
Consistency doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built into the system.
28. Only 18% of companies revisit enablement ownership when hiring a new CRO or CMO
Leadership changes are inflection points
When a new chief revenue officer or chief marketing officer joins, it’s a great time to re-evaluate structure. These leaders often bring fresh ideas, new goals, and a different view of what success looks like.
But most companies don’t use this moment to revisit enablement ownership—which means they miss a chance to realign strategy with execution.
The cost of skipping it
If your new CRO wants a more aggressive outbound motion, but enablement still sits with marketing, there could be a mismatch. Or if your new CMO wants to shift the messaging, but sales owns all the training, rollouts could fall flat.
Leadership change is a perfect moment to realign teams.
Make it part of onboarding
When a new executive starts, include enablement structure in the onboarding conversation. Review where it sits, how it’s working, and where the gaps are. Ask the new leader how they want to approach go-to-market strategy—and adjust ownership accordingly.
It’s a simple step that can prevent months of misalignment.
29. 43% of companies say conflicting priorities between sales and marketing hinder enablement success
The classic tension
Sales wants more qualified leads and faster close support. Marketing wants consistent messaging and scalable content. When these priorities clash, enablement becomes the battleground.
Reps ignore what marketing creates. Marketing feels unheard. And the buyer ends up with a disjointed experience.
Why alignment is non-negotiable
If your sales and marketing teams aren’t aligned on enablement goals, the whole system starts to break. Reps don’t trust the content. Marketers don’t know what’s working. And training feels irrelevant.
Alignment isn’t just about agreeing—it’s about collaborating toward a common outcome.
How to bridge the gap
Set shared enablement goals. Use a common enablement roadmap. Have joint reviews of content performance. And most importantly, create space for reps to give feedback on what’s useful and what’s not.
When both teams are building the system together, success becomes a shared victory—not a point of tension.
30. 80% of organizations with clear, centralized enablement ownership report higher sales productivity
Clarity drives action
When enablement is centralized and clearly owned, everyone knows where to go for support. Reps aren’t guessing. Managers aren’t duplicating work. And leaders can measure what’s working and what’s not.
This clarity unlocks productivity. Reps spend more time selling and less time searching for tools, rewriting content, or waiting for help.
Centralized doesn’t mean isolated
You can have centralized ownership while still collaborating across functions. In fact, the best enablement teams are centralized for accountability, but cross-functional in execution.
They gather input from sales, marketing, product, and CS—but they own the rollout and adoption.
How to centralize
Create a single enablement charter. Assign one team or leader full accountability. Build an internal enablement hub that houses all content, training, and tools. And communicate clearly—across every team—who owns what.
When ownership is clear, productivity follows. Every time.
Conclusion:
The debate over who owns sales enablement—sales or marketing—isn’t just an internal turf war. It’s a decision that shapes how fast your reps ramp, how aligned your messaging stays, and ultimately, how much revenue you generate.
