Last week, I had the opportunity to speak at the Seismic City Tour in Sydney, a truly energising event packed with sales leaders, enablement professionals, and curious change-makers all asking the same question:

“What’s really going on in our deals and what do we need to do differently to win in 2025?”

Let me tell you: the answer isn’t “more calls” or “sharper decks.”
It’s better enablement, and that means something very different than it did even 12 months ago.

From the Sidelines to the C-Suite

What struck me most throughout the day was this:
Enablement has finally earned the right to be strategic.

Not reactive. Not back-office. Not “just training.”
But front and centre in how organisations are equipping their teams to win.

Doug Winter from Seismic said it beautifully: “Enablement is the engine that turns strategy into action.”

I’d go one step further: Enablement is the difference between hoping your sales strategy sticks and making sure it actually does.

What I Shared from the Main Stage

In my keynote, I unpacked one of the clearest and most confronting trends emerging from our Win/Loss research over the past 12 months.

Let me cut to the chase:

The #1 reason deals are being lost right now? Risk.

Not functionality gaps. Not competitor pricing. Not a lack of product-market fit.

It’s the creeping perception that your solution, your team, a big change, new technology, and a hundred other factors are just too risky right now.

Another “Aha moment” for many of the CRO’s and Sales Enablement leaders in the room:

Risk doesn’t always look like risk.

Sometimes it shows up as silence.
Sometimes it looks like a “no decision.”
Sometimes it’s masked behind “budget cuts” or “change in direction.”

But what it really means is: “I’m not convinced this is safe enough to say yes to.”

When that clicked, you could feel the room shift. Heads nodded. Notes were scribbled. Folks started snapping pictures of my slides.

That’s the power of enablement when it’s done right. Not as internal training, but as an external enabler of trust.

Sales Has Changed. Have You?

If you’re still focusing your pitch primarily on features, price or timelines, you’re missing the point.

Right now, buyers aren’t just comparing options.
They’re evaluating risk, reputation, and relationships.

In a high-pressure buying cycle, the vendor who wins is usually the one who:

• Makes the process feel easy and human

• Provides clarity over complexity

• Demonstrates reliability under pressure

• Shows how they’ve helped people “like me” succeed

A New Standard for Enablement

So what does that mean for sales enablement?

It means moving from just training to translating.
From tools and templates to real-world readiness.

You can have the best tech stack on the planet, but if your reps don’t know how to navigate complex deals, de-risk decisions, or adapt to buyer hesitation, your pipeline is just a spreadsheet full of false hope.

Enablement’s job now is to help your team:

• Build deal narratives that address risk early

• Deliver proposals that feel tailored and trustworthy

• Stay proactive when buyers go quiet

• Lead conversations - not follow scripts

Final Thought: Trust Is the Real Differentiator

You can’t automate trust.

You can’t shortcut it with slick branding or last-minute discounts.

You build it by showing up. By listening better. By making it safe for buyers to say yes.

That’s what we talked about in Sydney. That’s what the best revenue teams are prioritising right now.

And if you’re not… your competitors probably are.

Let’s stop marking our own homework and start building the systems, teams, and strategies that win real trust.