You just joined as the first PMM. You shadow your first sales call and realize: every rep pitches the product differently. Half the team doesn't know how to handle the most common objection. The pitch deck has slides from two product generations ago.
Sales enablement doesn't exist. You need to build it. And sales quota doesn't pause while you figure it out.
Here's how to build sales enablement from zero in your first 90 days.
Shadow Before You Create Anything
The biggest mistake new PMMs make is creating enablement materials before understanding how sales actually works.
You show up with battlecards from your last company, a messaging framework you learned in a course, and ideas about what sales "should" be doing.
Then you're confused when nobody uses what you created.
Start by shadowing. Join 10-15 sales calls before you create a single asset. Mix:
- Discovery calls (early stage)
- Demos (mid-stage)
- Closing calls (late stage)
- Competitive situations
Take detailed notes on:
What messaging actually resonates: When does the prospect lean in? What phrases make them ask questions?
Where reps struggle: What questions stump them? What objections kill momentum?
What materials they use: Which slides do they actually show? What do they send after calls?
How they talk about competition: What positioning works? What falls flat?
After 15 calls, you'll understand the sales motion. Now you can build enablement that fits reality.
Start With Competitive Battlecards
Your first enablement project should be competitive battlecards. They're high impact, fast to create, and immediately useful.
Interview your top three sales reps for each major competitor. Ask:
"When you're competing against [Competitor], what messaging wins?"
"What objections do you hear most?"
"What proof points close the deal?"
Create one-page battlecards with three sections:
How to position against them: 3-4 key messages that differentiate you.
Common objections and responses: The questions you'll get and how to answer them.
Proof points that work: Customer examples, data points, or capabilities that win.
Format matters. One page. PDF. Clear headers. Bullets, not paragraphs.
Test with 2-3 reps before sharing broadly. Ask: "Is this useful? What's missing?"
Iterate based on feedback. Then share in your sales Slack: "Updated battlecards for top 3 competitors. Try them and let me know what works."
Track usage through Slack reactions and replies. If reps aren't using them, something's wrong. Fix it.
Fix the Pitch Deck
Every early-stage company has a pitch deck that needs help. It's too long, too feature-focused, or outdated.
Don't rebuild it from scratch. That takes weeks and creates change management issues. Instead, improve it incrementally.
Pull the current deck. Shadow three calls where it's used. Note:
Which slides get skipped: Delete these. If reps don't use them, customers don't need them.
Where prospects look confused: These slides need clearer messaging or better visuals.
Where conversations get derailed: Usually overly complex slides that raise questions you don't want to answer yet.
Make three types of fixes:
Clarify value props: Replace feature lists with outcome statements. "Real-time collaboration" becomes "Your team updates the same plan simultaneously instead of emailing versions back and forth."
Simplify complex slides: If a slide has 6 bullet points and 3 graphs, it's three slides. Split it up.
Update proof points: Replace old customer examples and outdated metrics with current numbers.
Ship the updated deck to your top 3 reps first. Have them use it on 5 calls. Get feedback. Iterate.
Then roll it out broadly with context: "Updated deck based on feedback from [rep names]. Key changes: [list 3 improvements]. Try it and let me know what works."
Create an Objection Handling Guide
Sales calls stall when reps don't know how to handle objections. Your job is giving them confident responses.
Pull recordings or notes from your shadowing. List every objection you heard. Common ones:
"This seems expensive." "We're happy with [current solution]." "We tried something like this before and it didn't work." "We need [feature you don't have]." "Can you just do [thing that's not your product]?"
For each objection, create a response structure:
Acknowledge: Show you understand the concern.
Reframe: Change the context of the question.
Prove: Provide evidence that addresses the concern.
Example for "This seems expensive":
Acknowledge: "I understand budget is a concern."
Reframe: "Most customers find the real cost is what they're spending on [current inefficient process]. We typically save teams [X hours] per week, which is worth [Y dollars] in time."
Prove: "[Customer name] was spending $50K annually on [manual process]. They're now saving $80K with our product at $30K. Net positive impact was $100K in year one."
Create a 2-3 page guide with responses for your top 10 objections. Share in sales Slack. Role-play them in your next sales team meeting.
Build a Basic Demo Script
Most reps demo by showing every feature. This overwhelms prospects and extends sales cycles.
Create a demo script that tells a story instead of showing features.
Problem setup: "Most teams struggle with [specific pain]."
Current state: "You're probably doing [manual process] today."
Better state: "Here's how this works with [your product]."
Proof: "This is how [customer name] uses it."
Next step: "Want to try this yourself?"
This takes 5-10 minutes. It's not a comprehensive feature walkthrough. It's a value demonstration that leads to qualification.
Work with your best demo rep to create this script. Record them giving it. Share the recording with the team as the standard approach.
Reps can customize for specific prospects, but the core story stays consistent.
Establish Weekly Enablement Rhythm
Sales enablement isn't a one-time project. It's an ongoing rhythm.
Set up a weekly cadence:
Enablement update email: Every Friday, send a 3-5 bullet email to sales with new resources, competitive updates, or messaging refinements.
Office hours: Two hours per week when any rep can grab you with questions about positioning, competition, or specific deals.
Win/loss review: Monthly 30-minute session where sales shares recent wins and losses. You extract patterns and update enablement.
This rhythm creates consistent touchpoints. Sales knows when to expect new resources and how to get help.
Measure Enablement Impact
Track whether your enablement is actually helping close deals:
Usage metrics: Are reps downloading battlecards? Using the new deck? Applying objection responses?
Sales feedback: Ask 3 reps monthly: "What enablement helped most this month? What do you still need?"
Win rate impact: Compare win rates before and after new battlecards or messaging. If there's no change, your enablement isn't working.
Time to productivity: Are new reps ramping faster with your materials?
Don't create enablement that doesn't affect these metrics. Usage without impact is waste.
What to Build Later
You can't build everything at once. Start with battlecards, deck improvements, objection handling, and demo script.
Build later when you have bandwidth:
- Comprehensive sales playbook
- Certification programs
- Advanced competitive intelligence platform
- Recorded training library
- Customer case study database
These are valuable. But they're not urgent when you're building from zero.
The Enablement Priority Test
When deciding what to build next, ask:
"Will this help reps close deals this quarter?"
If yes, build it. If no, defer it.
Helps close deals: Competitive battlecards, objection responses, updated value props, customer proof points.
Doesn't help close deals yet: Brand guidelines, comprehensive product documentation, marketing theory training, internal process docs.
Focus on revenue impact. Everything else can wait.
Start Simple, Iterate Fast
Sales enablement from zero isn't about building comprehensive programs. It's about:
- Understanding how sales actually works through shadowing
- Creating high-impact assets (battlecards, deck, objection guide, demo script)
- Establishing weekly rhythm so enablement stays current
- Measuring what actually helps close deals
- Iterating based on rep feedback and win/loss data
You don't need a 40-page playbook. You need reps who know how to position value, handle objections, and close competitive deals.
Build that first. Everything else is optimization.