Salesforce Enablement: Sales Programs Review and Alternatives

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The Salesforce Enablement Sales Programs is designed to activate seller productivity through programs connected to their daily workflow and sales results. The program enables sales reps with AI-powered training, coaching, resources, and tools needed to do their work. 

Research shows that sales enablement programs can help sellers achieve a 49% win rate on forecasted deals. Unlike traditional enablement platforms that require sellers to leave their CRM and workflow to be enabled, this solution brings enablement to reps and also provides visualization of revenue metrics so reps understand the metric they’re working towards. 

But…is Salesforce’s Sales Programs the best choice for Salesforce enablement? This Salesforce Enablement sales programs review will cover all necessary information, including the features, pros & cons, and program pricing. You’ll also learn other platform alternatives if you decide Salesforce’s program does not align with your business needs. 

What is Salesforce Enablement? 

Salesforce Enablement is a sales readiness platform built inside Salesforce that offers various enablement programs, such as sales force automation, sales programs, sales AI, sales analytics, and more. 

Enablement is customizable in Salesforce, and businesses can create programs unique to their sales pipeline, processes, products, and services. Through the enablement data model, users can define measures, tasks, program outcomes, milestones, and exercises that will be used to track seller progress.

What is Salesforce’s Sales Programs Tool? 

The Salesforce Sales Programs tool is one of its enablement products. It is built for businesses to provide AI-powered sales programs in sellers' workflows, coaching, feedback on reps' pitches, and improved conversational skills. 

The enablement platform equips sellers with best practices templates developed by a global enablement team. It integrates related sales enablement platforms like a sales cloud for automation, intelligence, and data, conversation insights for sales calls, built-in sales engagement tools, and a revenue intelligence solution with purpose-built analytics. 

With this tool, businesses can set up sales programs in Salesforce Lightning Experience by selecting from a list of available templates and reviewing specific requirements for the program. For example, you can find a template to help sales reps sell new products and customize it to specify milestones, outcomes, and exercises for common sales use cases. 

Salesforce Enablement: Salesforce Sales Program Feature Review

Here are the key features, pros, and cons of the Salesforce sales program:

Salesforce Sales Programs features

  • Guidance Center: Provide program activities and resources like guides, templates, sales scripts, etc., that sales reps can surface as needed

  • AI-powered coaching & feedback: Embed pitch practices and coaching guidance directly in Salesforce
  • Conversation insights & milestones: Improve sales reps performance on calls using call intelligence data and conversation milestones for talk and listen-to rations, product mentions, and talk tracks
salesforce conversation

  • Revenue milestones: Embed specific rep tasks in sales programs and configure revenue milestones for possible productivity gaps 
  • In-app guidance: Provide step-by-step guidance for complex processes and program reminders/updates
  • Program analytics: Track the progress and impact of sales programs with dashboards and analytics that reveal activities driving revenue
analytics
  • Program builder: Create and launch sales programs tied to specific sales goals with a no-code builder inside Salesforce
program builder
  • Templates: Design best practices templates for business use cases, pipeline generation, cross-selling, upselling, etc.
templates

  • Automated program enrollment: Trigger automatic enrollment for sellers into programs based on seller performance and challenges

Salesforce Sales Programs Pros

Wondering how the Salesforce Sales Programs can benefit your business? Here’s how:

  • Advanced reporting and analytics 
  • Drag and drop simplicity when building programs 
  • Robust data protection measures
  • Scalability

Salesforce Sales Programs Cons

According to reviews on G2 and Capterra, these are some of the cons that users have complained about:

  • Some users on Capterra say Salesforce is relatively expensive, especially for small businesses
  • Customers in reviews on G2, have issues with Salesforce’s steep learning curve
  • Compatibility issues when integrating existing tech stack
  • Program customization requires technical expertise
  • User reviews reveal that the platform has a clunky UI that can be a bit confusing 

Sales Programs Pricing

Salesforce offers two pricing options for the sales programs:

  • Sales Programs: This pricing option is billed annually at $100/user/month. It is designed for selling within a CRM. It provides access to revenue milestones, guidance center, and enablement analytics.  
  • Partner Tracks: This option allows sellers to activate partners with outcome-based enablement. It provides in-app guidance, milestones & outcomes, and enablement analytics. The pricing is not available on Salesforce’s website. 

Best Salesforce Enablement Sales Programs Alternatives

Have you been searching for the best alternatives to Salesforce’s Sales Programs? Here they are:

1. Spekit

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Spekit

Spekit is the leading modern sales enablement software built to meet the needs of today's fast-paced sales teams. Spekit's unified platform solves for sales content management, knowledge and enablement, change management, employee onboarding & training, and more.

Spekit differs from traditional enablement platforms like Salesforce Enablement by offering a just-in-time enablement solution that combines a personalized rep experience with a scalable content platform. Spekit CMS offers a more intuitive, contextual user experience, focusing on content access and delivery, and is less expensive than Salesforce Enablement. Salesforce Enablement can be extremely complicated for admins and end users, difficult to search and manage.

Read here to learn how one customer switched from an existing CMS like Salesforce Enablement to Spekit to solve their CMS needs and achieved 90% faster content discovery by reps.

Spekit delivers contextual, personalized enablement assistance through AI Sidekick, providing resources within CRM, email, and Slack. AI Sidekick captures context signals to understand a rep's activity. For example, it analyzes email content or call scripts to prep for the next call. Unlike traditional platforms, Spekit integrates directly into reps’ workflows, providing quick access to training and enablement resources within tools like Salesforce and LinkedIn. Through automated sales content management, Spekit provides direct and quick access to sales materials, eliminating the need to spend hours searching for information. Enablement teams can surface the exact playbooks, processes, sales content, messaging, and collateral sales reps need to close pipeline - exactly when and where they're needed.

Spekit’s robust native integrations extend beyond applications available in Chrome, enabling users to connect to CRMs, enterprise SSOs, and other sales productivity and communication tools. Businesses that use Spekit can boast of achieving 20% higher quota attainment, 69% more time spent on selling, and 30% faster ramp time.

Spekit Key Sales Enablement Platform Features:

  • Content Management Repository / Knowledge base: File storage, file syncing, custom fields, tags
  • Content integrations: Real-time content syncing GoogleDrive, Sharepoint, Confluence
  • In-the-flow of work extensions: Google Chrome Extension, Microsoft edge extension, Slack, Outlook ensure enablement is delivered where your reps are working
  • SSO integrations and support: Okta, Azure, Ping Identity and more
  • Governance features: Governance dashboard and reporting, version control, roles, content access permissions
  • Trackable links: track buyer’s engagement with sales content using unique shareable links that alert sellers when a buyer engages with content
  • Deal Rooms: Deal rooms create a centralized hub for buyers and sellers to collaborate, access key content, and accelerate deals with personalized, trackable resources.

ProTip: Any sales enablement platform you should select should at a minimum have the above functionality. Get a more in-depth overview of these features and how to choose what's best for your business by scrolling to the bottom of this post.

Key Unique Capabilities:

  • Browser extension: Embed and surface resources for sales reps across any tool using the Chrome extension
  • Embedded in-app guidance (Speks): Use Speks to create easily digestible sales content, training, and guides that reps can access in their workflow and embed with tool tips
  • Spotlights: Alert reps of new sales or training content and time-sensitive updates using Spotlights to communicate important announcements and send reminders on tasks to be completed 
  • Just-in-time Knowledge checks: Assess the retention rates and effectiveness of sales training/coaching with short bite-sized  quizzes

Spekit Key AI Features:

  • AI Sidekick: the rep's just in time enablement assistant
    • Context-aware intelligence layer: Spekit's proprietary context-aware intelligence layer delivers just-in-time, relevant content and guidance within the flow of work.
    • AI Chatbot: Reps can chat with AI Sidekick to get answers, draft personalized emails, find the perfect content and more.
    • Contextual, deal-driven AI content recommendations: Don't guess, use AI Sidekick next to any email, call or Salesforce Opportunity to get the exact content , training, deal rooms, and knowledge recommended to you automatically.
  • Spekit AI Editor: Achieve rapid content authoring, summarize lengthy documents, and translate sales content into multiple languages with Spekit AI. When the content sales reps need is not readily available, Spekit AI enables you to whip up content within minutes. It is powered by generative artificial intelligence and is a content assistant for creating playbooks, tool training, SOPs, persona guides, and objection-handling documents.  With Spekit AI, your sales content practically writes itself!
  • Automated AI Deduping: Automatically identifies duplicate content

Visit Spekit to learn more

Spekit vs. Salesforce Enablement: A Head-to-Head Comparison

Ease of Use

  • Spekit: Teams can begin using it immediately. It fits naturally into the tools and routines they already rely on, allowing them to stay focused on selling—not figuring out new software.
  • Salesforce Enablement: Its suite of training, content management, and analytics tools requires careful setup and dedicated oversight. Many teams report needing significant admin time just to maintain basic usability.

Content Management

  • Spekit: Spekit acts as your central hub for all sales enablement content. Updating, organizing, and managing your decks, battlecards, and messaging is fast, and changes are instantly visible right where people work. This keeps reps aligned and eliminates "where's the latest deck?" moments.
  • Salesforce Enablement: Offers advanced content control, but edits often live behind publishing queues or layered approval processes.

Integration & Connectivity

  • Spekit: Either replaces or seamlessly pulls content from tools like Google Drive, SharePoint, and Confluence. This consolidates your resources into one intelligent platform, meaning less friction getting started and fewer support tickets later. It also connects instantly with everyday tools like Salesforce, Gmail, and Gong.
  • Salesforce Enablement: While it integrates with major platforms like Microsoft and Salesforce, the setup often requires upfront technical effort and ongoing coordination.

Training and Onboarding

  • Spekit: Training happens naturally—right as sales reps are doing the task. For example, when a rep hovers over a field in Salesforce, a Spekit tooltip might appear explaining what to enter and why it matters. This kind of contextual guidance helps reps learn without interrupting their flow. No need to send reps off to portals or chase LMS completions.
  • Salesforce Enablement: Provides formal training infrastructure. Useful for scheduled programs, but less ideal for on-the-fly support in fast-moving environments.

3 AI Sidekick Features You Can’t (or aren't as smooth) in Salesforce Enablement

Sometimes the differences come down to what you can actually do day-to-day. Here are a few features Spekit users rely on that aren't available—or aren't nearly as smooth—in Salesforce Enablement:

  1. AI-Powered Content Recommendations & Deal Room Surfacing: Spekit's AI Sidekick leverages context-aware intelligence from your current workflow (like an open email, call transcript, or Salesforce Opportunity) to automatically recommend the exact content, training, or even relevant Deal Rooms your buyer needs. No more guessing or digging.
  2. Instant Answers & Automated Content Creation: Chat directly with your AI Sidekick to get real-time answers to questions. Even better, when content is missing, Spekit AI Editor allows you to rapidly draft personalized emails, playbooks, or objection-handling documents in minutes, with content that practically writes itself.
  3. Real-Time Coaching & In-Workflow Guidance: Spekit AI Sidekick doesn't just suggest content; it acts as your always-on, just-in-time enablement assistant, providing real-time sales coaching. This means you're getting smart guidance and support precisely when and where you're working, directly in your flow.

These features don't just save time—they make enablement a live, responsive layer within your workflow and as your primary content system.

2. SalesLoft

Salesloft is an enablement platform that’s best for managing revenue workflows. It is an AI-powered revenue orchestration solution that equips marketing and sales teams with tools like sales call tracking and lead management and offers courses/certifications to upskill sellers. 

Salesloft has an AI-powered signal-to-action tool for prioritizing sellers' workflow, mapping buyer signals in real time, and consolidating their tech stack into one platform. It offers APIs for custom integrations with other enablement software.

salesloft workflow

Key Features:

  • Pipeline management and forecasting 
  • AI-powered buyer engagement platform 
  • Sales forecasting tool
  • Rhythm for prioritizing seller workflows

3. Hubspot

Hubspot is a customer enablement platform that provides resources, software, and integrations businesses need to connect their sales, marketing, and customer-facing teams to training, coaching, and resources. It has various hubs: sales, marketing, service, content, operations, and commerce, all connected to a single CRM database for teams to view customer data at each stage of the customer journey.

The Hubspot academy gives sales teams access to pre-built selling courses, training, and coaching. The platform also provides developer tools for building customized integrations and websites. It integrates with Gmail, Shopify, Mailchimp, and Zapier.

Key Features:

  • ClearBit by Hubspot to clean public data into standardized data sets 
  • AI website builder and content writer 
  • Marketing automation, analytics, and lead generation
  • Knowledge base 

4. Revenue.io

Revenue.io offers enablement for pipeline generation, sales engagement, quota attainment, sales coaching, and rep ramp time. It is an AI-powered platform that helps businesses give real-time guidance to sales reps and customer success teams. The platform automates sales engagement, enabling reps to keep track of customer conversations and follow up properly. 

Revenue.io provides solutions for sales reps to target customers at the right time and send personalized pitches or sales content. The platform integrates with productivity tools like Salesforce, Zoom, and Gmail.

revenue summary

Key Features:

  • Sales analytics tool
  • Call recording software for conversation intelligence
  • Revenue intelligence solution
  • Sales cadence software for tracking buyers

5. Reply.io

Reply.io is a sales engagement solution designed to automate customer outreach and scale multi-channel customer acquisition. It helps businesses build multi-channel sequences for seller workflow from the prospecting stage through customer touchpoints and engagement scenarios. It provides an AI sales assistant to help sales reps compose emails and handle basic customer responses. 

Reply.io is useful for inbound and outbound sales, account-based sales, agency prospecting, and recruitment. It integrates with Hubspot and Salesforce and lets users build their own tech stack using no-code tools and APIs. 

 Key Features:

  • Email health check
  • Google postmaster integration
  • Social network automation
  • Reporting and analytics 

6. SalesOS

SalesOS has an enterprise sales program framework for businesses to manage sellers, pitches, and pipeline stages. It helps improve sales pipeline health through customized solutions, from assessing your existing sales program to building and deploying a customized sales operating blueprint. 

Key Features:

  • Profit management 
  • Talent management 
  • Pipeline management 
  • Communications management 

7. Groove

Groove is a sales and revenue enablement platform acquired by Clari. It unifies a business's revenue enablement efforts on a single platform using tools like a custom-built go-to-market strategy engine, AI-assisted selling, sales prospecting, and automated lead follow-up. 

Groove automates seller workflow using triggers that can be set up to perform time-sensitive tasks or actions. It provides native integrations to Salesforce and LinkedIn Sales Navigator. 

Key Features:

  • Workflow automation
  • A/B testing 
  • Conversation intelligence 
  • Analytics 

8. Showpad

Showpad is an enterprise operating system that enables sellers with the training, content, and materials needed to engage buyers. It offers AI-powered solutions for sales content management, buyer engagement, seller coaching, and analytics. 

Showpad’s core is its shared spaces designed for collaboration between buyers and sellers. The platform further supports collaboration through an open API and preconfigured integrations that fit into existing workflows and processes. 

Key Features:

  • Sales content management 
  • Seller and enablement analytics
  • Guided selling 
  • 360 immersive showrooms for buyer engagement 

9. Allego

Allego is a learning and enablement platform that works best for training sales enablement teams. It is designed for hybrid sales teams to access the necessary skills, content, and knowledge. Sellers can leverage peer-to-peer learning to boost retention rates and receive feedback on their engagements with customers through conversation intelligence. 

Allego supports revenue objectives like activating seller channels, designing digital buyer experiences, and launching new products and processes. The platforms integrate with Dropbox, Hubspot, and Cloudcall.  

Key Features:

  • Digital Sales Rooms for engaging buyers
  • Sales content management 
  • Conversation intelligence tool
  • Analytics and reporting tool

10. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales is built to enable sales reps to sell more easily with AI-powered enablement, automation, and real-time insights built into their flow of work. It helps businesses prioritize their pipeline through AI scoring models and data visualizations of prospects/customers. 

It integrates with all other Microsoft 365 apps so reps can sync customer data across their tech stack.

Key Features:

  • Customer-specific email draft generator
  • Real-time insights 
  • Copilot for generating summaries of customer details
  • AI-based scoring models  

Choose the Best Alternative to Salesforce’s Sales Programs Tool

If you’ve evaluated the Salesforce Sales Programs, but it is relatively expensive, has a steep learning curve delaying reps’ adoption, or has compatibility issues with your existing tech stack, you should try an alternative platform that offers all the features and functionality you need to give your sales reps AI-powered sales enablement. 

Spekit is a great alternative to Salesforce’s Sales Programs tool. This leading sales enablement platform centralizes and automatically surfaces the content, training, and answers sales reps need to sell smarter and faster in any tool and workflow. 

With Spekit’s infinitely easier content creation, versatile access, and real-time knowledge surfacing, your sales reps will thank you for simplifying their day-to-day processes and will surely achieve whatever sales or revenue metric their workflow is connected to. 

Plus, Spekit integrates seamlessly with Salesforce to enable sales reps to access and surface whatever materials they need while working in Salesforce without leaving the platform. It is the only Salesforce digital adoption platform providing enablement in the flow of work. With a direct, one-click integration, you can set up and maximize your Salesforce investment ROI.  

Spekit’s clients have been able to cut rep onboarding time to less than 90 days, overcome siloed knowledge, grow their sales team, and skyrocket seller productivity. 

Visit Spekit to learn more

FAQs

Still have questions? Let's chat!

About the author

Elle Morgan
Director, Content & Communications
Elle is a boy momma 2x, brand builder, storyteller, growth hacker, and marketing leader with 12+ years of experience scaling SaaS B2B organizations.
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