Why Sales Enablement Needs Instructional Design Thinking

A few years ago, I didn’t expect to find myself working in sales enablement. My background was in instructional design and curriculum, and I thought, “What could I possibly bring to a revenue team?”

But once I got my bearings, I realized I had more to offer than I thought. Salespeople know how to build relationships and talk to customers—but when it comes to training, reinforcement, and behavior change, that’s where instructional design thinking really shines.

Here’s why: Salespeople are adult learners too. Knowles’ six principles of adult learning map almost perfectly onto what sales reps need.

·      Need to know: Reps won’t care about training unless they see the link to closing deals. ISDs make the “why” crystal clear.

·      Self-concept: Reps want partners, not lectures. Coaching, dialogue, and roleplay work far better than top-down training.

·      Experience: Salespeople learn best by doing. Live demos, simulations, and just-in-time refreshers beat static e-learning every time.

·      Readiness to learn: Reps are often busy—tools like battle cards or short on-demand videos support them at the moment of need.

·      Orientation to learning: They are problem-centered, not content-centered. Good design keeps training focused on solving customer challenges.

·      Motivation: Culture and buy-in matter. Without motivation, even the best enablement strategy falls flat.

And the stats back this up: most sales professionals forget 70% of training within a week and up to 87% within a month (Exec.com). Without design that reinforces and applies learning, the knowledge just slips away.

That’s why sales enablement needs instructional design thinking. It’s not just about creating content for reps—it’s about designing learning experiences that stick, motivate, and translate directly into results.

If you’re in sales enablement or L&D, I’d love to hear how you bridge these worlds.