What's Next for Revenue Enablement in 2026: Insights from Industry Leaders

Sales enablement has never been more visible… or more vital. Yet as go-to-market teams evolve, so does the definition of enablement itself.

It’s no longer just about equipping sellers with playbooks and content. It’s about connecting every part of the revenue journey – from first conversation to renewal – through systems that enable both people and performance.

Our recent research, Enablement Beyond Content: 2025 Benchmark Report, revealed a function at a crossroads. Teams are investing more, expanding their scope across Sales and CS, and experimenting with AI, but only a fraction have reached true alignment. The parts are there. The system isn’t.

To understand what the next phase looks like, we spoke with the people shaping it – leaders redefining what enablement means in 2025 and beyond.

Their perspectives share a common thread: Enablement is moving from activity to motion, from support to strategy, and from content to connection.

Here’s what the future looks like through their eyes.

From training to transformation: Redefining enablement’s purpose

For years, enablement lived under the banner of training: Teaching sellers how to pitch better, prospect smarter, or follow a process. But as markets, buyers, and technology evolved, so did the limits of that approach. The future of enablement isn’t about adding more sessions, decks, or content. It’s about changing how revenue teams think and operate.

As André Solomon, Sales Enablement Manager at MoEngage, put it:

“Many companies mistake revenue enablement for a traditional L&D function. They fall into the trap of transactional training and enforced programs. But enablement isn't about teaching – it’s about change management. The real goal is to drive long-term strategic programs with clear KPIs that directly impact revenue.”

This shift marks a clear line between Enablement 1.0 and Enablement 2.0.

Enablement 1.0 focused on readiness – onboarding, materials, and workshops. Enablement 2.0 is about transformation – shaping systems, behaviors, and decisions that move the entire GTM engine.

Kunal Pandya, VP of Global Revenue Enablement at Corsearch, echoed this sentiment:

“Enablement isn’t about creating more assets or running more sessions. It’s about building the systems, skills, and alignment that directly impact win rates, deal size, cycle time, and retention. In other words, enablement isn’t broken because of bad content. It’s broken because too few teams are tying it directly to growth.”

The next generation of enablement leaders are stepping beyond content delivery and into organizational design. They’re not just training reps, they’re engineering the conditions for consistent, scalable growth.

Alignment and the human multiplier: Building systems that empower people

If Enablement 1.0 was about training individuals, Enablement 2.0 is about aligning everyone – sellers, managers, and customer teams – around a shared rhythm of execution. The future of enablement isn’t a single function. It’s the system that turns individual talent into collective performance.

As Gary R. Waldron, GTM Enablement Manager at PandaDoc, put it:

“Revenue Enablement is more than just support. We are a force multiplier. Our role is to transform individual talent into resilient, repeatable growth for the entire revenue organization. We are the agents facilitating alignment, serving our team with the skills and knowledge required to succeed – individually and together. When we empower our people, we build an unstoppable engine for growth.”

That “force multiplier” mindset is what separates motion from maintenance. When enablement builds bridges between Sales, CS, and RevOps, it stops being a back-office function and becomes the cultural core of how growth happens.

But alignment doesn’t just live at the organizational level — it starts with leadership.

As Sonia Pupaza, Revenue Enablement Lead at Empower Value, reminded us:

“The sales manager is your most powerful enablement tool. It's surprising how many companies still don't give them the resources they need to truly become a force multiplier. The best bet for unlocking team's potential and hitting quota consistently is investing in sales manager enablement. It’s all about helping managers:

- Spot and coach skill gaps

- Use AI to drive adoption, upskill and refocus on buyer's journey

- Master the crucial skill of change management."

The best enablement leaders know that clarity beats control.

They empower managers to coach, sellers to self-correct, and teams to operate with shared understanding. It’s not just about giving people what they need — it’s about giving them a system that helps them move together.

AI, performance, and the human connection

AI has entered the enablement conversation in full force, but the leaders shaping its future aren’t talking about replacing people. They’re talking about enhancing performance by connecting human judgment with machine intelligence.

As Bob London, Customer Discovery & Listening Expert, put it:

“Most B2B customer conversations are “below the line.” About what you want the customer to know and what you need from them. And AI? It politely records it all and spits out… whatever it heard. Here’s the fix: Before you worry about “AI enablement,” fix your human enablement.Let’s stop feeding AI stale breadcrumbs. Let’s give it substance. Because the best enablement strategy in 2025 isn’t just AI-powered… It’s customer-powered.”

That’s the balance enablement now faces – building systems that help humans work smarter, not disappear behind automation.

Nick Lawrence, Manager of Global Sales Enablement at Databricks, warned of the same risk:

“If your strategy centers around using AI to create content faster, you’re pacing to replace yourself. The enablement teams that succeed in the future will be those who can understand performance contexts and engineer performance environments.”

Lawrence Wayne O’Connor, Founder at Storytechr, echoed that sentiment with a challenge to leaders:

“Enablement leaders don’t need better tech. They need a clearer point of view. We’re spending too much time asking “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘐?” And not enough time asking “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦?” That mindset shift matters. Because slapping AI on broken workflows won’t transform GTM. It’ll just make bad processes faster.”

And while some see AI as a disruptor, others see it as an invitation.

Nicole Carpenter, Sales Enablement Manager at Ziflow, summed it up best:

“The role of enablement has shifted. We see it clearly in today’s buying environment, but what’s really starting to take shape is that it’s no longer just about enabling people; it’s also about enabling AI and machine learning. This creates an opportunity for enablement to embed deeper across the organization by shaping and training the very tools sellers use every day, making support more accessible and available in the flow of work.”

The takeaway is clear: The best enablement leaders aren’t racing to automate everything, they’re rethinking how AI and humans co-create value.

AI may analyze the signals, but it’s people who turn them into motion.

Expansion, retention, and the unified revenue motion

For years, enablement’s spotlight stayed fixed on the top of the funnel, helping sellers close new business faster. But in 2025, the real opportunity lies beyond the first deal. Growth now depends on how well organizations enable expansion, retention, and advocacy.

As Gail Behun, Head of Revenue Enablement at Headway, put it:

“If expansion is going to be the #1 driver of growth, enablement can’t just stay focused on hunters. We have to lead from the front in deeper AM and CSM enablement – arming teams with the skills, playbooks, and coaching to uncover value, drive adoption, and create true customer partnerships. Real 2026 planning means enabling the entire bowtie as a flywheel. Expansion can’t be an isolated play. The companies that win will enable every part of the bowtie to operate as a connected growth engine.”

This shift redefines what “revenue enablement” actually means. It’s not about supporting one stage of the customer lifecycle — it’s about connecting every stage so that value compounds over time.

Enablement no longer stops at handoff; it carries the customer journey forward.

Reema Railkar, Sales Enablement Lead at LinkedIn, reinforced this through a data lens:

“Some of the most important buyer signals are:

1. When discovery does not give us insight into overall business goals and how those impact particular teams/ departments

2. Objections raised and how critical they are as challenges that come in the way of biz objectives

3. Industry trends and the impact on the organisation”

And as Stephanie White, Director of GTM Enablement at Bloomreach, emphasized, this unified approach isn’t optional anymore — it’s existential:

"With the rise of AI, the best businesses aren't just adopting it, they're embracing it throughout the business.  From buyer expectations evolving, to how teams are selling, and  how sellers are learning - enablement is in a prime position to foster it all. Modern revenue reality means Enablement is broadening to support full GTM teams, with more efficiency, effectiveness and consistency - driving revenue at every stage of the customer journey. No more disconnected tools, missed customer signals or disjointed messaging - in 2026, unified teams will thrive.”

The next era of enablement is cross-functional by design. It doesn’t just accelerate deals, it sustains momentum long after the ink dries.

In Enablement 2.0, success isn’t measured by pipeline alone, but by the continuity of value – how teams move in sync from first call to renewal to advocacy.

Enablement 2.0: The movement in motion

Taken together, these perspectives tell a clear story: Enablement is no longer a support function. It’s becoming the engine that drives how revenue teams move.

The leaders shaping 2025 agree on one thing: The future of enablement is connected. It blends people, process, and performance into one continuous system — where signals flow, next steps happen automatically, and AI enhances rather than replaces human judgment.

This is what we call Enablement 2.0 – unified, AI-powered, and human-first. It’s the evolution from assets to action, from silos to systems, from “helping sellers” to empowering entire GTM organizations to operate as one.

As we step into this next era, one thing is certain: the companies that win won’t just train their teams, they’ll enable motion.

Because enablement isn’t just about doing more. It’s about connecting everything – and everyone – that drives growth.