Thinking about switching sales enablement platforms—or picking one for the first time? This guide is for hands-on sales, marketing, and ops folks who want an honest way to size up Showell against the rest. No buzzwords, no filler—just a step-by-step approach to finding what actually works for your team.
1. Get Clear on What Your Team Actually Needs
Before you get dazzled by feature lists, step back. What’s really broken or slow about your current sales process? Be ruthless:
- Are sales reps wasting time hunting for the right files?
- Is content outdated or scattered in a jungle of folders?
- Are you missing insights on what prospects actually look at?
- Does your team need offline access, or just web?
Write down your top 3-5 pain points. If you’re not fixing those, no fancy platform will help.
Pro tip: Talk to the actual end users, not just managers. The disconnect between what leaders think is needed and what reps actually use is real.
2. Make a Shortlist: Who Are the Real Contenders?
There are dozens of B2B sales enablement platforms out there. Most sound the same on the surface. Along with Showell, the usual suspects are:
- Seismic
- Highspot
- DocSend
- Salesloft
- Mindtickle
- Enablement tools built into your CRM (like Salesforce Sales Enablement)
Check which ones fit your company size and budget. Some tools (like Showell) focus on small to mid-sized teams; others target enterprise and come with hefty price tags and long contracts.
Don’t bother with a platform that’s way bigger or more complex than you need—it’ll just slow you down.
3. Dig Into the Features—But Ignore the Hype
Here’s what actually matters for most B2B teams:
Must-haves
- Easy file organization and search (so reps can find what they need in seconds)
- Simple content sharing (track when someone opens a file or link)
- Permissions and version control (nobody wants the old price list floating around)
- Works on all devices (especially if you have field reps)
- Analytics (see what content gets used, and by whom)
Nice-to-haves
- Offline access (Showell does this well, but do you really need it?)
- CRM integrations (can be handy, but often a mess to set up)
- Customization for branding (more important for channel sales or external partners)
Skip the fluff
- AI-powered content suggestions—usually more promise than payoff
- “Gamification” dashboards—fun once, ignored after that
- Video recording inside the platform—you probably already have Zoom or Loom
How does Showell stack up?
Showell’s strength is its focus on simple, mobile-friendly sales content management, with strong offline support. It’s not overloaded with “enterprise” bells and whistles. If you want quick setup and intuitive navigation, that’s a plus. But if you need deep CRM workflows or heavy learning modules, Showell’s lighter.
4. Test the User Experience Yourself
Don’t buy based on demos or sales calls—get a real trial. Run through the tasks your team does daily:
- Can you upload, organize, and share files without a manual?
- How many clicks does it take to find and send a deck?
- Does it work on your phone/tablet, and is it actually usable there?
- What happens when you send a link—do you get notified when it’s opened?
- Try breaking it. What happens when you upload a weird file type, or share a huge file?
Pro tip: Invite a couple of skeptical sales reps to try it. If they grumble less than usual, that’s a good sign.
5. Check Analytics—But Don’t Get Distracted
Yes, analytics are important. But don’t overthink it. You want:
- Who’s using what content (internally)
- What’s being opened or ignored by prospects (externally)
- Trends over time (so you know what to update or kill)
Some platforms drown you in dashboards. Showell keeps it pretty straightforward, which is fine for most teams. Unless you have a full-time analyst, you probably don’t need more.
6. Look at Setup, Support, and Total Cost
Here’s where the “hidden” pain shows up. Ask:
-
How long does it take to set up and train the team?
Showell is generally quick to roll out, but don’t just take the vendor’s word—ask for references. -
What’s customer support like?
Will you get stuck with generic help docs, or is there real human backup if something breaks? -
Pricing gotchas:
- Is there a minimum seat count?
- Extra fees for integrations, custom branding, or analytics?
- Annual contracts or month-to-month?
Pro tip: Ask for a sample invoice. It’s amazing what sneaks in under “services” or “customization.”
7. Figure Out Integration Needs (and Realities)
Pretty much every platform claims they “integrate with everything.” In reality, most integrations are shallow—think: “we can send a link to Salesforce,” not “seamless, two-way data sync.”
- Do you really need your sales enablement tool to talk to your CRM? Or is a simple link enough?
- Does your IT team have bandwidth to maintain integrations, or will you get stuck with a half-working workflow?
Showell focuses on lightweight integrations, which is usually fine for small and mid-sized companies. If your sales process lives inside Salesforce or HubSpot, double-check what’s possible—and what’s not.
8. Consider Security and Compliance
Don’t skip this if you’re in a regulated industry or handle sensitive data.
- Where is data stored? (EU, US, elsewhere?)
- What happens if a device is lost or stolen?
- Can you control who sees what, especially with partners or outside reps?
Showell covers standard security bases, but if you need things like custom SSO, advanced compliance, or detailed audit trails, dig deeper into the docs.
9. Weigh the Intangibles
Sometimes, a tool just “feels right”—or wrong. Some things to watch for:
- Are updates frequent and useful, or just cosmetic?
- Is the vendor responsive, or do you feel like a ticket number?
- Do your reps actually like using it, or is it another “thing to log into”?
There’s no magic formula here, but don’t ignore your gut or the team’s feedback.
10. Pilot, Iterate, and Don’t Overcommit
Once you’ve narrowed it to one or two options, run a pilot. Don’t roll it out to the whole company on day one. Give it to a team or two, set clear success criteria (are people actually using it? Is it saving time?), and revisit after a month.
If it flops, don’t force it. Move on. Most failed software projects come from doubling down on sunk costs.
Keep it simple: The best sales enablement platform is the one your team actually uses. Don’t let a long feature list trick you into picking something too complex or expensive. Start small, see what works, and tweak as you go. In the end, it’s about making life easier for your sales team—not hitting some vendor’s checklist.