Using content in the sales process can position sales reps as approachable experts and set the grounds for valuable business relationships that are based on trust and collaboration.
Here’s a very interesting fact for you. Research shows that 60% of the content created by marketing teams from B2B companies is not being used, leading to countless wasted hours of hard work.
With such a significant investment in marketing collateral, it’s essential for businesses to better manage how content is used, with a keen eye on ROI. New tools and strategies can help salespeople get the right content in front of potential buyers at the right time.
To help give you and your team the winning edge, we’ve put together a list of content-related tactics we recommend you put into action, towards winning more deals.
Leverage Content to Educate the Buyer
In today’s digital reality, giving a great sales pitch about your product is not enough. Your prospects are expecting you to provide value during every interaction. It’s no longer just about making the client believe that they require your product or service. It is more about educating the client as to why your product is important to them and their business, how it can solve key challenges, and how it makes business sense not only to buy it but also utilize it to the fullest extent.
One of the most effective ways to educate customers is by sharing valuable content such as eBooks, webinars, downloadable checklists and guides that are relevant to their industry and the challenges they are facing.
The right content can position the sales rep as the ‘go-to’ person for helpful and meaningful advice and can help establish a business relationship that brings long-term benefits to both parties.
Position Yourself as an Expert on Social Media
Sales content can be also leveraged through social media channels. Sharing highly engaging content like videos, blog posts or data pieces on public profiles and social groups, can drive more awareness to the product you are selling and more than that, it will send the message to your potential buyers that you are an expert in your field.
Numbers show that sales reps who are actively sharing content and starting conversations on social channels are 79% more likely to hit their sales goals than those who don’t.
Once you’ve exhibited your dexterity via your sales content, it’s recommended to initiate one-on-one interactions by inviting your customers to discuss your content. This allows you to do both, showcase and substantiate your expertise.
Build Trust
You can think of content, or more specifically content funnels, as large-scale interactions. During each interaction in the buyer’s journey, it is imperative for you to build trust and create a rapport with your prospect.
The kind of trust you build depends on the language you use in your sales content, the visual experience, the facts and figures, your brand voice and more. The content you use as part of your sales funnel is a digital extension of your product and it’s critical to creating a positive customer experience.
Content such as videos, blog posts, eBooks and tutorials, help you expose your prospect to your brand, your values, and your look & feel. It’s an opportunity for a deeper interaction that will leave a mark on your buyer and create a sense of trust.
Help Your Prospect Sell Your Product Internally
When you are selling to different industries, you are selling to different personas. To make matters slightly more challenging, those personas are also selling to internal stakeholders.
Your product may catch the eye of a possible prospect; however, this prospect needs to convince his internal team of the need to purchase your product. For this, your possible prospect will need the right pieces of content that will help him “sell” internally, such as case studies, ROI assessments, product videos, infographics, and data sheets.
The content that you provide about your product must rise above the noise to not only catch the attention of your prospect, but also assist them in gaining the approval of key decision-makers that your solution is worth the investment.
Sharing the Right Content, in the Right Format, at the Right Time
The need for excellent sales content is one of the many reasons we developed DealHub. Our goal is to enable salespeople to leverage content to enrich the buyer’s journey, in the most intuitive and effortless way. By providing the right content at the right time, DealHub reinforces customer interactions that lead to closing more business.
Generating dynamic content via DealHub’s sales engagement platform takes minutes, and includes relevant content that’s specific to individual personas and to their stage in their buying journey. Any sales rep that uses DealHub can share any kind of sales or marketing content – slides, videos, infographics, brochures, quotes, agreements and more, all in one place, throughout the sales process.
