Companies are investing millions of dollars in technology, training and content every year. Yet, sales departments are not seeing the top-of-the-line revenue they wish to see.
Stephen Diorio observed in a recent Forbes article that executive buyers feel as though B2B salespeople are too focused on “product pushing.” At the same time, salespeople have not been able to master the skill of communicating value to the buyer. Further, a study done by MHI Research Institute revealed that only 23% of sales teams use their sales enablement solutions as the sole source of information and content. Sales reps feel that content is hard to find and does a subpar job of motivating their customers to buy.
So, what exactly is the issue here? Diorio reveals that in his experience of implementing dozens of sales enablement programs, the secret to success has been the buy-in and support of sales transformation from the Chief Marketing Officer.
Support from the CMO is vital because technology-based sales enablement programs are nothing without carefully structured, well designed, and targeted content. Messaging that demonstrates value to buyers is essential in order to close the deal. However, technologies won’t be worth implementing if the marketing content isn’t easy for the sales team to find.
Referencing the Forbes Insights report on solving the content problem, Diorio gives CMOs 3 steps they can take to better support sales transformation.
Take “Ownership” of the Content Problem
Assign someone to be responsible for determining what content is working and what’s not. Having at least one person take ownership of content allows marketing to better understand its impact for sales. Forbes explains that all effective marketing content is actionable, reusable, targetable, findable, and trackable. Taking ownership of content assures that it improves sales conversations, and, therefore, contributes to the overall profitability of the company.
Better Organize Your Content
Content should be designed for each step of the selling process, tailored to the buyer’s journey. It should be flexible enough to adapt to various sales situations and usable through different channels and devices. Organizing your content so that sales reps have access to the most up-to-date materials—regardless of their location—will help increase sales numbers and ROI.
Implement a Process for Managing and Distributing Content
CMOs who really want to drive an effective sales transformation campaign understand that content distribution is just as important as content creation. Solutions like Mediafly’s SalesKit help companies efficiently manage, track and distribute content. With SalesKit, sales teams can consume content on any device whether they are online or offline.
Giving sales reps the tools to more effectively utilize marketing content is the first step to sales transformation. Marketing should be eager to take part in this transformation when they realize how vital their content is to their company’s bottom line.
How does your company utilize content in order to help the sales team close more deals?
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