Tackle Manufacturing Sales Challenges with Sales Enablement

Selling in a digital-first world comes with a unique set of challenges for manufacturers. In an industry that once relied heavily on relationship-based selling, manufacturing companies are quickly realizing they’re no longer able to simply “wine and dine” prospective buyers to make a sale. The stakes are changing, and buyers want more.

In the age of digital transformation, manufacturing sales reps who utilize paper-based brochureware or product sheets put themselves at a serious disadvantage. Paper-based content offers sellers zero insight into how marketing or product content is perceived. Did it resonate? Did the buyer even read it? Or, was it lost in a pile of papers on his desk? Did the buyer toss it in the trash? Or, was she so interested in the content she revisited it again and again? Whichever the case, the salesperson is at a loss for how to engage the buyer in follow-up conversations and can’t accurately gauge their level of interest.

Modern buyers expect an interactive, consultative experience. They want sellers to show them why a product is the right choice for their distinct challenge or communicate the financial impact it will have on their business. Because of the changing sales landscape, many manufacturing companies are turning to sales enablement technologies to dynamically deliver the right content at the right time and enhance the buyer experience. With everything they need at their fingertips, sellers can easily articulate the value of their offering in the context of the buyer’s business.

Sales enablement comes to life in the manufacturing industry as sellers progressively move from a specialist to a generalist model. Leaving the sales comfort zone behind, they are now expected to sell across their entire suite of products and expected to have enough product knowledge to address any questions the buyer might have.

In order to do this successfully, sellers need easy access to a wide range of content and data-driven insights to meet the needs of their buyers. Unfortunately, according to a Forrester Consulting study, commissioned by Mediafly, 23% of manufacturing partner sellers lack the resources to facilitate data-driven discussions and 25% struggle to personalize sales interactions. It’s time to take control and empower sellers to be successful. Companies that deploy a sales enablement platform are 2.1x more likely to report double-digit revenue growth.

By converting paper-based content to digital assets, both marketing and sales leadership gain visibility into how products are marketed and sold. Instead of wondering what happened with the leave-behind, sales reps understand how often content is viewed and which collateral resonates with buyers. Recognizing whether your buyer spent more time assessing Product A vs. Product B will help shape the strategy for your next conversation.

Marketing can collect data on which assets are used most frequently and which are responsible for driving deals forward. By associating content usage to opportunities, marketers can make informed decisions about the prioritization or optimization of new content. Sales leadership can replicate the content strategy of high-performing reps in order to boost success rates for low and middle-performing sellers.

Digital content also opens the door for interactive presentation elements including ROI and TCO calculators. By incorporating real-time data from the customer’s business or industry, sellers can tailor each interaction with insights relevant to the buyer and engage them in a new way.

Sales enablement technology helps manufacturing sales reps enhance the buying experience by transforming a static presentation into a collaborative discussion. With everything they need at their fingertips, sellers can feel confident in their ability to discuss any product within the full suite of offerings. Sales enablement opens the door for a transition to a new kind of sales engagement, one in which the buyer is excited for the next meeting because of the value it will bring.

For more information about Mediafly’s sales enablement solution for manufacturing companies, learn more here or request a demo.