Making the Case for Sales Content Collaboration
Two large shifts have occurred over the last few years in B2B sales:
- Increased competition and scrutiny in sales cycles
- A power shift to buyers leading the process and expecting more of sales professionals
The “dot com boom” in 2000 was probably the height of what we think of as “sales.” You can picture it — a room full of people in suits making cold calls and closing deals on the spot.
But, that’s not the reality of sales today.
In fact, over half of the decision making process for B2B sales is made before a salesperson even picks up the phone. On top of that, only 2% of cold calls today result in a call booked.
So, in this more competitive, more buyer-led, more scrutinized era, how do organizations continue to win business at a high rate?
While most sales teams may be focused on automation and efficiency (i.e: “how quickly can I make these tasks faster and easier so sales reps can just sell?”), high-performing teams know that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
To those revenue teams, the secret sauce is full-funnel sales effectiveness. The second a lead indicates buying intent, the orchestration starts and that buyer has a consistent and delightful experience throughout the entire process.
To truly achieve this, teams must optimize two crucial areas:
Sales Content Effectiveness
+ Sales Team Effectiveness
—————————
= Sales Effectiveness
Sales Content Effectiveness
When looking to optimize sales processes, one area of low hanging fruit is often content. Typically the pain is acutely felt in RFPs and other Response Management-focused content. That’s because these requests can be cumbersome, arduous, and require a lot of manual effort.
This can be defined as the need for greater Content Efficiency.
Then, to be more strategic and customized with content while building on efficiency gains, Content Personalization becomes an imperative.
With additional growth such as new products, teams, or new markets, additional complexity arises. Compliance or regulatory requirements may drive the need for greater accuracy or technical trust within the content put forth — thus, the need for Content Accuracy.
Once content is efficient, personalized, and accurate, what else exists? The height of full optimization involves an understanding of your very best content and its contribution to the sales cycle across varying dimensions. What messaging resonates with a certain industry? How many times have we lost in a certain region? This illustrates the final phase of content maturity: Content Effectiveness.
Full-funnel content effectiveness is Sales Content Collaboration’s sweet spot. The other objectives are important steps on the road to that effectiveness, but optimizing each and tracking the efficacy of the content throughout the sales funnel is the real goal. After all, you don’t want to just speed up the process, you want to ensure that every opportunity is treated as your best opportunity for success.
But, content effectiveness doesn’t happen in a vacuum. In tandem, you’ll start looking to make your team members more effective as well.
Sales Team Effectiveness
For years, sales and revenue teams have been obsessed with automation and making their jobs easier and faster. Often, that comes in the form of automating “swivel-chair” tasks like note-taking, email blasts, opportunity creation, and contract generation. Additionally, it may have to do with creating better processes in an effort to increase productivity.
However, driving true effectiveness starts in how you engage with buyers — most often, with your content. That begins with website copy, digital ads, events, marketing blogs, whitepapers, and more.
Then, they’ll get farther into the sales cycle, asking for a proposal, RFP response, Proof of Concept, the list can go on. In this meaty, mid-funnel content, a gold mine lies. ✨
But, often, this content is treated without the same care as those early-funnel marketing assets. The paradox organizations must solve is how to ensure team members put the very best content in front of prospects at these critical stages of the sales cycle.
There are a myriad of point solutions that seek to plug a hole, whether that’s for RFP responses, DDQs, or quick sales proposals, but the more holistic and fully-integrated approach is typically not solved for.
Sales Content Collaboration strives to do just that — unify your highest-value sales content under one roof to help your team win more business and give a better, more consistent buying experience.
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