Five Elements to Consider When Optimizing Content for Your Sales Team

The first thing you should ask, when it comes optimizing content for your sales process is, “What content should our sales reps have to help them make a sale?” Time is short and reps need content that is immediate, engaging, and targeted. This is really important because you need to know if your content is effective. There are 5 key elements to consider when creating content for sales. Each element generates unique questions and the more proactive and collaborative you can be, the more your content will be aligned with the sales process.

1. Format

Today, technology provides greater opportunities for you to drive engagement and conversion on higher levels. And, rich media formats, such as video, HTML5, and multi-media PDFs offer better interactive experiences for your sales presentations. Understanding which formats make the most sense for your sales environment is key.

      3 Questions to Ask When Considering Content Formats:

• Do our file formats create a more engaging customer interaction?
• Does our content tell the right story?
• Will our file types help the sales rep close sales?

2. Substance

A clearly articulated messaging in your content helps effectively communicate product information. It also helps prospects understand the complexities of what’s being presented. By equipping your reps with substantive, engaging content, you empower them to deliver a more effective and consultative selling experience.

      3 Questions to Ask When Evaluating Content Substance:

• Will our reps be able to clearly interpret and articulate this content?
• Does this content align with our company brand standards?
• Will our content drive the customer to make a buying decision?

3. Relevance

You can optimize the sales process by ensuring that content aligns with the needs, interests, and opportunities of your prospective customers. To do this, marketing and sales need to collaborate on the products your prospects are interested in, what their buying behavior is, and understand where they might be in the sales cycle.

      3 Questions to Ask When Evaluating Content Relevance:

• Are our prospects interested in what the content is saying?
• Does the content align with our prospects’ unique buying behavior?
• Has our content development been influenced by insights from the sales team or by data from the field?

4. Deployment

Effective content deployment goes beyond allowing reps to access files on a tablet. You need to consider deployment problems such as a lack of WiFi connection, the types of devices and their storage, and the capability to view larger, more sophisticated file types.

      3 Questions to Ask When Considering Content Deployment:

• Can our reps access content offline?
• Is the content optimized for our team’s devices?
• Can our sales reps easily open large files and videos?

5. Metrics

Leveraging file usage data from the field enables you to impact sales engagements in a more efficient and effective manner. This new information provides valuable insight into which content actually converts to sales. Field usage data should be combined with the valuable feedback from your sales reps and reviewed internally.

Your content metrics also enables you to make better use of your company’s CRM or marketing automation platforms. The more data points that are combined, the more accurate and effective these systems will be in contributing to your sales team’s results.

      3 Questions to Ask When Evaluating Content Metrics:

• Is our content effectiveness being measured?
• Are our sales reps providing insight into what content works and what doesn’t?
• Is our content usage data being recorded into your other marketing platforms?

CONCLUSION

Content development may only be part of the sales enablement process, but it is one of the most influential. When considering all 5 key elements for creating content for sales, you empower your sales teams to have more meaningful customer interactions. This advantage should lead your team to more sales, sooner.

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