Selecting the right sales content can be a challenge, even for seasoned industry professionals.
The salesperson needs a solution that fits their needs, as well as their buyer. The sales material should be broad enough for mass appeal, but specific enough to resonate with a particular prospect. The right choice can be difficult, and always involves balancing priorities.
“Advertising is fundamentally persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art.” - William Bernbach, pioneer American advertising creative director.
Like musicians rely on conductors, sales reps rely on management. They need the guidance to be agile and accurate. They need business intelligence, a variety of content, and to be in sync with the broader company’s efforts.
So what’s the best way forward? Let’s look at some ways you can enable your reps to make better choices about sales materials.
First, sales reps need to know their audience, i.e., their buyers.
By becoming familiar with their prospect's business, such as their products, services, and common industry issues, a sales rep can be prepared to address any questions or concerns that come up in the sales conversation.
Some launching points for research might include answering questions like, what problem is the buyer trying to solve? How is this solution the optimal solution for the buyer? What interests does the buyer have outside of work? Sales reps can also speak to others in the industry in order to deepen their knowledge base and gain a better understanding of their prospect's market.
The discovery phase of the sales process is important in enabling your sales reps to highlight their commitment to client satisfaction and their trustworthiness. According to Hubspot, only three percent of people think sales reps are trustworthy. Build rapport by knowing your potential client's industry, pain points, and demonstrating how your solution is right for this particular prospect.
Now that your sales rep has an in-depth understanding of the buyer, it’s time to look at what is available to them in terms of content.
Your sales team wants easy access to a wide array of effective content.
Instead of the quality content they want, your reps are often left with generic PDFs, brochures, and two-pagers designed for a broad audience. They download it to their desktop and beat it ad nauseam until it’s dead and buried. They may add to the original material or make ineffectual cosmetic changes. They might get a few more weeks of use out of it, but it’s still the same result. Tired, overused content that no longer resonates with the seller or prospect.
It’s natural to prefer the sales materials that bring success. According to a survey conducted by Hubspot, six in 10 salespeople say that when they figure out what works for them, they don't change it. This is far from a best-practice solution.
Your sellers could be silently screaming out for more, better content. But how would you know?
One sign might be a seller “going rogue” and creating their own material. This could lead to problems. Your seller might not be knowledgeable about product details, legal compliance, or brand reputation. Plus, if your seller is spending their own time creating content, that means they inevitably spend less time selling.
Overall, having access to a wide range of quality content is key. That way, your reps can feel free to try options out and find the best content suited to each client or prospect.
With a wide selection of content to choose from, how then do your sellers find the perfect item?
What do your buyers want? Or, what don’t they want?
According to research from the Aberdeen Group, the biggest turn-off in a B2B sales conversation is when salespeople spend too much time talking about the solution and not enough time on the prospect's company or pain points.
It's good to speak to some of the features and benefits your product provides, but pay close attention to the types of questions your prospect is asking and tailor your approach to the company you're trying to appeal to. Buyers want to be listened to and to know you are on their level.
If your sellers are not able to meet buyers where they are, with the content they need, they’re not going to make the sale. And vice versa, a buyer isn’t going to enter a deal with confidence if they’re not listened to or don’t have the information they need.
Finally, how can you make the next sales pitch better than your last?
A key element that’s often overlooked in sales is training and support. The best salespeople and their trainers know that their skills don’t come naturally. Or, if they do, they can always do with some refining. Usually, it’s an ongoing and evolving process that can take years to perfect.
Make sure your team knows not only what they’re selling but how they’re selling it. That means understanding concepts such as value propositions, overcoming objections, as well as how to utilize research, case studies, and statistics.
And don’t forget to learn from your sellers. Managers and trainers can always learn from their successful sales team members. If you have a few stars on your team that are consistently above quota and performing well, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel; take lessons that have been learned and apply them across the board.
Choosing the right sales material often feels like an art, rather than a science. But by using proven data and analysis, it becomes easier to take the right steps.
A state-of-the-art content delivery platform can make this entire process easier. Triptych is a transparent and user-friendly system that helps your sales reps get on with the business of selling. Fully customizable and scalable, with real-time business intelligence, it’s modern yet simple and works within legal and industry compliance.
Chat with us today to find out how to boost your sales results by 10x.