Here are five reasons why your sales reps should be excited about content.
For the last several years now, content marketing has been a buzzword around the globe and across industries. With the ability to consume massive amounts of search engine traffic, a well thought-out content marketing strategy can outperform a Super Bowl commercial for a fraction of the cost.
While you already know that content is a valuable tool for marketers, have you taken a minute to consider how it might benefit your sales team?
Just because content is traditionally associated with inbound marketing doesn’t mean that your outbound sales team can’t benefit from it as well. In fact, here are five reasons why your sales reps should be as excited as your marketing team when it comes to content.
Related: Why Is Sales Ignoring Your Content?
1. Content Delivers Organic Leads
The obvious benefit of content is that it drives traffic to a website through organic searches and social media exposure. However, once a prospect completes a form to download a free eBook or content asset, someone needs to make contact with them.
Provided your organization encourages cooperation between sales and marketing, those leads can quickly be passed over to the sales development reps. As the individual has already placed interest in content related to the brand, the lead is considered “warm,” and making the close is further along than an initial cold call.
2. Content Establishes the Organization as a Thought Leader
Brand awareness goes a long way when trying to sell a prospect on your service. When someone has already gained exposure to your brand, the sales team can focus on solving their problems directly, and dive deeper into being a solution provider.
The more frequently your company is discussed in regards to solving a specific problem, and the more established it becomes within the industry, the more credibility your team will have. This allows you to get closer to your prospects and understand the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis.
By creating and sharing content that helps overcome these challenges, you will further establish your organization as a thought leader and provide added value to your current and future clients.
Related: Brand Awareness Really Does Increase Sales
3. Content Answers Prospects’ Questions
It’s inevitable that prospects will have a variety of questions before agreeing to a consultation, let alone complete the transaction online. And, while having your sales reps answer these questions can increase the conversion rate, sharing an infographic or relevant blog post that speaks directly to their market strategy puts you in a stronger position.
Content allows your team to answer questions and provide detailed education to support sales development reps in their outbound sales process.
4. Content Offers a Valuable Way to Maintain Contact with Prospects
If you do cold calling right, then you’re reaching valuable potential clients on a regular basis. However, how do you follow up after that first call in a way that encourages further interaction?
If your company has developed a content repository with white papers, eBooks, and other material that helps explain and resolve industry questions, it becomes easy to reconnect by simply sharing these resources with prospects. If you’re effectively using SaaS tools like SalesLoft’s email tracking tool to track open rates and monitor your conversations, you can quickly and easily share the right resource with the right prospects.
5. Content Establishes Brand Culture
What is your company all about? Understanding this is crucial for both internal and external stakeholders. A clearly defined company culture ensures that everyone knows how to behave and what to expect.
While culture is largely established by the behavior or company leaders, content can also play a role in shaping this. And, as your sales team identifies with the culture of your brand, it will become easier for them to interact with prospects in a manner that resonates with your brand’s image.
Related: How Rockwell Automation Aligned the Enterprise to One, Consistent Message
Content in the Future of Sales
It’s not easy to balance personalization with sales automation. Finding ways to maximize exposure while maintaining a human element in your sales team can be a lot of work.
Thankfully, however, it’s not impossible. By using the right tools and developing high quality content, your sales team can balance add a personal touch to each interaction in a fast, efficient, and thoughtful way.
How might content benefit your sales team?