Why Content Marketing Needs to be an Integral Part of Every Sales Leader's Strategy
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Your prospect puts off purchasing your offering for "between six to nine months from now". But, how are you to know when exactly in that period of time they will make a purchase decision? What if they do so before, or say in between months six & seven? You would have lost out on the sale. This post provides sales leaders with one strategy to deal with this challenge. P.S. This post was earlier titled 'How to Beat Your Sales Competition to the Discussion Table. I changed it at the insistence of a friend who felt that the earlier title was not an accurate description of the post)
Why Content Marketing Needs to be an Integral Part of Every Sales Leader's Strategy
- 1. Why Content Marketing needs to be an integral part of every Sales Leaders Strategy www.jersonjames.com
- 3. You want to sell, but your prospect puts off making a purchase
- 4. Your prospect says that they might consider buying your offering, or changing over from their existing vendor
- 5. The trouble is: you have no way of knowing if it will be month six, seven, eight or nine when they finally decide to make the change
- 6. What if they decide to change over before? Or, in between months six and seven?
- 7. You would have missed the boat!
- 8. And no, you cannot keep bugging your prospect with calls every week, enquiring whether they have decided to buy (Hey, would you like some salesperson bugging you similarly?)
- 11. this is just one of many pain points or challenges that your prospect is currently faced with
- 12. Is your prospect going to address all of these on priority?
- 13. Definitely Not!
- 14. ...one, or at best, a few of these pain areas
- 16. trying to fix a problem involves a whole lot of commitments (and hassle)
- 17. Your prospect would need to commit scarce material, human and financial resources towards working on projects chosen (not to mention time, energy and attention)
- 18. Needless to say, but preference in the allocation of these resources will be given to projects addressing those issues that your prospect considers to burning... be
- 19. Everything else will be relegated to
- 20. So, how do you ensure that you do not lose out when the prospect finally decides to buy?
- 22. Among other tools*, you need to use the power of content marketing to help you * In addition to a highly skilled sales force, an effective CRM, etc.,
- 23. Blogs & newsletters that contain insights & information that help your prospects do their job better need to be part of your sales strategy
- 24. As long as these lead the prospect to your USPS* (this is smart content * If this doesnt happen, then marketing) your insights will not translate into any worthwhile business for you Instead, you would have provided free advice to your customers, and perhaps business to your competitors
- 25. (What helps is ensuring variety media in formats used
- 27. 1.thought leader. It establishes your firm as a It also builds your firms credibility
- 28. 2. you It helps remain top-of-mind with your prospects Consequently
- 29. when they are ready to tackle the area of pain that a product or service like which your offering addresses they will call you
- 30. 3. to ask the right It earns you the all those consultative questions (when you finally get to the discussion table)
- 31. Remember the time when you wanted to sell, but your prospect didn't want to buy ?
- 32. Remember, we said that you need to be around when your prospect finally decides to buy ?
- 33. Content marketing helps put you before your prospect when they are indeed ready to buy
- 35. Content marketing is not the same thing as blowing your own trumpet (about how innovative, cutting edge, etc., you are)
- 36. It is providing insights & information that your prospect can use
- 37. Your content should not seek to push you or your products directly
- 38. However, it should contain the insight or methodology that you are suggesting
- 39. Your insights & the proof of concept will position you (not your competition) as the go-to provider of the product or service that you offer
- 41. content marketing by itself will not win you the sale (Evolved selling skills are a non-negotiable)
- 42. But, it will get get you to the discussion table when the prospect finally decides to buy
- 43. Something that you might have missed out on, without such a strategy (Because the odds of you being around when they finally decide to take the plunge, are pretty slim at best)
- 46. Is content marketing an integral part of your sales process? Does your business have a content marketing strategy at all? ----------------- How well are your salespeople using your content marketing output in their sales activities (to engage with their customers)? ----------------- How can they use it better?
- 47. Did you find the presentation useful? Then, please do Please leave your share it & comments below. Wed love to hear from you
- 48. For more resources on sales effectiveness, please visit www.jersonjames.com Sales Advisory Sales Capability Creation Mumbai, India jerson@jersonjames.com
- 49. Image Attribution http://www.flickr.co http://www.fli http://www.flickr. http://www.fli http://www.fli http://www.flic http://www.flickr.com/ph m/photos/susanad81 ckr.com/photo com/photos/sindy ckr.com/photo ckr.com/phot kr.com/photos/ otos/68751915@N05/655 3/3371602672/sizes/ s/dhammza/26 kids/3961632225/ s/memorymote os/derektor/1 neezygfx/67877 1534889/sizes/z/in/phot l/in/photostream// 0615786/ 74074/ ostream/ l/491357743/ 91184025/ http://www.flickr.com/p http://www.flickr.co http://www.flickr.com/pho http://www.flickr.com/ph http://www.photore http://www.flickr.co http://www.flickr.c tos/bombeador/58990736 otos/59937401@N07/592 e.com/topic/gallery hotos/musicsthename/7 m/photos/janine4d/ om/photos/ludopho m/photos/colleen- 29/sizes/l/in/photostream 9491095/ /lepiafgeo/4 539819786/ 5892041108/ to/3424300697/ lane/4326761005/ / http://www.flickr.co http://www.cbsnew http://www.flickr.com http://www.flickr.com/p m/photos/tcmorgan/ s.com/8301- /photos/judo10/3738 hotos/mrseb/536764677 7364516242/sizes/l/i 505125_162- 909126/ 8/_z n/photostream/// 30940488/how-to- do-anything-better/