How often does your sales team ping your marketing department to request updated marketing materials or ask what to send a prospect?

Buyers today expect content to be personalized to the nth degree. A generic brochure doesn’t cut it anymore; your buyers want customized pieces of content that recognize their needs and provide direct solutions to their pain points. 

In fact, according to the 2019 B2B Buyers Survey Report, 95% of B2B buyers say they want vendor sales teams to come prepared with more insights about their companies’ needs. But how can your sales reps customize content if they can’t access it — or if it’s perpetually outdated?

‘Periodic’ Updates Are Too Late

Many companies think they update their assets periodically, but that usually means content is updated only once it’s drastically outdated. Some don’t even have a process in place to track content’s efficacy; others simply rely on salespeople to provide manual input. In those cases, though, there’s rarely any incentive tied to ensuring consistent feedback. This makes it harder for salespeople to do their jobs, and 60% of sales leaders are finding their sales cycles getting longer because their teams lack the proper tools. 

It can take massive amounts of time for your sales team to search for the tools and content they need in order to build the right business case for any given prospect. Identifying areas for improvement in messaging, content, and tools can dramatically improve sales success, minimize competitive losses, and eliminate slipped deals.

Taking time to understand whether your content is resonating with buyers will give you a better sense of buyers’ needs and empower your sales team accordingly. Here’s how:

1. Determine what’s actually being used.
   Most sales reps are sharing information via email and pointing customers to the company website. This means they might know that the customer received the information but not what the customer actually did with it. This creates a customer interaction gap because it represents a lack of visibility into buyer interest and intent.Instead of sending shots in the dark, leverage technology to see which selling assets are actually being used and how effective they are at helping your sales team close deals. That way, you can see what’s working and what needs to be updated — or tossed out.
2. Create a content cloud or client-specific microsite.
   When sales teams aren’t using the most updated or appropriate marketing materials with prospects, it’s often because they just don’t know what that content is or where to find it. Rather than expecting your sales team to pull content from old emails or an antiquated document filing system, create a specific destination for sales reps to send prospects. That way, you can trace buyers’ digital trails: Did the customer actually read the contract? Did they review case studies? Were materials then passed along to other members of their team? With only 39% of enablement teams regularly assessing feedback from their salespeople on content efficacy, this type of system — and the data it provides — will drastically set your team apart.
3. Track engagement — and follow up accordingly.
   A prospect’s level of engagement can make or break a deal. Using an insight dashboard, track buyers’ path from initial interaction to close. By tracking each individual’s journey, you can better equip your sales team to serve up personalized content to them. For example, did a prospect watch half a video on estate planning and then leave your site? Have your sales rep follow up with a personalized note and whitepaper on estate planning. Did the prospect read a blog on how to get fit before vacation? Send them a helpful video and check in about their plans. The more you can customize, the better — up to a point. You also don’t want to seem too Big Brother, so leave that up to the discretion of the sales rep that owns the relationship.

Dashboards provide marketing and sales teams with insights into how content resonates with prospects and customers. Engagement analytics paint the picture about content investment over time, how teams use content across channels, and even how effectively that content engages buyers. That makes it easy for you to streamline the content-sharing process for your team — and eliminates the need for random pings requesting updated materials.

Ready to empower your sales team to make every prospect interaction amazing? Request a demo to see ClearSlide in action and to get a firsthand look at our powerful analytics and insights capabilities.