|
Content Marketing
Speaking
Through
Salespeople
Most of the comments we've seen around content marketing are neglecting a key, if not the key ingredient - the sales-person.
Many marketers act as if though all they need to do is publish volumes of carefully-crafted and gorgeously-charted whitepapers and articles or e-books and the buyer will come knocking at the door, check in hand. Here's a definition of "content marketing" from the Content Marketing Institute:
Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience - with the objective of driving profitable customer action.
What this definition misses and I'm afraid many marketers do as well is take into consideration that salespeople are both an audience for and messenger of the content. What inevitably happens is that Marketing creates a vast library of content that salespeople ignore because the collateral doesn't help them in their day-to-day selling activities - some studies claim up to 80% of sales content is not used.
Fortunately, there are some marketing leaders that think more holistically about content marketing. We recently met with a VP of Marketing at a very large technology company with whom we're discussing a strategic sales enablement initiative...
read more...
__________________________ |
|
|
Challengers Rule
According to recent breakthrough research by the Corporate Executive Board, today's effective salesperson needs to be a Challenger - a teacher, a provocateur of sorts, a thinking man/woman who is creative, innovative, and brings new ideas, and thus value, to their customers.
We believe this validates what we've seen coming for several years, particularly for those organizations involved in more complex selling.
In studying the attitudes, skills, behavior, activity and knowledge of 6,000 salespeople across 90 companies, the CEB has published conclusions that will have companies reassessing and redeveloping their sales teams for the coming decade. The data is compelling.
In comparing top sales performers to average performers, they found five distinct sales rep profiles fairly even in distribution:
- The Hard Worker - the self-motivated, driving rep who puts in the time and the effort.
- The Relationship Builder - the rep who builds and nurtures strong personal and professional relationships.
- The Lone Wolf - the confident, sales "cowboy" who follows their own instincts, not necessarily management's.
- The Reactive Problem Solver - the customer-focused and detailed-oriented sales person who might double as a service rep.
- The Challenger - the rep with deep customer business knowledge who boldly posits insights and new angles on customer problems.
Seems relatively straight-forward until you evaluate the distribution of super star performers across these profiles. What emerged is a clear winner (40% Challenger) and clear loser (7% Relationship Builder). This distinction is particularly evident in a down economy where Challenger reps thrive nonetheless and others flounder when mere hard work, good service and responsiveness are not enough to win business.
The implications are far-reaching. Past assumptions about what makes a good sales rep are fast-dissolving, while questions are raised once again about nature vs nurture. Rest assured, high-performing Challenger reps are not born, they are developed and can be trained and replicated across your sales organization.
Are you raising up Challenger sales reps? _____________________________________________________ |
|
|
CEO Conversations
So you want a sales meeting with the prospect's CEO? Not so fast. While a decent strategy, don't venture out when you're not prepared. Senior executives don't suffer sales fools, but they are susceptible to an intelligent conversation steered by an effective and prepared salesperson.
CEO's are people like anyone else, but they carry a burden that keeps them focused on things besides the products of salespeople. What's on their minds are risks impacting their market share, customer base, revenue stream, control of costs, retention and acquisition of top talent, achievement of quarterly numbers, their opportunity window for growth, merger or acquisition. The lists goes on.
And the salesperson wants to talk about their products? Won't happen.
At best, if the CEO is patient and civil, he or she may kindly redirect the salesperson to a lower level staff. At worst, it goes downhill from there.
Four keys to an effective executive or CEO call:
- Do your homework - lay the groundwork with research and preliminary conversations
- Speak executive language - not that of your product. It's about their issues, not about you and your fixes
- Paint a business picture - verbally or literally of their world's relevant challenges that you can help address
- Get sponsorship - confirm next step meeting with their recommended team member (you've earned it!)
Having good executive conversations?
More... |
|
______________________________________________
Take a 10-Minute Sales Team Assessment Test 
Great sales teams run well on all cylinders. Few teams are perfect, most need help in some areas.
We enable sales organizations to run at peak performance. Sales enablement involves providing guidance in best-practice processes, actions, skills and repeatable behaviors that great reps do to find, advance, assess and close deals.
We provide targeted coaching tools and training after evaluating sales teams in 2 main categories:
- Sales Knowledge - customer, industry, product, competition and systems
- Sales Skills - initiating contact, discovery, aligning, justification and closing
Our Sales Assessment Test tool, developed in conjunction with Playboox.com, focuses on the Sales Knowledge that salespeople need to "prepare to sell" as well as the Sales Skills needed to master consistent and successful execution in order to "prepare to win."
Take the 10-minute test and see how you stack up.
Take the Test... |
|
|
________________________________ __________
The British on Sales
"If a man would allot half an hour every night for self-conversation, and recapitulate for himself what he has done, right or wrong, in the course of the day, he would be both the better and wiser for it." - Philip D. Stanhope, British statesman |
|
|
