Creating Assets That Close Deals: Content for Sales

Creating content that closes deals is an art that requires a deep understanding of the sales cycle, the target audience, and the product. Sales content is not just about pitching the product but also about educating the customer and helping them make an informed decision. Crafting engaging content that resonates with the target audience requires creativity, research, and a deep understanding of the customer's pain points.

Understanding the sales cycle is critical to creating effective sales content. The sales cycle consists of several stages, including prospecting, lead generation, lead nurturing, and closing. Each stage requires a different type of content that is tailored to the customer's needs and preferences. For example, during the prospecting stage, the content should focus on attracting the customer's attention and generating interest in the product. During the lead nurturing stage, the content should provide value to the customer and help them make an informed decision.

Crafting engaging content is another critical aspect of creating effective sales content. Engaging content is content that resonates with the target audience and motivates them to take action. To create engaging content, one needs to understand the customer's pain points, preferences, and motivations. Researching the customer's pain points and preferences can help create content that is relevant and valuable to them.

Key Takeaways

• Understanding the Sales Cycle is critical to creating effective sales content.

• Crafting engaging content requires research and a deep understanding of the customer's pain points and preferences.

• Distribution channels and promotion are essential to reaching the target audience and measuring the success of the content.

Understanding the Sales Cycle

To create content that closes deals, it's essential to have a deep understanding of the sales cycle. The sales cycle is the process that a potential customer goes through before making a purchase. By understanding the stages of the sales cycle, businesses can create content that addresses the customer's needs at each stage.

Identifying Customer Pain Points

The first step in understanding the sales cycle is to identify customer pain points. Pain points are the problems or challenges that potential customers face that your product or service can solve. By understanding customer pain points, businesses can create content that addresses these problems and provides solutions.

To identify customer pain points, companies can conduct market research, analyze customer feedback, and speak with market-facing teams. By doing so, businesses can create content that speaks directly to the customer's needs and helps them move through the sales cycle.

Mapping Content to the Buyer's Journey

Once customer pain points have been identified, the next step is to map content to the buyer's journey. The buyer's journey is the process that a potential customer goes through before making a purchase. It consists of three stages: awareness, consideration, and decision.

At the awareness stage, potential customers are just becoming aware of their problem and are looking for information. At the consideration stage, potential customers are evaluating solutions to their problem. At the decision stage, potential customers are ready to make a purchase.

By mapping content to the buyer's journey, businesses can create content that addresses the customer's needs at each stage. For example, at the awareness stage, businesses can create blog posts and social media content that educates potential customers about their problem. At the consideration stage, companies can create case studies and whitepapers that demonstrate how their product or service can solve the customer's problem. At the decision stage, businesses can create product demos and testimonials that help potential customers make a purchase decision.

Understanding the sales cycle is crucial for creating content that closes deals. By identifying customer pain points and mapping content to the buyer's journey, businesses can create content that speaks directly to the customer's needs and helps them move through the sales cycle.

Crafting Engaging Content

Crafting engaging content is essential to closing deals. The right content can influence a prospect's decision-making process and lead to a successful sale. In this section, we will explore some storytelling techniques, visual aids, and personalization strategies that can help you create content that resonates with your target audience.

Storytelling Techniques

Storytelling is a powerful technique that can help you connect with your audience emotionally. By telling a story, you can make your content more relatable and memorable. Check out how Airbnb has featured compelling stories around its hosts. Consider incorporating the following storytelling techniques into your content:

• Use anecdotes: Anecdotes are short stories that illustrate a point. They can help you make your content more engaging and memorable.

• Create a narrative arc: A narrative arc is a storytelling structure that includes a beginning, middle, and end. By creating a narrative arc, you can make your content more compelling and help your audience stay engaged.

• Include characters: Characters can help you create a more relatable story. Consider including characters in your content to make it more engaging, you can refer to your company's buyer personas to identify characters.

Visual Aids and Interactivity

Visual aids and interactivity can help you create more engaging content. The following visual aids and interactive elements may be used in your content:

• Infographics: Infographics are visual representations of data or information. They can help you make your content more engaging and easier to understand.

• Videos: Videos can help you create more engaging content by incorporating visuals and sound. Consider creating a video to explain a complex concept or tell a story.

• Interactive elements: Interactive elements, such as quizzes or interactive timelines, can help you create more engaging content by encouraging your audience to participate and thus increasing engagement.

Personalization Strategies

Personalization can help you create content that resonates with your target audience. Think about incorporating the following personalization strategies into your content:

• Tailor your content to your audience: To create content that resonates with your target audience, you need to understand their needs and interests. Tailor your content to your audience to make it more relevant and engaging.

• Use personalized examples: Personalized examples can help you make your content more relatable. Consider using examples that are specific to your audience to make your content more engaging.

• Include personalized calls-to-action: Personalized calls-to-action can help you create a sense of urgency and encourage your audience to take action. Consider including personalized calls-to-action in your content to increase conversions.

Distribution Channels and Promotion

Once you have created your sales enablement content, it is important to distribute and promote it effectively to reach your target audience. There are several distribution channels and promotional strategies that you can use to get your content in front of the right people.

Email Marketing

Email marketing remains one of the most effective ways to distribute and promote content. By sending personalized emails to your prospects and customers, you can provide them with relevant and valuable content that will help them make informed purchasing decisions. You can segment your email list based on various criteria such as industry, job title, and stage in the sales funnel to ensure that your content is highly targeted and relevant.

Social Media Outreach

Social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are great channels for promoting your sales enablement content. You can share your content on your company's social media pages, as well as on your personal profiles to reach a wider audience. You can also use social media advertising to target specific demographics and interests to ensure that your content is seen by the right people.

SEO and Content Discoverability

Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for ensuring that your sales enablement content is discoverable online. By optimizing your content for relevant keywords and phrases, you can improve your search engine rankings and increase your visibility in search results. You can also use paid search advertising to target specific keywords and phrases to ensure that your content is seen by the right people at the right time.

In addition to these strategies, you can also leverage other distribution channels such as webinars, events, and partner networks to promote your sales enablement content. By using a combination of these channels, you can ensure that your content reaches your target audience and helps you close more deals.

Measuring Success

Creating sales enablement content is a great investment for any organization, but it's important to measure the effectiveness of the content to ensure that it's delivering value and meeting the intended goals. There are two primary ways to measure the success of sales enablement content: analytics and feedback loops.

Analytics and KPIs

Analytics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are essential for measuring the impact of sales enablement content. By tracking metrics such as views, downloads, and engagement rates, organizations can determine which pieces of content are resonating with their target audience and adjust their content strategy accordingly.

Some common KPIs for sales enablement content include:

• Conversion rates: This measures the percentage of leads who become customers after engaging with sales enablement content.

• Time spent: This measures the amount of time that prospects spend engaging with sales enablement content.

• Content usage: This measures the frequency with which sales enablement content is used by sales reps and other members of the organization.

Feedback Loops and Adjustments

Feedback loops are another important tool for measuring the success of sales enablement content. By soliciting feedback from sales reps, customers, and other key stakeholders, organizations can gain valuable insights into how their content is being received and identify areas for improvement.

Some common feedback mechanisms for sales enablement content include:

• Surveys: Surveys can be used to gather feedback from customers and prospects about the sales enablement content they have engaged with.

• Sales rep feedback: Sales reps can provide feedback on the effectiveness of sales enablement content in the field.

• A/B testing: A/B testing can be used to compare the effectiveness of different versions of sales enablement content and identify areas for improvement.

By combining analytics and feedback loops, organizations can continuously improve their sales enablement content and ensure that it's delivering the intended value to their target audience.