In a recent study by Sirius Decisions, 82% of decision makers think sellers are unprepared and that 58% of pipeline stalls are due to sale representatives being unable to add the essential value. Access to the right marketing material often comes up as a common issue, with only 35% of salespeople who think marketing actually knows what content they need. This is then compounded by the fact that one third of marketing and sales teams aren’t in regular communication with each other.

This divide between sales and marketing teams is very common and unfortunately has a direct influence on the ability of a business to win new opportunities.

In an age of software, technology and data, you’d think that there would be a solution to help resolve some of these issues. Well, you’re right. The solutions are called Sales Enablement software and they can help sales people improve their account-based engagement, sales presentations, pitch techniques, to be better organised, or to just simply access the latest updated marketing deck.

At Now Comms, a Sales Enablement software option we like is called Scaura. We are using it to help our clients (large and small businesses) and have found it has the ability to resolve many of the day-to-day problems associated with our client’s management of sales teams, resellers, marketing and new customer presentations.

1. Align content with the buyer journey

By understanding the buyer's journey, a salesperson can personalise the sales content to the buyer's context. There’s no sense in presenting high-level product overviews and basic information, if the buyer is already at the consideration stage, has done their own online research and is now wanting to see technical or pricing information. By aligning your selling processes and content strategy to the customer’s path to purchase, the sales person can engage in more meaningful, relevant, helpful and successful customer conversions – that can add value.

Tip:  95% of buyers  purchase from someone who gave them content at each stage of the buying process. So make sure your sales team have both marketing and sales information about your offer for each of the stages.

2. Ensure Sales Teams have quick access to content, anytime, anywhere

This is definitely where modern technology helps. Presenting off devices, storing files in the cloud, and having the ability to present relevant content to a buyer, all mean that your sales teams can capitalise on their opportunities instantly. It also means that they will look more organised and prepared.

Tip: Sales reps spend a staggering 31% of their time searching for content and curating materials for meetings. Use a cloud file sharing system or repository to place all your updated and relevant sales and marketing materials. Make sure everyone has internet access, enough hard-drive space on their devices and then make sure they synch regularly. Emailing the latest presentation deck and product materials is not productive or effective and I’m sure welcomed by any IT teams trying to manage staff email inbox capacities.

3. Collect, share, analyse your data to make timely decisions

What data are your teams collecting about your prospects and the sales process? Who has access to the data? Who has the ability to analyse them? How are you making timely and relevant decisions from the data?

Make sure sales usage data is shared with marketing teams so they can understand which content is being used, which is not and potentially the key content which helped motivate prospects to purchase. Sharing this data will give them an opportunity to directly impact revenue and improve ROI.

Tip: According to the Sirius Decisions study on average across all companies evaluated 65% of content goes unused and 55% of marketers don’t know what assets the sales department use the most. Adopting a sales enablement software solution, like Scaura, means you can track and analyse which content is being used, which content pieces are more relevant, and which pieces are integral to a deal win.

If you’d like to know more about how Now Comms can help your business bridge the gap between sales and marketing to drive more wins, please contact us anytime for a relevant and value-add conversation. Or if you’d like to find out how Scuara can help improve your sales processes to drive more wins, then please get in touch.