One of the biggest challenges for those in enterprise tech sales is getting a foot in the door. It’s not just about getting a decision-maker to take your call, it’s also about knowing who the decision-makers are to start with, and what tactic or trigger will get you that in.
I think that many of us make the mistake of thinking it’s all about selling our products right from the start. What we forget is that when we’re looking to get a foot in the door that’s exactly what the next step is – a meeting, a phone call etc. – not a sale.
Instead of approaching the prospect with the aim of selling our product, we should be focused on the next step. Getting an in.
So, what are the benefits of scheduling a 20 minutes conversation with you? That’s a tough one for the sales rep. Why would anyone give up their time to take a sales call unless they were already exploring your solution?
Why Will Prospects Want To Talk To You?
I will let you into a little secret; content marketing is really working for me. If you’ve noticed an increase in posts on LinkedIn and on the BuyerDeck blog, there’s a reason for it – not that I haven’t got anything better to do!
What I’m finding by writing and publishing regular content is that it’s giving me something to talk about with prospects. It’s getting me that foot in the door where the next step is to continue the conversation on another platform (a phone call and a live demo).
The key, as any content marketer will tell you, is to identify the challenges, the friction points, and the subjects (including the fun stuff) that your prospects are interested in. Naturally, these need to be aligned with your solution; and you need to have something to say about them.
Great content is the first step for starting a conversation with buyers; the next is to keep that conversation going throughout the sales cycle.
I’m no expert at content marketing, but this is how I’m seeing others using content, and what I’m trying to replicate at BuyerDeck. They’re creating:
- Content that addresses what buyers are interested in – especially their pain points,
- Content targeted at key decision-makers, not a one-size-fits all approach,
- Content that is personalised, speaks to the reader, shares their pain and demonstrates understanding,
- Content for different stages of the sales cycle, helping to address friction points along the way,
- Content for discovery such as technical information as they near the end of the cycle.
This is also what we want to help our clients with, providing a content management system that helps them use their content to start conversations and get in the door.
Have You Got Great Content To Share?
Perhaps the biggest content challenge our clients have, especially the sales people we talk to, is having the right content and using it proactively. Whether you’re creating content yourself, or your marketing department does this job for you, it’s vital that it’s attracting the right prospects and converting them.
As I see it, half the battle is finding the right content, and the other half is gauging what your prospect’s interest levels are. Are they interested enough to take a call, and are they ready to actively engage with you? You need to know how your content is performing.
This is why I spend so much time pouring over the analytics and following up on engagement; and also why we’ve been honing the analytics in BuyerDeck to ensure that users get these all important insights.
So, now the secrets out – there’s an ulterior motive for sharing my thoughts on sales with you! Are you doing the same with your prospects?
We’ve just updated our content management system so that it’s highly intuitive for both Sales and Marketing to use. Find out more about the latest version here.