Posted: January 6th, 2012 | Author: Jim Moliski | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »
We had some great insights at our webinar, Five Ways to Improve the Quality and Value of Sales Enablement Content. Jim Ninivaggi and Marisa Kopec, research analysts at SiriusDecisions, walked us through their experience with technology companies and common sales enablement content challenges.
A key takeaway was that you should approach sales enablement like you do demand generation. Target your message to the right audience, align content assets with the buying and selling cycles and be creative with your delivery. Plus, measure — always measure.
Additionally, our attendees had a chance to give some feedback through poll questions. 50% of respondents are NOT aligning sales enablement content with the sales cycle. They see the need, but they haven’t gotten there yet.
I invite you to download the slides or watch the full webinar replay. We’ve also published an eBook on how to evaluate content. In it you’ll learn how to spend less time and money on content while supporting sellers to even greater heights in performance Click here to download!
And let me know if you have any questions or comments!
Posted: June 16th, 2011 | Author: Jim Moliski | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »
If I put you on the spot right now, what would you say is the most pressing challenge facing sales and marketing organizations today? In our eyes, it’s providing salespeople with easy-to-use tools that help them connect the dots between customers’ problems and the great things their company does to solve them
It’s a tough challenge, and one that we, as a sales enablement content company, help clients grapple with on a daily basis. If you’ve visited our site, you’ve probably read about our methodology and some of the services we offer, including Messaging Architecture Design, Aligned Asset Framework and Content Services. These all address that challenge.
A lot of our clients ask us, “How do I make sure I’m creating the right content for my sales teams? They aren’t using what we put out there, and they aren’t giving us guidance on what they want.” We’ve found that any organization can answer this by following a few simple steps – a position we explore in our new e-book, 6 Steps to Giving Your Sales Teams the Content They Need (and Want). In it, you’ll find tips to help you:
- Build content that is aligned with buyer needs and business outcomes
- Identify the tools that sellers really need and will actually use
- Create maps that match tools to selling interactions
- Prioritize what to create based on impact and level of effort
I urge you to check it out – and once you do, I’d love to hear how you think these steps can be applied in your own sales and marketing organizations.
Posted: May 12th, 2011 | Author: Jim Moliski | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »
I just spent three days in Scottsdale at the
Sirius Decisions Summit with hundreds of b-to-b sellers and marketers. I’m more convinced than ever that it’s time to re-think content strategies. According to
Jay Gaines, Sirius’ specialist in demand creation strategies, centralized responsibility for content strategy is becoming a requirement for highly effective b-to-b marketing.
We couldn’t agree more!
When looking at content marketing, sales enablement and account based marketing, the common thread that unites these topics is the need for good content. But responsibility for creating content lives in silos. Here’s an example: how many of your company’s great demand gen pieces get distributed to your salespeople in easy-to-use formats? Clearly there are a lot of good ideas there; shouldn’t your salespeople be equipped to talk about them?
Do any of these statements apply to you?
- “We have too much stuff and we’re creating more all of the time.”
- “Our content portal is like an office refrigerator – nothing ever gets thrown out.”
- “We’re being told to speak customer problems, but all of our content is about products.”
Everyone talks about resource constraints. But these statements are about quality, not quantity.
In my own experience working with dozens of companies in this area, the bigger you are and the more you have to sell, the bigger the problem gets.
Someone needs to lead the charge on fixing this problem. Call it a czar, process owner, facilitator – you need a leader to develop common standards and a systematic approach. Stay tuned to learn more…
Posted: February 24th, 2011 | Author: Jim Moliski | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Forrester’s CEO, George Colony, kicked off the Technology Sales Enablement Forum last week with a report from a technology CEO conference at Davos.
He asked a simple question: “Are you satisfied that your sales team is getting your company to its strategic goals?”
The majority said no.
What was the first problem?
Speed.
In the eyes of the folks at the top, companies are moving too fast for their sales teams to keep up. New product launches, acquisitions, new competitors…..it’s all too fast. Today’s technology sellers can’t connect the dots between customer problems and favorable outcomes because they have a great stuff to sell, but they lack to tools to sell it properly.
When CEOs think Sales Enablement, they think acceleration.
Accelerated solution development. Accelerated sales cycles. Accelerated revenue growth.
Our clients know they can’t keep up with the pace and that they need help. That’s why they come to us.
Is your sales organization moving fast enough?
