Your sales team is starving for content
Asking a sales team to close deals without content is like sending a soldier to war without a weapon. Sure, your sales team may have their wits and their training, but if they have no content, they’re relying entirely on confidence, relationship building, and storytelling.
But here’s the hard truth: 7-figure deals aren’t built on “trust me, bro.”
Content is your sales team’s lifeline
Modern buyers expect more than a good pitch — they demand proof, value, and tailored insights at every step of their decision-making process. Case studies, white papers, and product one-pagers help your prospects bridge the gap from “I don’t know about this” to “this seems like a pretty sure bet.”
This stat is a little old (it’s from 2018), but it’s a good one:
Forrester has shown, for example, that 60% of B2B buyers don’t want to interact with a sales rep, and 62% say they can finalize their purchase selection criteria based solely on digital content. That means your content must fill that interaction gap — or your competitors’ will. (Source: “Crap” Content Continues to Describe B2B Marketing)
I’m sure the numbers are even higher today than they were in 2018 when that was written. If that many people don’t want to talk to your sales team and they want to make a purchasing decision on their own, then how can you expect that to happen without self-guided sales content?
It should be self-evident, but sales teams tend to close deals faster when they have content. The AI I asked about this says “15% faster” but has no citation (of course), so I’ll leave it to you to disbelieve its hallucination.
Without content, your sales can suffer
Without content, your sales team faces unnecessary obstacles, like:
Longer sales cycles: If prospects don’t have the info they need, they have to ask for it. And if the sales team doesn’t have the answers handy, then they’ve got to ask for it. If they just had a PDF handy, it’d be easy.
Missed opportunities: Imagine choosing between two products on Amazon. Product A has two 5-star reviews and Product B has 3,000+ 5-star reviews. Which one are you choosing? Even if A is better, you’re probably going with B.
Lost credibility: A confident pitch isn’t enough when prospects expect tangible evidence to support the claims of the pitch.
The fastest, most streamlined sales process is the one that gives a prospect everything they need to go from awareness to decision. If you have all the content they need on your website (and it’s easy to find), you’re good! If not, you’re adding unnecessary friction to the process.
Content generates leads and feeds sales
Yes, this heading has a bit of the “if you build it, they will come” vibe, which I generally despise, but it is also true. With the right strategy, you can generate leads with content, fill your pipeline, and let your sales team take it from there.
A good digital marketing strategy will attract people to your website, where you can deliver that sweet, sweet content that fulfills your visitors’ needs. Then you can do everything from spyware-like user tracking to opt-in forms where people can tell you they’re interested in your product. (Here’s my recommendation for “minimally-viable product content” (MVPC) that will move your prospect through the sales funnel.)
At the very least, you should have these on your website:
Case studies that demonstrate how and why your customers are successful thanks to your products and services
One-pagers that summarize your product’s features and benefits in a format that’s short, easy to share, and easy to understand
White papers that explain the technical details of your product (this is a bit niche and I usually only recommend it for technical products that have technical buyers)
And behind the scenes, you should have:
Battle cards that explain competitor products, advantages, threats, etc.
Persona breakdowns that explain who’s most likely to buy your products and why
Personalized materials that address the needs of those key personas
Product explainers that help the sales team know what the heck they’re actually selling and why (you’d be surprised how many sales people don’t understand the products they sell)
Make content part of your culture FTW
Of course, merely having content doesn’t help you win. You gotta know what to do with it and you need to set an expectation that content needs to exist in order to increase sales. For example, any time there’s a new product or feature launch, people at your company should expect the MVPC to exist, know where to find it, and know how to use it.
Giving your sales team the content they need generates results that speak for themselves:
Shorter sales cycles
Higher win rates
Increased revenue
Happier employees
Shinier, healthier skin
Stop making your sales team fend for themselves. Arm them with the content they need to win deals. Numbers will go up and all of your wildest dreams might come true.
