Sales collateral best practices
Now that we've covered the meaning of sales collateral and the value it brings, let's look at some best practices to help your organization leverage collateral as much as possible.
Assess your sales materials
First, take inventory of your current sales collateral library. Gather all your content, then take a step back to review each piece. Consider if it supports your organization's goals and objectives. This will help you identify what type of collateral is missing. And remember, if one part of your collateral becomes outdated, it doesn't mean the entire piece is useless. Search for ways to keep the parts of content that work while discarding anything that's no longer relevant or up to date.
Tailor collateral to the buyer's journey
It's important to understand the process your buyers take to make a purchase decision so you can customize your collateral accordingly. Remember, personalized sales content is far more engaging than generic marketing materials. Give your sellers the ability to quickly and easily customize content for each buyer.
Talk to your sellers
The people who have the best ideas and feedback about your content are the ones who use it each day. Ask your sellers what content they find most useful or used most often. At the same time, find out what they rarely use or would like to see created to better address their needs.
Track and measure collateral effectiveness
Monitor content analytics such as open rates for email attachments, engagement with digital collateral, and conversion rates at different stages of the sales process. This will help you refine and improve your collateral over time.
Leverage a sales enablement tool
Let technology be your partner! A dedicated sales content management system organizes, stores, and manages sales collateral. Let's learn a bit more about the value of an enablement tool and how it helps organizations manage collateral.
A sales collateral platform is a dedicated system that organizes, stores, and manages sales content efficiently. This platform centralizes all sales materials in one accessible location to ensure sales teams can quickly find and utilize the content they need. Key features of a sales collateral platform include:
- Centralized repository: A single organized location for all documents, presentations, and other types of content.
- Easy access and searchability: Advanced search functions and tagging systems to help sales reps quickly locate specific pieces of collateral.
- Customization capabilities: Tools to personalize content for different prospects and stages of the sales process.
- Analytics and tracking: Insights into how and when sales collateral is used, which pieces are most effective, and engagement metrics.
- Version control: Ensures that sales reps always have access to the most up-to-date and approved materials.
A recent survey of more than 1,200 full-time sales, enablement, and customer service professionals found that enablement tools, including various sales collateral tools and platforms, help organizations effectively manage and use their sales collateral. In The 2023 Value of Enablement Report, 9 in 10 respondents report using enablement tools in their job, and 99% of them agree that it makes their jobs easier. Let's look at why organizations need enablement technology.
Time saved
Sellers in organizations without an enablement tool or dedicated sales collateral platform spend an average of 10 hours per week searching for and updating sales and marketing materials. However, respondents at organizations that use an enablement tool save 13 hours each week.
Confident sellers
It's also worth noting that quick access to sales collateral enables sellers to not second-guess themselves. 97% of sellers say that quick access helps them speak to buyers from a more informed standpoint. Comparatively, 51% of respondents at organizations without an enablement tool say that they have misspoken during a sales or customer call.
Increased productivity
88% of respondents say that an enablement tool allows them to be more productive in their roles. When sellers can quickly locate the right content at the right time using sales collateral tools, they can shift their focus to other high-priority and revenue-generating activities. However, productivity significantly decreases at organizations without enablement technology. 91% of respondents agree that not having access to the content they need makes them feel less productive.
