Your Sales Enablement Program Needs Content in Context
What you think is a content problem, can be solved by context
The most commonly used word in Sales Enablement is content. (Regardless of how you think about or define sales enablement, that statement is hard to dispute). Sales enablement teams want to make sure their sellers have access to the right content, sellers want the right content, and marketers want to make sure that sellers are using the right content.
However, if you dig a little deeper – the real problem is never about content. Many times organizations have content, great content, and their sellers can find it. Yet, they struggle to meet the sales and revenue goals, and sellers still feel as though they are not being fully enabled.
So, what is missing? Context. There is more to content than just the content itself. Sellers need to know when, and why, and how they should be using the content. They need to know what products they should be trying to upsell based on specific deal criteria; they should know what benefits and product features they should highlight when speaking to certain buyer personas. Don’t get me wrong, a well-written, well-executed piece of collateral is necessary, but just giving your sellers a way to find it is not enough.
So, why is content what everyone’s talking about? There are a few reasons why content is such a common phrase within many organizations.
- It is the lowest hanging fruit. Let’s face it, many times when we are faced with a large project, it’s easier to tackle it one small piece at a time. It feels good to be able to set a goal, and mark it done. The same applies here – it can be a lot of work to pull together a well thought out sales enablement program, sometimes it is just easier to say, “Hey, let’s start with getting all of our content in one place”. That sounds easier, and more manageable.
- It’s easier to quantify. It is a lot easier to analyze how content is being used, how much is spent on it, and how effective it is. Case in point, SiriusDecisions has published some very detailed reports on the true cost of content. Context is a little harder to quantify.
- It’s easier to explain. When you need to get budget approved for a specific initiative, or you are trying to explain to your CEO or Senior Leadership team what you are wanting to do, it tends to be easier to simplify it – and dumb it down to “just being about content”.
- Do not just completely overlook content. At the end of the day, content does matter. And your sellers being able to find it does matter. But that should only be a small fraction of the focus of a strong sales enablement program.
So what’s the point that I’m trying to make here? Don’t sell yourself short and focus on just getting your content in order. Look at what is really truly going to have the greatest impact on transforming your business. The most rewarding projects aren’t always the easiest, but there are lots of resources out there to help you along the way – for example, check out our resources.
