The evolution of content to support the sales process in 2020 (co-branded)

How sales content changed in 2020

The evolution of content to support the sales process

What happened in 2020

Welcome...

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Introduction

2020 was the year it all changed. Find out what we saw, what we learned and what you need to do next.

In 2020 the way we created and used content to support the sales process fundamentally changed.

It needed to work harder than ever before, setting a new benchmark for quality, impact and effectiveness.

Different phases of the sales process naturally require very different content and materials to support them.

Every company has its own nuances when it comes to a defined sales process. Ultimately though, most can be grouped into 6 recognisable phases. We thought it would be useful to take a look at how the role and requirements of content has changed in each of those phases, pre- and post-2020.

Read on...

1. Demand generation

Connecting with your audience at the top of the funnel

Traditionally where marketing play, demand generation is all about finding, hooking and pulling in your target audience.

	Pre-2020	Post-2020
Audience	Overwhelming volume of content produced, audience starting to suffer from overload	Highly targeted, 1:1 personalised content to drive better engagement
Content	Typically marketing owned and orchestrated outbound activity at scale Generic content, segmented by sector, role or persona Marketing generated, little to no input from sales Little differentiation using standard, well-worn content formats (mainly pdf’s)	Interactive multimedia formats to better capture shrinking attention spans
Technology	Typically delivered via email or marketing automation platforms Broad lead scoring but little useable insight for sales team follow-up Well attended but costly in-person events Lacking well-structured follow-up with limited ROI traceability	New technologies have democratised ABM Now in the hands of sales teams (with marketing retaining a key supporting role) New technology for content delivery Much more granular analytics, providing useable insights for sales teams to inform follow-up Wholesale shift to interactive webinars and online events Much more traceability and opportunity for smarter follow-up

Eyeful-Sales Engine Alliance Customer projects

1. Global logistics business (£2bn) SalesIQ

Created an ABM process for the business development team, including a new technology solution and the creation of a bespoke white paper to build credibility and drive the ABM engagement forward.

2. Global engineering firm (€4.8bn) SalesIQ

Supported the setup, implementation and ongoing delivery of an ABM programme to enable the customer to successfully pivot from in-person events to on-line webinars.

Early stage opportunities

Keeping prospects interested and engaged

Typically where the shift in ownership from marketing to sales happens. Sales are now responsible for nurturing a prospect, but still lean heavily on marketing to provide them with interesting content to support this.

	Pre-2020	Post-2020
Audience	Developed by marketing with broad messaging that speaks to industry segment Little in the approach to differentiate one supplier from another in the eyes of the customer	Recognition that prospects are better educated/a longer way through their research by the time sales are engaged Millward Brown Digital “Navigating the New Path to Purchase” report: “The traditional purchase funnel diagram, one which any marketer could sketch from memory, is officially dead. The singular, orderly sequence of purchase stages has been scrambled, and marketers need to conform. In today’s world, where consumers have access to constant information . . . each person’s path to purchase is complex and unique.“
Content	Mostly generic content, occasionally personalised	More ownership by sales CSO Insights 5th Annual Sales Enablement Study: "Despite most sales leaders considering it to be ‘marketing’s job’, in fact just 39% of the content salespeople need is created by marketing." Increased sophistication of content being shared Less volume – more focus More tailored
Technology	Emailed out by (or on behalf of) the salesperson, typically as flat pdf’s No way of knowing level of engagement in the materials by the prospect In larger organisations, sales enablement platforms do the heavy lifting	Adoption of different formats Multimedia, interactive Personalised video tools like Lens

Eyeful-Sales Engine Alliance Customer projects

1. Global software company (£3bn) SalesIQ

Developed a video creation and editing process that allows sales to quickly record client-specific content to be shared via their existing ABM platform.

2. Travel technology provider (£2bn) SalesIQ

Supported the implementation of Seismic as their sales enablement platform, including advising on presentation and messaging design, and building new proposal documents.

Discovery and refinement

Scoping opportunities to drive out requirements and build the business case

Often highly process-driven and with complex inputs and outputs, requiring work from both the salesperson and the prospect.

	Pre-2020	Post-2020
Audience	Driven by a sales process mapped to a theoretical customer journey, with little flexibility	Recognition of wider number of stakeholders (obvious and hidden) through B2B sales process https://www.linkedin.com/posts/futureofsales_sales-is-not-a-numbers-game-activity-6753083786944110592-A6tZ Stakeholder management more important than ever Supported through ‘value add’ content (insight docs etc) that go beyond basic sales materials Same content will be guided by internal coaches
Content	A highly structured series of prospect engagements, often pulling in technical resource Personalised but generic, templated, one-size-fits-all collateral creation Content outputs from these sessions often bland and uninspiring Suggests a safe pair of hands but not exciting to work with	Discovery more important than ever – consultative sales content development is prime tool to differentiate against competition/pre-judged conclusions from prospect’s online research Content becomes far more tailored to unique situations and requirments
Technology	In larger organisations, sales enablement platforms do the heavy lifting The rise of mapping textbook sales processes by tool providers Disconnect between how sales actually work in the field and what collateral they are served up by an enablement tool	Segmentation of machine-generated templates versus highly tailored orignal materials, based on opportunity size Supporting a wide range of touchpoints

Eyeful-Sales Engine Alliance Customer projects

1. Sales technology business (£6m) SalesIQ

Provided tailored sales training and coaching to UK sales and SDR teams to help deepen questioning process, build understanding of needs and better tailor presentation of solutions, in order to grow business and secure new contracts.

2. Global software company (£3bn) SalesIQ

Supporting the creation of an ROI calculator to be sent to customers during the sales process. Innovative build within Word to reduce 3 documents down to a single and easy to use document that could be sent to customers. Solution now shared globally and the in-house sponsor won an award for the project.

Proposal

Bringing it all together

The culmination of your efforts, your chance to persuade the prospect to give you the contract. Needs to do a lot of hard work to sell you above all others, while you’re not in the room.

	Pre-2020	Post-2020
Audience	No insight into how much the customer has engaged with the proposal	Greater acceptance from customers to new approaches and more willingness to view online content, over ‘traditional’ documents Greater awareness of powerful stakeholder groups Content/tools now need to address specific needs of each group Proposals may be redeveloped several times with support from coach before being shared across all stakeholders
Content	Traditionally, standard Word docs or pdfs. Sometimes PowerPoint or InDesign for additional design Often either cut and paste from previous versions, or standard templates outputted by sales platforms At worst, generic content, with customer name swapped out and little true customisation Over-reliance on technical solutions at the expense of persuasive content	Quality and value of content still more important than ‘shininess’ of doc or originality of medium Analytics informs alignment and honing of content and sales process
Technology	Delivered as email attachments, giving less opportunity for more creative supporting materials	Sales embracing agile tech to produce shorter, more creative documents, more aligned to their digital engagement with customers Huge uptake of video and other new ways to explain complex themes simply Use of technology can help ‘track’ engagement Analytics is key: Who is reading my content and in what depth?

Eyeful-Sales Engine Alliance Customer projects

1. Global software company (£23bn) SalesIQ

Creation and delivery of a bespoke executive summary writing module for their global sales academy. Delivered in person in the US in March and then re-purposed to on-line for October due to pandemic.

2. Travel technology provider (£2bn) BidIQ

Supported Asiapac team with a major bid that harnessed HTML for an interactive submission document to ensure they stood out. Contract value of £9m.

Pitch

The make or break moment

The final chance for the sales team to shine face to face with the prospect.

	Pre-2020	Post-2020
Audience	Typically delivered in-person, allowing time and flexibility for engagement	Remote delivery, lacking visual cues Shorter timescales – the message needs to be delivered more quickly and concisely Sales supported by SMEs to address specific audience needs Cultural shift to allow SMEs to 'own' elements of the sales process
Content	Presentations often little more than restatement of points made in the proposal Information overload creates a disjointed presentation with no clear structure or message Overly wordy or complex slides, often poor graphics which don’t reflect the brand Little to no rehearsal, resulting in awkward pauses or confusing cross-talk Little to help the audience differentiate between competing companies	Innovative delivery methods, but content more important – differentiate through quality of message, content and design, not tool/platform Team delivery more important than ever Sales plus SMEs (highlights lack of presentation skills of some SMEs)
Technology	PowerPoint main weapon of choice, slides act as 'leave-behinds'	Remote delivery from multiple locations Tool options limited for actual pitch (PowerPoint still main weapon of choice) Reiterates importance of quality ‘follow up’ doc/tech (such as Folloze) Tech also helps uncover ‘hidden’ stakeholders – increasing in number and influence

Eyeful-Sales Engine Alliance Customer projects

1. European cloud & network provider (£350m) BidIQ, SalesIQ

Numerous contract wins across twelve month period from supporting a number of bids, pitches and creation of new sales collateral for sales team to take to market in 2021.

2. Global software company (£3bn) BidIQ

4 month bespoke support for Swedish sales team to secure renewal of a must-win contract. Included interim document writing, coaching, proposal and presentation support including authoring the final proposal. Result was a doubling in the value of the contract and securing the largest deal the division has ever closed.

Contract management

Retaining, sustaining and growing customers

The contract is won and delivery begins. It’s now absolutely critical that all the hard work and investment that went into winning the contract is capitalised on, through successful contract management and a flourishing relationship with the customer.

	Pre-2020	Post-2020
Audience	Typically quarterly customer review meetings Meetings get bogged down with technical issues Customers no longer clear on the value and start to focus on price	The rise of customer success Focus is shifting onto continually proving value and delivery excellence Greater alignment to customer’s business goals rather than just KPI’s When contracts are managed effectively: A different conversation – shared strategic goals Trusted engagement – true partners, not suppliers Reporting formats under greater scrutiny More eyes on them (known and hidden stakeholders)
Content	Sales hand over to account management and move on to the next opportunity Delivery starts well then urgency and innovation tails off into business-as-usual The running of the contract becomes an exercise in KPI management Not helped by standard, boring reports designed purely to tick boxes	Needs to communicate more than just historical data: Intentions and shared objectives Alignment of delivery to strategic goals Continual improvement and innovation
Technology	Limited to standard Word and Excel docs, PowerPoint slides for quarterly reviews	New ways to demonstrate continual value being brought to contract Moving beyond standard docs into rich media Analytics to understand where customer focus lies for different stakeholders

Eyeful-Sales Engine Alliance Customer projects

1. Nutrition products provider (£25bn)

Creation of online and hardcopy newsletters to keep NHS customers updated during the pandemic.

1. Global health insurer (£350m division of £100bn organisation) ContractIQ

Implementation of ContractIQ to transform approach to major contract management. Initial phase has £100m of contracts under new process, with 2021 expanding to rest of portfolio and complete reporting suite for management team.

In conclusion

As you can see, what used to work in the old world of sales is no longer good enough for the environment we work in now.

New content formats, more creativity, better messaging, clever technologies and much higher customer expectations are all contributing to a fundamental shift in the way that sales teams connect, communicate and win with both new and existing customers.

Now is the time for a root and branch review of your sales materials, content and collateral to ensure you’re setting your sales team up for success in 2021.

To learn how the Eyeful-Sales Alliance can support your content evolution, click here