When it comes to content ideation, there is often a collective moan and groan. Coming up with topic ideas for your firm’s next blog topic, content piece, or marketing collateral can be draining and exhausting, especially if you’ve been creating content for a while. All ideas can seem tired, have already been done, or seem worthless.
This is very common, so don’t fret or lose hope. So where do you turn when you feel like you’ve written about everything and don’t have any more good ideas? It’s not a popular idea in the digital marketing world – but the sales team might have your next great blog topic.
Tension Between Sales & Marketing
As an experienced marketer, digital marketer, and business development professional, I have witnessed a strange tension between the sales and marketing departments in many companies across a variety of industries. While there may be deeper issues causing the tension – it doesn’t mean that marketing shouldn’t tap the sales team as a great resource for content topics. In fact, there are a variety of reasons why your online marketing team should turn to sales from time to time to get that next great blog or content topic.
Why Consult Sales For Your Next Blog Topic?
You may be reticent to ask the sales team for your next blog topic, but there is a host of reasons why they can be a great internal resource for material.
- They talk to potential and existing clients every day
Whether you have an outside or inside sales team, they are communicating with potential and current clients every single day. As an online marketing professional, you likely have less day-to-day contact with your firm’s prospects and clients. Hence, it’s a good idea to check in with the sales team from time to time to check the health of the leads you are driving, find out what clients are saying, and learn what prospects are saying as well.
- They know common questions
Any sales person worth their salt can list 5 – 10 questions they get every day from current and potential clients. Typically, these questions are about pricing, product and service delivery, processes, etc. Asking your sales team about the common questions they receive enables you to build a list of frequently asked questions. Your next blog is now an FAQ about your industry, products, services, or process.
- They know typical objections to overcome
Sales people have to overcome objections on a daily basis. Did you know that it takes at least five continuous follow up efforts before a customer says yes? (Source: MarketingDonut) Not only does that require a lot of persistence, it requires overcoming objections. The next blog or digital content piece you create can help your sales team overcome those objections early on and shorten a sales cycle. That’s a win-win.
- They are on the frontlines representing your brand, services, products
Prospective and existing clients may only have experience with your sales team and your website. That means your sales team is the representative for your brand, services, or products. Chatting with the sales team enables you to gain insight to how they are representing the brand and gives you the opportunity to help them better represent the brand with the right online marketing tools and blogs.
- They can use content to nurture leads and close deals
Typically, sales people have to follow up several times before they can get a prospect on the phone or close a deal. As you likely know, content is a great way to explain benefits, differentiate you from your competitors, and provide solutions for your prospects. Simply asking your sales team what they need to nurture a lead and close a deal could inspire your next blog piece. For example, not all the prospects we work with understand why we build websites in WordPress. Rather than continually explain the benefits, our Creative Director drafted a blog on 4 Reasons to Use WordPress in Your Website Design. This blog is now a useful tool for nurturing and educating potential clients.
- They know what sells
Your sales team knows what sells and what doesn’t sell – just ask them. If you are trying to boost sales for a particular product or service, your sales team can provide insight on what sells and more importantly WHY! As an online marketing professional, you can’t develop new products, but you can learn new ways to position existing products or services. This insight can help to determine new angles and topics to discuss on your next blog.
Your sales team is a great resource for determining content for your online marketing efforts. While we don’t suggest they lead the online marketing strategy, we have found that sales can offer new, fresh ideas that provide valuable, helpful information for improving ROI of your content strategy.