(By Elizabeth Tuico) Since I straddle both marketing and sales, my perspective on content derives from the business development lens. Earning acknowledgement from a prospect is tough, securing a sale can be a long road. How do sales team breakthrough the noise? Consider authentic content written for the ideal customer using input from your sales and business development teams.

Many companies separate sales and marketing into isolated silos. However, information discovered during the sales process remains an untapped resource for some content marketing teams. Working together, sales and marketing can create high-value content that converts prospects into customers. 

According to Forrester, sales team don’t use 65% of content marketing assets available because they miss the mark. Using a cross-functional approach, content and messaging complements the sales cycle to better engage clients and prospects and create content that drives revenue.

General Rule: 6-8 Touches

According to research from Salesforce, it takes six to eight marketing touches to generate a viable sales lead. I’ve reached out to prospects up to 20 times before a dialogue started. Sometimes, I tweak established marketing materials since I speak to prospects and talk to them directly about their pain points. The changes are often subtle but I see results from the edited copy.

Latest Stats

Below are recent statistics on content collected by Adobe:

• 77% of B2B marketers say they changed their content strategy after the pandemic.

• 70% of brands changed their audience targeting and messaging after the pandemic.

• 68% of online experiences start with a search query.

• 46% of businesses want to spend more on content.

• 79% of brands use content to generate leads.

• 70% of consumers bought a product after seeing a video about it on YouTube.

• 84% of organizations follow a content strategy.

• 53% of mobile users will leave if your website loads in more than three seconds.

• 63% of B2B marketers use content to boost customer loyalty.

• 79% of B2B consumers care about content trustworthiness.

• 86% of marketers drive traffic to their website with video content.

Content remains the backbone of a marketing strategy. How can marketers develop content to boost revenue?

Defining Viable Prospects

Truly understanding your customers is a key component to creating authentic content, but many marketing team members don’t interact with end users. And that’s okay. Is your marketing team engaging in regular dialogues with business development and sales?

Considering asking your sales team members the following:

• What does the prospect need the most?

• What is the timeline for the buying decision?

• What are the most common budgetary requirements?

• Is the primary contact the individual with decision-making authority? If not, what content will grab the attention of the person who signs off on the sale?

• What are the typical pain points for the ideal customer?

Lead Magnets that Convert

96% of business-to-business customers rely on content to inform their buying decisions. Lead magnets remain an excellent way to distribute free quality content in exchange for a prospect’s contact information.

Work with your sales department to create materials that your audience can’t easily get elsewhere. Try to include unique industry insights and solutions that solve common industry pain points.

In addition to white papers and eBooks, consider producing:

• Resource libraries (a collection of tools that help people achieve results)

• Interviews with experts on a relevant topic

• Original data and research (which sets your company apart from others)

• Infographics

Also develop a graphic link for your social media accounts the users can easily access and share the offer to generate more word-of-mouth publicity.

Sales Input & Social Media

Social media messaging tends to be done in a silo. This represents an often-overlooked opportunity to be more strategic with input from business development and sales.

Months before an important RFP hits the streets, marketers can position their firms for success by disseminating targeted posts that highlight your portfolio and expertise. Social media messaging also can be developed for specific buyer personas.

With the proper timing and business intelligence from your sales team, social media messaging can put your company can position your company as a front runner.

It’s all about consistency and finding a cadence that works. If you commit to quality and post on a predictable schedule, your content will quickly achieve results. If marketers engage in a regular dialogue with sales and business teams, expect to gain even more traction and better ROI metrics.

Elizabeth Tuico owns Rebel Road Creative, a marketing and content writing consultancy. She is based in Washington, D.C.