I have been bouncing off the topic with some very accomplished professionals from varied skill and experience sets; mainly in search of a best practices framework that can be put together as a generic solution. I am a B2B sales expert, and my client organisations range from selling Geospatial solutions to ERP, from power grids to healthcare technology, and I have witnessed the way the sales landscape has changed.

Today before a prospect agrees to see a rep, they are through at-least 50% of their buying cycle; So with a smaller window left to make an impact the role of a field sales guy has moved up the food chain too; from communicating value to creating value.

Now with the information overload it boils down to creating the right messaging and content which, “they see it, they get it and they love it”. Marketing is moving from the business of communication to the business of delivering experiences, not just shoving more content at people. More and more content isn’t the answer because people want to get entertained or get useful information without having to read a long white paper. And marketers want to deliver a more engaging, more interactive experience.

Up to 70% of content created by B2B marketing teams is never used by sales. While this number is certainly too high, it’s not surprising when you consider that sales teams almost never work with their content counterparts to create content. But I’ll let you in on a secret: Marketing desperately wants to create content that I as a salesperson will love. 🙂

Some things that I have seen work:

1. Small is powerful.
2. Videos/ Pictures attract more eyeballs.
3. It takes at-least 4 different touch points in a marketing cycle to actually move a cold prospect to a qualified prospect.
4. Quick response time to any interactions happening on social media. Be it a thank you or a small like followed by an email.
5. Games, quizzes, light apps, puzzles, etc are gaining momentum.
6. Content is still the king.
7. Even if you make VLSI chips with embedded neon-technology, it’s no longer OK to be boring. Humour is important!