How to build a content strategy for sales enablement
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2025 6:19 am
Bridging the gap between marketing and sales means providing smarter approaches when dealing with potential customers. That’s why you need a sales enablement content strategy.
Demands for a good sales training strategy are always growing, as more and more companies understand the need to provide their sales teams with valuable information to make smarter sales .
Additionally, having a sales enablement content strategy helps you overseas chinese in europe data define the purpose of your creations and carry out actions that will help you achieve your goals. Both marketing and sales teams will benefit , as they will all deliver better results. Unfortunately, few companies understand this value.
In fact, this strategy allows you to deliver the right content to your potential customers and thus bring them closer to conversion. For this to work, marketing and sales must work together to achieve the same goals.
In this article, we will introduce you to:
What is sales enablement?
Why is a sales enablement content strategy important?
How can I create a sales enablement content strategy for my business?
What is sales enablement?
Sales Enablement is the term used to refer to the process that brings the best information to the sales team, contributing to the development of more effective sales. This data allows for more strategic approaches, smarter ways to engage a potential buyer and a better understanding of the customer cycle.
To generate expected benefits, your sales enablement strategy must have the right focus: the buyer. For example, imagine you are working on a B2B marketing plan .
This involves understanding the people the sales team will be dealing with, taking into account their needs, motivations and fears. Sales enablement is about providing the right tools for salespeople to close more deals and sell more.
We can't talk about sales enablement and ignore the importance of good content. Salespeople need content to engage with potential buyers effectively , depending on how close they are to converting. Plus, the way customers use your content can even inform and/or update you about their needs.
Measuring the right data is essential to a good sales enablement strategy. This means tracking metrics related to sales cycles, quotas met, and average deal size. You should also consider business goals and numbers that help you understand your success.
In summary, you can consider the following principles of a sales training strategy.
Commitment to the process
To work properly, a sales enablement strategy needs commitment . That means building a framework grounded in the best practices that this approach requires. It’s also an ongoing process that requires constant improvement as it evolves over time.
Participation of all teams - from top to bottom -
Working with sales enablement can be a big game-changer for a company, depending on how far behind it is in terms of strategy. A top-down approach helps set the right priorities with the rest of the sales team, thus enabling everyone to align their priorities.
Measuring success metrics
What goals do you have? A good sales enablement strategy can help you achieve them, but that requires measuring the right metrics. Consider what your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are – traffic generated, lead generation, average deal size, achievement, time to close, etc.
Brief and timely content
You need to know your prospect’s needs and expectations in order to provide the right content that will effectively engage them . This means a focused approach on timely, right-sized content, rather than long, big presentations that will effectively not grab their attention.
Why is a sales enablement content strategy important?
Being able to sell more effectively is important for any business. Keep in mind that your competitors are always looking for ways to optimize their sales strategies, which requires you to always look for the best approach to stay ahead of the market. This includes thinking about a good sales enablement content strategy.
Leveraging the right content to attract the right audience to your business is nothing new. However, things get a lot more interesting when you can use the information those people provide to help your sales staff.
There are several types of content your business can use to positively impact your audience as they move toward conversion. These will allow you to provide value to your audience and solidify your presence as an authority in your field.
How can I create a sales enablement content strategy for my business?
Now that you understand the importance of a good sales enablement content strategy, the next step is to learn how to do it the right way. Your success depends on how well you can align your content with your target audience’s expectations to capture insights that can optimize sales.
Below, check out the steps needed to develop a solid sales enablement content strategy for your business.
1. Establish a sales flow chart
Following a process is critical to the success of any initiative, including your sales enablement content strategy. In this regard, the first step you should take is to establish a sales flowchart.
A sales flowchart helps you ensure that your entire team follows the same process toward your goals and optimizes each step. Consult with your salespeople and try to find a way to merge their processes into one that is satisfactory.
Since we're also talking about content, it's imperative that each step in your flowchart makes it clear what it represents, as well as specifying the buyer's consideration stage. This information will help you plan the right content for each step.
Keep in mind that this flowchart doesn’t have to be immutable. As time goes by and your strategy evolves, you should adapt its structure to ensure that it always produces good results.
2. Audit your existing content
Before you start creating new content, make sure to take a step back and audit what you already have and what your sales team is using. Without a doubt, when working with a sales enablement content strategy, this should be your starting point.
Since this is an integration-focused approach, engage with your salespeople and ask which pieces of content can deliver the best results . Note the type of content and where it fits into the buyer’s journey.
This is also the time to learn what isn’t working. Ask your sales team what gaps they see that could be filled with the right content.
3. Use your current content to create new content
In addition to creating original content, you can improve your sales enablement strategy by using what you already have. Your sales team may have and use several pieces of content. Chances are, they've even had success by adopting them.
Additionally, that team likely has enough insider knowledge to help you see what they can successfully use at each stage of the buyer’s journey.
Understanding your prospect’s decision-making process is essential to creating the right content to point them in your direction. For example, if you’re looking to sell an integrated cloud solution, it’s smart to offer video demos or work with solution seekers for sales enablement .
4. Choose the right types of content
For your sales enablement strategy to be effective, it is important to choose the right type of content. After all, it is directly responsible for the success (or failure) of your approach. In this context, remember: choosing the right structure is just as important as the content itself.
The right choice depends on what is important to the audience you want to convert. For example, if you know your potential buyer needs numbers as proof that your solution works, you can offer a case study of a successful implementation.
Common examples of content that work well with sales enablement strategies include:
blog posts;
case studies and ebooks;
customer recommendations;
segmented email marketing campaigns;
interactive content , like the kind you can create with ION.
5. Set up your content production team
Make sure you assign the right people to create the content that will be used in your sales enablement strategy. These staff should understand what is important at each stage of the buyer’s journey, as well as the correct formats for each phase.
For example, if you want to work with interactive marketing , you'll need to hire people who understand what it takes to make it work. These people also need to know how to use the right tools for the job.
To keep this team productive, keep everyone in the loop on your goals and strategies. Marketing and sales need to be in sync.
6. Determine the content production rate
Another crucial step in a good content marketing strategy involves deciding on the production rate. To make this decision, you need to consider the number of contributors and the demand that the strategy requires.
Also, as your potential consumers identify the content they want, it will become clearer to you which of them can be used as a reference for future production. In this sense, try to learn from your audience's preferences and thus achieve better results.
These two aspects of your sales enablement content strategy must work in harmony for successful results.
7. Measure your results
To ensure the effectiveness of your sales enablement content strategy, you need to measure the results. Do this constantly to correct what is wrong in your low moments and learn from your success in the high moments.
Try to understand how each piece of content contributes in terms of results. Observe how the choice of type and approach influences the achievement of your goals. This is a key learning opportunity for the future.
Also, make sure to communicate these results appropriately between your marketing and sales teams. Everyone should be on the same page and prioritize conquering organizational challenges.
Now that you know the value of a good sales enablement content strategy, it’s time to work with a plan for excellence in mind . No content strategy can work well on its own, as marketing and sales must always be in sync with the right goals and approaches. This way, you’ll always have the right content to guide your audience towards conversion.
Demands for a good sales training strategy are always growing, as more and more companies understand the need to provide their sales teams with valuable information to make smarter sales .
Additionally, having a sales enablement content strategy helps you overseas chinese in europe data define the purpose of your creations and carry out actions that will help you achieve your goals. Both marketing and sales teams will benefit , as they will all deliver better results. Unfortunately, few companies understand this value.
In fact, this strategy allows you to deliver the right content to your potential customers and thus bring them closer to conversion. For this to work, marketing and sales must work together to achieve the same goals.
In this article, we will introduce you to:
What is sales enablement?
Why is a sales enablement content strategy important?
How can I create a sales enablement content strategy for my business?
What is sales enablement?
Sales Enablement is the term used to refer to the process that brings the best information to the sales team, contributing to the development of more effective sales. This data allows for more strategic approaches, smarter ways to engage a potential buyer and a better understanding of the customer cycle.
To generate expected benefits, your sales enablement strategy must have the right focus: the buyer. For example, imagine you are working on a B2B marketing plan .
This involves understanding the people the sales team will be dealing with, taking into account their needs, motivations and fears. Sales enablement is about providing the right tools for salespeople to close more deals and sell more.
We can't talk about sales enablement and ignore the importance of good content. Salespeople need content to engage with potential buyers effectively , depending on how close they are to converting. Plus, the way customers use your content can even inform and/or update you about their needs.
Measuring the right data is essential to a good sales enablement strategy. This means tracking metrics related to sales cycles, quotas met, and average deal size. You should also consider business goals and numbers that help you understand your success.
In summary, you can consider the following principles of a sales training strategy.
Commitment to the process
To work properly, a sales enablement strategy needs commitment . That means building a framework grounded in the best practices that this approach requires. It’s also an ongoing process that requires constant improvement as it evolves over time.
Participation of all teams - from top to bottom -
Working with sales enablement can be a big game-changer for a company, depending on how far behind it is in terms of strategy. A top-down approach helps set the right priorities with the rest of the sales team, thus enabling everyone to align their priorities.
Measuring success metrics
What goals do you have? A good sales enablement strategy can help you achieve them, but that requires measuring the right metrics. Consider what your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are – traffic generated, lead generation, average deal size, achievement, time to close, etc.
Brief and timely content
You need to know your prospect’s needs and expectations in order to provide the right content that will effectively engage them . This means a focused approach on timely, right-sized content, rather than long, big presentations that will effectively not grab their attention.
Why is a sales enablement content strategy important?
Being able to sell more effectively is important for any business. Keep in mind that your competitors are always looking for ways to optimize their sales strategies, which requires you to always look for the best approach to stay ahead of the market. This includes thinking about a good sales enablement content strategy.
Leveraging the right content to attract the right audience to your business is nothing new. However, things get a lot more interesting when you can use the information those people provide to help your sales staff.
There are several types of content your business can use to positively impact your audience as they move toward conversion. These will allow you to provide value to your audience and solidify your presence as an authority in your field.
How can I create a sales enablement content strategy for my business?
Now that you understand the importance of a good sales enablement content strategy, the next step is to learn how to do it the right way. Your success depends on how well you can align your content with your target audience’s expectations to capture insights that can optimize sales.
Below, check out the steps needed to develop a solid sales enablement content strategy for your business.
1. Establish a sales flow chart
Following a process is critical to the success of any initiative, including your sales enablement content strategy. In this regard, the first step you should take is to establish a sales flowchart.
A sales flowchart helps you ensure that your entire team follows the same process toward your goals and optimizes each step. Consult with your salespeople and try to find a way to merge their processes into one that is satisfactory.
Since we're also talking about content, it's imperative that each step in your flowchart makes it clear what it represents, as well as specifying the buyer's consideration stage. This information will help you plan the right content for each step.
Keep in mind that this flowchart doesn’t have to be immutable. As time goes by and your strategy evolves, you should adapt its structure to ensure that it always produces good results.
2. Audit your existing content
Before you start creating new content, make sure to take a step back and audit what you already have and what your sales team is using. Without a doubt, when working with a sales enablement content strategy, this should be your starting point.
Since this is an integration-focused approach, engage with your salespeople and ask which pieces of content can deliver the best results . Note the type of content and where it fits into the buyer’s journey.
This is also the time to learn what isn’t working. Ask your sales team what gaps they see that could be filled with the right content.
3. Use your current content to create new content
In addition to creating original content, you can improve your sales enablement strategy by using what you already have. Your sales team may have and use several pieces of content. Chances are, they've even had success by adopting them.
Additionally, that team likely has enough insider knowledge to help you see what they can successfully use at each stage of the buyer’s journey.
Understanding your prospect’s decision-making process is essential to creating the right content to point them in your direction. For example, if you’re looking to sell an integrated cloud solution, it’s smart to offer video demos or work with solution seekers for sales enablement .
4. Choose the right types of content
For your sales enablement strategy to be effective, it is important to choose the right type of content. After all, it is directly responsible for the success (or failure) of your approach. In this context, remember: choosing the right structure is just as important as the content itself.
The right choice depends on what is important to the audience you want to convert. For example, if you know your potential buyer needs numbers as proof that your solution works, you can offer a case study of a successful implementation.
Common examples of content that work well with sales enablement strategies include:
blog posts;
case studies and ebooks;
customer recommendations;
segmented email marketing campaigns;
interactive content , like the kind you can create with ION.
5. Set up your content production team
Make sure you assign the right people to create the content that will be used in your sales enablement strategy. These staff should understand what is important at each stage of the buyer’s journey, as well as the correct formats for each phase.
For example, if you want to work with interactive marketing , you'll need to hire people who understand what it takes to make it work. These people also need to know how to use the right tools for the job.
To keep this team productive, keep everyone in the loop on your goals and strategies. Marketing and sales need to be in sync.
6. Determine the content production rate
Another crucial step in a good content marketing strategy involves deciding on the production rate. To make this decision, you need to consider the number of contributors and the demand that the strategy requires.
Also, as your potential consumers identify the content they want, it will become clearer to you which of them can be used as a reference for future production. In this sense, try to learn from your audience's preferences and thus achieve better results.
These two aspects of your sales enablement content strategy must work in harmony for successful results.
7. Measure your results
To ensure the effectiveness of your sales enablement content strategy, you need to measure the results. Do this constantly to correct what is wrong in your low moments and learn from your success in the high moments.
Try to understand how each piece of content contributes in terms of results. Observe how the choice of type and approach influences the achievement of your goals. This is a key learning opportunity for the future.
Also, make sure to communicate these results appropriately between your marketing and sales teams. Everyone should be on the same page and prioritize conquering organizational challenges.
Now that you know the value of a good sales enablement content strategy, it’s time to work with a plan for excellence in mind . No content strategy can work well on its own, as marketing and sales must always be in sync with the right goals and approaches. This way, you’ll always have the right content to guide your audience towards conversion.