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How To Make Your Product Marketing Strategy More Valuable

There’s an unpleasant secret hiding in the blind spot of your product marketing strategy. Even if your messaging is perfect for prospects and customers, none of that matters if you don’t empower your sales team. Unless your reps receive consistent messaging on its value, your product marketing strategy is toast.

Here’s what you need to consider when you craft your product marketing strategy.

 

Target Your Messaging For The Way Sellers Work

Salespeople are intensely curious, yet by and large they’re also insanely busy. Instead of ignoring this combination in your product marketing strategy, embrace it with an ingenious solution.

Reps waste too much time on non-selling activities. Chief among these is the endless search for content. Stop the madness. Now you can cut through their distractions by delivering new product information directly within their workflow.

For starters, make your content easily searchable. Next, distill your messaging into bite-sized pieces. That way, you can engage reps’ curiosity without asking for a large time commitment. After that, it’s time to associate new product content with opportunities in their CRM. And to top it off, couple these automatic notifications with formal announcements and quick knowledge checks. Implement all these steps together, and you’ll fuel their curiosity without bogging them down.

Want a method to skyrocket seller engagement in your product marketing strategy? Challenge reps to record their best pitch with the new product… and then add these videos into a sales playbook. 

 

Your Product Marketing Strategy Needs To Answer One Simple Question

“What’s in it for me?”

Unless you show reps how this new product will make them successful, they won’t incorporate it into their pitch. Adapt your product marketing strategy for the factors that motivate sellers. Specifically:

  • “How will this new product differentiate us from the competition?”
  • “Show me how this product can shorten my sales cycle.”
  • “How will this impact our commissions?”

Salespeople are naturally curious, and if you can increase their curiosity you’ll improve their memory. And the more they learn, the more successful they’ll be.

 

Avoid Shiny Object Syndrome In Your Product Marketing Strategy

Your sales team is responsible for sharing the value of your solution with prospects and customers. So, why are so many marketing pieces focused on features? Don’t get lost in the weeds with bells and whistles. Your product marketing strategy needs to address the goals of your buyers. But first, you need buy-in from your sellers. The real value becomes apparent when reps can sell the new product immediately after launch.

Value always comes before benefits. And benefits always come before features.

 

Summary

When you design a new product marketing strategy, you need to consider the needs of your sales team. They are your most valuable customers. They’re the ones who have invested the most with you, and they’re the ones who will pull you across the finish line. Empower your sales team as part of your product marketing strategy, and you’ll maximize bottom-line results. 

 

product marketing strategy, sales enablement strategy, sales enablement program, product marketing, b2b product marketing, saas product marketing, internal marketing strategies, product marketing sales enablement

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B2B Sales Training Is The Best Way To Delight Millennials

Picture this: you just accepted a new position as an Account Executive, and your B2B sales training starts tomorrow. You’re excited about the team’s culture and goals, and you can’t wait to start selling.

Then your training begins, and it completely takes the wind out of your sails.

Whether you’re a Millennial in a new role or a seasoned sales veteran, the experience is all too familiar. The typical B2B sales training is dense, long-winded, and focused on the product. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

In this article we’ll review some of the best ways to transform your B2B sales training from a cost center into a strategic advantage. All sellers in the multigenerational workforce, from Millennials to Baby Boomers, can benefit from an optimized B2B Sales Training.

 

B2B Sales Training Can Be The Key To Your Talent Strategy

Poor training leads to costly employee turnover. If Millennials don’t feel like they’re getting the right training, they’ll leave. But Millennials aren’t unique: the same goes for everyone in the multigenerational workforce. If you improve your onboarding program, then you’ll lose fewer reps. But how do you do it?

The answer is seductively simple. Don’t try to create a B2B sales training that’s only relevant for Millennials. Instead, ask yourself what factors would make your B2B sales training better for everyone. What coaching methods improve memory retention for all employees across the multigenerational workforce? Finally, what types of training will be the most engaging?

If you can demonstrate how your B2B sales training will help reps succeed, then you’re off to a great start.

 

Engage Millennials And Beyond: Deliver B2B Sales Training In Short Bursts

If we’re curious about what works in B2B sales training, then first we have to look at what doesn’t work. Dense playbooks. Thick binders. Product data sheets that fail to mention what buyers want.

Those days are over.

When you’re ready to galvanize sellers across the multigenerational workforce, you need to grab their attention and keep them focused. Don’t try to teach them everything at once. Recognize how memory works and adjust your approach accordingly. Research has shown that we learn better in short bursts. And reps will learn more if you interleave one topic with the next.

You’ve got a few things working for you:

This last point is especially relevant for Millennials, because they’re well known for asking, ‘Why?’ But it’s really no secret: everyone who wants to succeed in sales wants to know, ‘Why?’ Your B2B sales training can deliver the best responses to many of their questions. “Why is our solution a good fit for certain buyer personas?” “What kind of growth are we projecting in our target market?” But if you don’t deliver your training in short bursts, your team won’t remember the answers and they won’t apply the lessons.

 

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B2B Sales Training Can Empower The Multigenerational Workforce

Many companies view B2B sales training as a necessary evil: “It’s not a revenue generating activity, and everyone on our team already knows how to sell, so it’s not worth our best effort.” But this is misguided. Far from a necessary evil, B2B sales training is a timeless virtue which can pay dividends for years to come. And as we saw above, if you don’t give it your best effort, then Millennials are sure to leave.

There’s one thing Millennials want just as much as everyone else: respect. They want to know that their contributions are valued. If you want to optimize your B2B sales training, then your multigenerational workforce needs to have a hand in creating it. Draw from their expertise. This will give you real-world perspective, and it will go a long ways towards boosting their confidence.

Even better, you can also ask reps to contribute videos where they practice common sales scenarios. If you get them invested in the final product, then they’ll use it when they get on the phone.

 

Above All, Your B2B Sales Training Needs To Make Your Team Successful

If you want to delight Millennials along with everyone else, then your B2B sales training needs to make them successful. As a result of your training, their average sale should bring in more revenue. They should be able to sell more, and their productivity should increase over time.

But there’s a twist: if you only focus on bottom-line results, you’ll miss the early signs of ongoing success and imminent failure. You need to track leading and lagging indicators of success throughout your B2B sales training. There’s nothing more frustrating than missing a few steps in onboarding, only to struggle through a 6-month sales cycle. Your reps deserve better. If you can give them targeted coaching early on, then you’ll make their B2B sales training more relevant and rewarding. That’s how you help your team win.

 

Summary

The quicker your team members feel welcomed, valued, and empowered, the more likely they’ll thrive. If your B2B sales training explains your culture, goals, priorities, and expectations right from the start, you’ll reduce employee turnover and boost overall results. If you design your onboarding with short bursts of interleaved training, then you’ll help your reps learn more and sell more. It’s just that simple.

Whether your team is composed solely of Millennials or not, every sales reps wants to succeed. Delight them with an optimized B2B sales training program, and there’s no limit to what they can do.

 

 

b2b sales training, inside sales training, sales productivity, onboarding sales reps, outside sales training, field sales training, sales onboarding best practices, sales onboarding template, sales enablement software, sales enablement platform, multigenerational workforce

 

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The Best Sales Enablement Strategy Needs Email

Congratulations! Your sales enablement strategy has been approved, and you’re ready to roll it out to your team. But before you begin, consider how your reps manage their time. Unless you recognize your team’s habits, your new initiatives might cause more harm than good.

In this article we’ll examine the crucial part email has to play in your sales enablement strategy. Though it may not seem like a strategic asset today, your email system can actually be supercharged to optimize sales productivity. The best sales enablement strategy is invisible, seamless, and keeps your team focused on selling value. Your email system can turn this dream into a reality.

Want To Destroy Your Sales Enablement Strategy? Try Multitasking

Every day, your reps are bombarded with emails and CRM notifications. What happens when you add sales enablement software to the mix? Even with an ironclad plan and the best of intentions, they might still feel overwhelmed.

Switching from one notification to the next will only leave them spinning their wheels. Indeed, asking your team to multitask is the worst thing you can do for their success. Brain science research has revealed the true cost of multitasking… and it’s way more than you think. Plus, a huge percentage of reps spend more than 5 hours a week looking for content or creating their own. 

An intuitive sales enablement platform can minimize multitasking, but this is only the first step. The best thing you can do is fold your sales enablement software into the tools reps already use. And as we mentioned above, the best sales enablement strategy is seamless.

Email is the key.

 

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Change One Thing, Change Everything

Before you developed your sales enablement strategy, your reps faltered during sales calls. They didn’t have immediate access to training, and they didn’t have the right content to push deals forward. Worse, prospects would ask reps to send them more information… which they spent an hour seeking after they got off the phone.

Enough!

With your new plan, sales reps have instant access to refreshers within their CRM, tailored to sales stage and industry of each opportunity. Now they’ll have what they need before they call their prospects, but what happens at the moment of truth? What happens when they get on the phone and a prospect asks them to… <gulp>… send them more information?

It’s worth repeating: the best sales enablement strategy is invisible, seamless, and keeps your team focused on selling value. Not looking for content. Not playing catch-up with prospects. At the moment of truth, your sellers will be ready because you’ve integrated your sales enablement platform into your email system.

 

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Get reps to share the right content every time with the Veelo Outlook integration

 

It’s time to change how we communicate with prospects. And if you change the rules, then you can change your expectations.

Your new sales enablement platform will keep reps on task by delivering content in their workflow. If you include email in this approach, then you’re leveraging reps’ existing habits and increasing their adoption of the new software. You’re asking reps to make an incremental change for a potentially huge upside. If they have content at their fingertips, then they won’t waste time looking for it elsewhere.

 

Take Your Sales Enablement Strategy Into The Cloud

Your sales enablement strategy needs to minimize multitasking. One of the best ways to do this is to deliver content to your reps’ email system. But here’s the twist: this method won’t work unless your content is centralized in the cloud. If your reps rely on content they’ve saved to their hard drives, they’ll eventually drift off message and your sales enablement strategy is toast.

When you manage content in the cloud with the right sales enablement platform, you’ll see several benefits right away:

  • Intelligent search lets all your reps get what they need in an instant
  • Version control ensures all your reps stay on message, all the time
  • Track content engagement with CRM email integration

This last point is the linchpin that holds your sales enablement strategy together. Because right now, only 33% of companies correlate new business with content that influences the buyer’s journey. Add email to your sales enablement strategy, and you can return that time to sellers… time they would have wasted looking for content.

Now, let’s see how this one switch can make it easier for reps to convert leads to opportunities.

 

Email Makes A Big Difference To Your Sales Enablement Strategy

What happens when a prospect tells one of your reps, “Just send me an email?” Get them on the following talk track:

“May I have your email address?”

Even if the CRM already contains this information, this is a small step that makes a big difference on an emotional level. Once a prospect grants their permission here, this gives your reps an opportunity to take it to the next step:

“I want to make sure I send you information that will help you address your current challenges.”

Continue with open-ended questions like these:

  1. What would you like to see in that email?
  2. Really? What type of issues are you facing?
  3. How have you addressed these issues up to this point?
  4. What’s your timeline for dealing with these challenges?

Once the prospect requests more information, your rep has two choices. Which one fits better with your sales enablement strategy?

The Old Way

  • Rep thanks prospect, hangs up, spends an hour looking for content, finally emails prospect later that day.
  • Rep tries to re-engage with prospect over the next two weeks.
  • Prospect never returns their calls.

The New Way

  • Rep begins email to prospect while following talk track above
  • While continuing talk track, rep searches for and finds the right content because their email is connected to their sales enablement platform.
  • Rep explains how this content addresses prospect’s concerns.
  • Intrigued, prospect schedules new meeting and rep converts lead to an opportunity.

See how the latter option can shave time off your sales cycle and help your reps be more productive? Looking for content doesn’t have to be an uphill struggle. If you deliver the right content within their email, you’ll make it smooth sailing for everyone on your team.

 

Summary

Every day, your reps battle internal systems that sap their energy and zap their productivity.

You can get them back on track, but it takes a bit more than flipping a switch. First, you need to shift your perspective on how reps communicate with prospects. Then, remove obstacles from their path. Finally, give them an easy path to achieve their goals. Invisible, seamless, and centered on value… done right, your sales enablement strategy will have lasting repercussions for years to come.

Just don’t forget email.

 

Email is an essential part of your best sales enablement strategy, but don’t stop there. If you really want to boost seller productivity, then you need to start with your onboarding program. Download our free guide and learn how to Onboard Smarter, Not Harder.

sales enablement strategy, best sales enablement software, gmail integration, outlook integration, sales productivity, sales efficiency, crm email integration

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Check Out The Best Blogs For B2B SaaS Sales Professionals

Make no mistake: B2B SaaS sales is tough. Whether your focus is Enterprise, SMB, or the Channel, Software-as-a-Service is constantly evolving. Fortunately, SaaS sales leaders can now access a wealth of resources to boost their productivity and increase revenue. If the goal of sales enablement is to optimize the sales process and provide sellers with everything they need to succeed, then these blogs definitely fit the bill. Read on for the Best Blogs for SaaS Sales Professionals, and our favorite articles for each one.

 

B2B SaaS Sales Requires Strategy And Tactics

There’s always something new. You need to stay up to date on your prospects, their pain points, and the benefits of your solution. Not only that, but your competition is always changing. The number of details can seem dizzying at times, which is why we enjoy articles from from the following sites. If you like digging into the ‘Why’ of B2B SaaS sales, then be sure to read these blogs.

The Center for Sales Strategy

  • “How To Create A Ten-Year Experience In Two Minutes”
  • “A Sales Tune-Up For Better Performance”

Sales Benchmark Index

  • “5 Steps To Exceed Your Annual Revenue Number”
  • “Slow Down The Customer To Win The Deal”

Tamara Schenk – Sales Enablement Perspectives

  • “Getting The Most Out Of Your Enablement Technology”
  • ” Why You Should Invest In Frontline Sales Managers First

Nancy Bleeke – Sales Pro Insider

  • “Why You Must Avoid Value Blindness in Sales Conversations”
  • “The 3 Questions You Must Answer at the Start of Your Sales Conversation”

CloserIQ – Sales Strategies From The Trenches

  • “8 Tips For Retaining Top Sales Talent When You Scale”
  • “How To Coach Your Sales Managers”

 

b2b saas, b2b saas sales, best sales blogs, sales enablement software, sales engagement platform, best sales enablement platform. sales effectiveness

 

Motivation And Insight Add Momentum

Even when you’re at the top of your game, sometimes B2B SaaS sales can feel like a lonely place. Navigating multiple complex sales at a time can feel overwhelming, so anything that provides motivation is welcome. The following sales pros leverage their expertise into some of the most insightful advice available anywhere. If you’ve hit a rough patch, then hit them up for a boost of confidence.

Colleen Francis – Engage Selling

  • “5 Steps To Stronger Sales Presentations”
  • “Seriously, Enough With Cold Calling Already”

Jeff Shore

  • “How Are You Giving Your Customers A Once-In-A-Lifetime Experience?”
  • “How Strategic Are Your Coaching Encounters With Your Sales Team?”

Jill Konrath’s Fresh Sales Strategies

  • “Only 1 in 7 Sellers Do This Crucial Skill”
  • “What Buyers Really Think”

Babette Ten Haken – One Millimeter Mindset

  • “Why Your Customer Abandonment Strategy is so Successful”
  • “Why And How Simple Storytelling Compels Buyers to Act”

The Sales Blog by Anthony Iannarino

  • “How I Would Change Your Slide Deck”
  • “Your Plan For Overnight Success”

Joanne Black – No More Cold Calling

  • “Message to Account Based Sales Teams: Your Humanity Is a Competitive Advantage”
  • “3 Ways To Guarantee Referral Prospecting Success”

Heinz Marketing

  • “How Can You Make Me More Successful?”
  • “The Most Important Time To Build Pipeline? When You’re Already Killing It.”

Selling Power Blog

  • “This One Quality Is Way More Important Than Your Sales Methodology”
  • “What Happens after You Get Promoted to Sales Manager?”

 

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Inspiration From Across SaaS Sales

No list of the Best B2B SaaS Sales Blogs would be complete without citing Salesforce, HubSpot, LinkedIn, and Sales Hacker. These sites have established themselves as clearinghouses for information on the profession of sales, how it’s changing, and what you can do to take advantage of the coming revolution.

Salesforce Sales Blog

  • “10 Value-Building Questions to Help You Close Bigger Sales”
  • “How To Hit Your Quota The Right Way”

HubSpot’s Sales Blog

  • “7 Psychological Tips For Dealing With Difficult Prospects”
  • “The 4 Mental Shifts That Helped Me Sell $1 Million in One Year”

LinkedIn Sales Solutions

  • “8 Tips to Drive Better Sales Pipeline Health and Results”
  • “4 Key Risks to Your Deals and How to Minimize Them”

Sales Hacker

  • “The Ultimate Guide to Lead Qualification for Inbound & Outbound SDR Teams”
  • “Why The Best Salespeople Are Phenomenal Project Managers”

 

Key Lessons For B2B SaaS Sales Leaders

Sales Enablement has evolved as a distinct role because B2B SaaS sales is so tough. With so many factors to consider, sometimes you need to look at the big picture before diving into the details. If you want a more holistic view of the forces that drive success within startups and beyond, then you need look no further than these cutting-edge sites.

Tomasz Tunguz

  • “The Three Types Of SaaS Value Propositions”
  • “You’re In The Business Of Selling Promotions”

Jason Lemkin of SaaStr

  • “A Low Win Rate Is Just A Huge Opportunity-in-the-Making”
  • “Your Quickest Way to Grow Faster: Move from Quarterly to Monthly Quotas. Today. Now.”

David Skok – For Entrepreneurs

  • “A Shockingly Common Way That Sales Misses Plan”
  • “Optimize Your Funnel By Getting Inside Your Buyer’s Head”

Mike Kunkle – Transforming Sales Results

  • “Stop Wasting Money On Sales Training”
  • “How to REALLY Make Insight Selling Work”

 

Summary

Sales enablement leaders have their work cut out for them. The good news is, you don’t have to go it alone. Tap into the collective wisdom of the wider SaaS sales community by studying these blogs. Don’t let the ground shift under your feet. Ride the wave to greater sales results.

 

All the articles in the world mean nothing without focused action. If you’re ready to take the next step, download our free guide Demystifying the Sales Technology Landscape.

 

b2b saas, b2b saas sales, best sales blogs, sales enablement software, sales engagement platform, best sales enablement platform. sales effectiveness

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Behind The Scenes At The Superbowl Of Sales Enablement

Superbowl Sunday is upon us, but that’s not the only game in town. Every day your reps face a foe that makes every sales victory feel like the ultimate achievement. But this foe isn’t your competition. It’s the internal systems that keep your reps from performing at their best.

While the fans cheer their favorite players, we can draw insights from what’s happening behind the scenes. In this article, we’ll explore three hidden lessons the Superbowl can teach us as leaders in sales enablement. Forget the face paint and cleats. Your biggest allies will be an open mind and a commitment to continuous improvement.

 

Act. Don’t React.

The players with the best interception stats seem to have an uncanny ability to predict where the ball will be. But it’s not magic. They and their coaches have spent hundreds of hours studying the competition. They succeed by focusing on what happens before the opposing quarterback releases the ball.

Sales enablement professionals should take this snap and run with it. The best way to guarantee sales victory is by tracking leading indicators of success. Metrics like pipeline velocity and the percentage of leads converted to opportunities help you see into the future. They help you predict who will succeed… and who will flail their arms in vain.

Lagging indicators like average deal size and total revenue are important, but they’re insufficient for monitoring your team’s progress. That’s why football coaches measure the fastest and most agile players during scrimmages, instead of just looking at stats once the season ends. For practical steps on how to be proactive in your sales trainings, check out our free guide.

 

Each Sales Victory Requires Practice

The battle unfolding on the field represents the culmination of years of preparation. In sales, just like in the Superbowl, great results don’t just happen overnight. High-caliber teams practice relentlessly. They’re always working to remove obstacles that might stand in the way of their next sales victory.

Sales reps need ongoing practice to perform at their best, but most of them aren’t getting it. Many companies emphasize practice during onboarding, only to back off once sellers are fully ramped. Research has shown that repeated practice sessions optimize learning outcomes. The amount of practice matters, but quality counts too. Adding variety to practice sessions can be more effective than practicing similar skills in longer blocks.

Sales enablement leaders can adapt these techniques by changing how they deliver training sessions, as well as the type of content they deliver within each course. Instead of dense playbooks and long blocks of text, mix it up with audio clips, flashcards, and knowledge checks. Video coaching is a great way to help reps perfect their sales skills and gain confidence.

The best athletes don’t limit practice to the preseason. Neither do they pin all their hopes on a “set it and forget it” strategy. Top performers, in both football and sales, are always refining their craft.

 

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Technology Is Always Improving

New helmets can minimize the risk of concussion. Lightweight drones cover the action on the field from every angle. Tiny sensors allow coaches to track each player’s performance in real-time. Technology on the gridiron is becoming more sophisticated all the time. All of these advancements aim to improve safety, boost fan engagement… and help teams win more games.

If pro football teams are trying to gain an edge by investing heavily in technology, then how can we apply these lessons towards our next sales victory?

Sales professionals are quick to adopt any kind of technology that will help them improve. Yet time and again, we see companies that ask their reps to succeed with the equivalent of Excel spreadsheets and Post-It® notes. But for many teams, the future is now. Keep track of the following advances in sales enablement platforms:

  • Stop the content scavenger hunt: Imagine the CRM suggesting the content reps need at the right time, every time. Modern systems allow you to deliver content directly within your sellers’ workflow.
  • Be everywhere at once: Integrate video playbooks into your CRM, and encourage your reps to practice the sales skills they’ll need in real-life conversations with prospects.
  • Achieve sales marketing alignment: Modern systems allow reps to rate content, share comments, and track prospect engagement with just a few clicks.

Advanced sales enablement platforms allow you to do all this and more. It’s like being able to play any position in football (minus the shin guards and wind sprints).

 

Summary

Every day is game day. Whether you’re deep in the throes of competition or preparing for your next campaign, sales enablement is about continuous improvement. Adopting a proactive attitude coupled with the most current technology is not enough. Your team needs ongoing practice to reach their full potential. The best athletes know it. The best coaches know it. When everything comes together, that’s where champions are made.

You’ve got the talent, the commitment, and the will to succeed. This is how you win.

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