An endless number of tools can assist with content creation, whether you're finding the right topic, optimizing your copy, or promoting it. As well as being great time-savers, such tools often provide useful data.
But we sometimes run the risk of becoming overdependent on them. It's easy to slip into autopilot and stick with the content drafting processes we're familiar with, but in doing so you could be overlooking valuable insights a little closer to home.
Your sales team may not be the first port of call when you're writing content (especially in a remote or hybrid working world), but salespeople are often ideal for helping with content. Sales speaks with your prospects more frequently than other departments do, and it best understands what prospects and customers need.
Moreover, working more closely with your sales team provides not only inspiration but also another outlet for promoting your content.
Sales Holds All the Secrets
In marketing, we spend a lot of time researching and studying our potential audience, but little to no time actually interacting with them. The most elaborate customer persona diagrams in the world can never compare with having actual conversations with real people on a daily basis.
Your salespeople know what your audience genuinely cares about, what challenges they face, what type of content they prefer to consume, and—most important—what holds them back. Those are the kind of insights that a piece of tech could never provide; therefore, they should be shaping the content you create.
Furthermore, your salespeople have individual relationships with your customers, and they can share your content with them directly.
Sales Can Fuel Content Ideas
I've often found that the best content brainstorming sessions come when you invite people from different areas of the business, especially Sales. Establishing what prospects' most frequently asked questions are can give you a starting point for blog posts, Q&A style on-page content, or even the beginnings of a PR campaign. Uncover insights your salespeople already have, as well as any common gaps in their knowledge.
Another piece of information that's really useful to extract is whether there are any frequent barriers to closing a sale. That's where your content can arguably have the biggest impact from a commercial perspective. When you understand those barriers, you can plan content and messaging that works to overcome them, whether by working with the content on your site or finding new case studies that show how such issues are resolved.
What's more, your sales team often has information on your competitors that goes beyond the numbers you'll find in a standard tool. Through their daily conversations, they know what companies your prospects are talking to, what content they're reading, and which competitors are stronger than you—and in which areas.
The connection between Sales and content should provide as much benefit for your sales team as it does for you. While you're getting a free source of content inspiration and insights, they're being provided with assets that are more relevant for their pipeline.