Technology has helped shift control of the sales process to buyers, who now rely on a range of online tools to learn more about products and services that interest them. Buyers for B2B organizations may share content from a mobile device, read proposals and sales documents on a Web-based platform, and sign contracts with e-signatures.

Organizations that don't engage customers online run the risk of losing business.

Sales teams have to work faster and smarter to keep up with customers' and prospects' expectations, and doing so means interacting online and digitally. The rise of the mobile workforce gives sales teams the flexibility and freedom to respond to customer needs quickly and creatively. Marketing teams also have the opportunity to use more channels to deliver content that can make a real impact.

By working together to create online buying experiences that translate well across devices, sales and marketing teams can engage with their audiences at every point of the buying and selling processes.

But a mobile-friendly approach to sales and marketing can introduce barriers as well.

The Challenge of Mobile

Sales and marketing teams may have conflicting ideas about how to communicate with mobile prospects and customers. Getting Sales and Marketing on the same page under the best of circumstances can be a challenge; introducing a new channel may make things even more difficult.

Marketing is responsible for creating sales content at various stages of the funnel, but Sales is often responsible for delivering that content. Communication between the two teams is essential to make sure the content being created and delivered is effective.

So, how do Sales and Marketing work together to provide content that will perform well for both teams as well as prospects and customers?

Communication is the first line of defense, both internally and externally.

• First, sales and marketing teams must establish and maintain clear expectations of overall goals regarding how each team will work toward those goals.
• Involving prospects and clients can provide guidance about how sales and marketing teams can increase engagement.
• Finally, creating a plan to measure the impact of sales and marketing efforts is essential. (Without a plan, there's no way to demonstrate ROI.)

Think Beyond Mobile

As mobile devices become more common in the modern workforce, the line between mobile and desktop is blurring. Moreover, tools such as social media are becoming more important to the sales process.

With most emails being opened on mobile devices and 61% of US marketers using social media to increase lead generation, sales and marketing teams must ensure they create diverse content that works for both mobile and desktop viewers.

The term "snackable content" most often refers to digital content created for social media but can also refer to content curated and shared digitally. Consider how your target prospects consume content and how they prefer to engage with Sales, then work to create a mobile-first content plan that works best for the organization.

A sales content audit can help you identify gaps in your content library and discover existing content that can be repurposed. Helpful, engaging content can push prospects down the funnel—which can make a salesperson's job easier.

Ask and Receive

Research can help point sales and marketing teams in the right direction, but information is most valuable from the source. Asking customers how they use mobile technology can help Marketing craft better content and help Sales close more deals.

Customer surveys, case studies, and prospect interviews can guide sales teams toward more efficient and effective sales technology methods.

Marketing team members can sit in on presentations, and salespeople can contribute their knowledge and creativity to help Marketing create content. Investing in tools that both Sales and Marketing can use to create content will make collaboration easier.

By streamlining the collaboration process, sales teams can spend less time preparing and more time on customers and prospects.

Track and Measure

Creating content that translates well on mobile devices and committing to sales and marketing collaboration requires a way to quantify the impact those investments.

Connecting data to deliverables and making sure that both sales and marketing teams use the same technology to create and deliver customer-facing documents is also important to maintaining consistency.

Measuring sales and marketing efforts not only helps demonstrate ROI, but it also gives both teams needed data to improve the tools they create to engage customers and prospects. And because technology moves quickly, so do effective mobile strategies.

Measuring the impact of your mobile strategy will tell you what the market wants and how to deliver it. Sales automation software can provide sales and marketing teams with the tools to create, deliver, and track sales documents and marketing collateral.

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As buyers demand more from potential sellers, sales and marketing teams must equip themselves with the information and resources necessary to deliver influential customer experiences online and on mobile devices.

A successful sales and marketing partnership will...

• Develop a buyer-first approach and create content that's user-friendly across platforms
• Engage prospects and customers directly during the buying and selling process for feedback
• Establish goals, track progress, and measure success

By committing to collaboration and listening to customer and prospect feedback, organizations can stay ahead of their competition.