Want to Shorten the Sales Cycle? How to Use Sales Content

Looking to shorten your sales cycle? The secret to doing so may lie with sales content. B2B sellers face increasingly complex processes. This makes cycles take longer to complete, taking up sellers’ time and risking losing prospects along the way. 

But there are ways that sellers can cut down on the length of their sales cycles. One way is to provide valuable sales content throughout the process. And buyers actually want this content.

SalesFuel’s B2B BuyerSCAN study revealed that content plays a role in the buying process for many. Specifically, buyers report seeking and engaging with the following types of seller-​generated content when considering a vendor:

• Social videos
• Social media posts
• Industry articles they’ve written
• Blog posts
• Podcasts
• Webinars

“In today’s buying process, content isn’t optional — it’s expected,” explains AdMall Director of Sales Denise Gibson.

“Buyers don’t just want to hear from salespeople; they want to learn from them.”

Smart sellers realize this and can use content to not only meet buyer expectations but also to cut down the length of a sale.

How can you shorten the cycle with sales content?

To effectively use content to shorten sales cycles, reps need to understand how to integrate it into their process.

“Because it's an expensive, high-​stakes decision with multiple stakeholders, it's critical to find ways to maintain your customers' attention along the way,” Sheryl Seitz writes for Forbes.

“That's where effective content comes in.”

But not just any content will do. Sellers must provide relevant, timely and available content to drive engagement. To maintain engagement throughout the sales journey, ensure your content is:

• Relevant
• Timely
• Readily available to share

Seitz shares suggestions for using high-​value content to cut down on time needed to close the deal.

Use content that aligns with each stage

The sales process is made up of various stages, so it makes sense that the content aligns with each stage. The content you share will be most impactful when it coincides with where the buyer is in their journey. 

It follows that first, sellers must be aware of their journey. As Justina Thompson, Hubspot, explains:

"The buyer’s journey describes a buyer’s path to purchase…They go through a specific process to become aware of, consider, and evaluate a new product or service before purchasing it."

Once you understand, and have mapped, the buyer journey, you’ll have the knowledge needed to know which type of content works at each stage.

For example, Seitz points out that in the early part of the journey, general information is most effective.

Explainer videos, e‑books, social media posts, and other types can help the buyers in their research. At this top-​of-​funnel stage, buyers are just learning about the seller, so educational content is highly valued. 

By matching content to each stage, you can shorten the sales cycle by providing prospects with exactly what they need at exactly the right time. Essentially, you will be guiding prospects to “learn, evaluate, consider, and purchase” at a more efficient (and timely) rate.

Consider thought leadership for a credibility boost

Providing content positions you as a credible expert which is exactly what prospects want. SalesFuel’s study also revealed the top attributes that buyers seek in sellers include:

• Knowledge of their products and how to use them to solve the prospect’s business problem or achieve their goal.
• Knowledge of the prospect’s company and line of business.
• Knowledge of the prospect’s customers.

“Thought leadership content is a strategy companies can use to establish themselves as experts or authorities on information their audiences consider valuable,” Seitz explains.

“It's a way that you can create differentiation across social media and other channels by delivering value to audiences.”

By sharing content that positions you as a thought leader, you can quickly establish trust and credibility. This can have a major impact on how long it takes the buyer to trust you – and be comfortable enough to buy. 

Shorter sales cycles not only keep you from losing prospects during a long, drawn out process. They also get you closer to closing in a shorter time, allowing you to pursue other opportunities and new business sooner. 

"The companies that consistently share valuable content, whether through videos, articles or social posts, are the ones that earn trust and stay top of mind when purchase decisions are made,” Gibson adds.

Along with these tips, check out  SalesFuel’s other ways to shorten the sales cycle for more efficiency and wins. And for guidance on crafting quality content, take a look at this how-​to post.

Photo by Leuchtturm Entertainment on Unsplash