How to Make Sales Collateral That Drives Pipeline

1. Builds trust: Sales collateral such as customer testimonials, case studies, and informative white papers adds to your credibility and authority, and lays the foundations for prospects to trust you - which is a prerequisite for giving you their business.
2. Supports the sales process: Sales collateral provides the information and resources that sales reps need to communicate the value of a product or service.
3. Provides a competitive advantage: Sales materials have been shown to increase the likelihood of winning a high-quality, low-regret deal by 26%.
4. Saves time: Instead of having to create presentations and other materials from scratch, sales reps can simply use the sales collateral that's already been created.

If you're feeling lost in the sea of sales collateral options, you're not alone. With so many different types available, it can be tough to figure out which ones will make the biggest impact on your audience.

But fear not, because we're here to help you navigate the waters and create sales collateral that will have even the most doubtful prospects begging to buy. So, let's jump in!

1) Align with your sales team

Collaborate with your sales team and ask them directly about their needs. What types of information do they need to close deals? What types of materials would make their lives easier?

By understanding their pain points and the types of questions they frequently receive from prospects, you'll be better equipped to create the right collateral.

2) Assess your ability to communicate value

Take a step back and assess your ability to effectively communicate the value of your product or service. Are there any gaps in your messaging? Are there aspects of your offering that are difficult to articulate? Addressing these gaps will help you create materials that better explain and highlight the unique value that your product or service provides.

Pay attention to the types of questions that prospects are asking. This feedback can help you identify areas where additional collateral might be needed to address their concerns or objections.

4) Do a prioritization matrix analysis:

Prioritize the creation of collateral by doing a prioritization matrix. This means evaluating the feasibility and importance of creating different types of materials, and focusing on creating what's highly-important and highly-feasible first.

By doing this, you can ensure that you're using your time and resources effectively and making the biggest impact possible.

In most companies, the creation and distribution of sales collateral is a team effort involving collaboration between sales, marketing, and sales enablement teams, with the support of designers, videographers, and developers.

In small businesses, a single person or department might handle it, while larger corporations may have a dedicated sales collateral manager or agency.

Distributing the collateral is mostly the job of AEs, SDRs, and BDRs.

Professionals involved in creating sales collateral:

• Sales Managers
• Sales Representatives
• Sales Specialists
• Sales Associates
• Content marketing specialists
• Product marketing managers
• Sales enablement professionals
• Graphic designers
• Copywriters
• Videographers and video editors
• Developers

Collaboration between sales and marketing teams is crucial for the success of sales collateral. By working together, they can create materials that effectively communicate the value of a product or service and drive results.

1. Clearly define roles and responsibilities: Make sure everyone knows their role in the creation, review, and distribution of sales collateral. Avoid duplicating effort and keep everyone accountable.
2. Align on brand guidelines: Make sure both teams know the company's brand guidelines for tone, visuals, and messaging. This helps keep everything looking consistent.
3. Establish regular meetings: Schedule regular meetings between sales and marketing to catch up on projects, give feedback, and plan for the future.
4. Keep it all in one place: Use a centralized platform for collaboration and information sharing, like a project management tool or shared file system. This way, everyone can easily access the latest versions of sales collateral and avoid using outdated materials.
5. Keep the lines of communication open: Encourage open communication between sales and marketing teams to make sure everyone's opinions and suggestions are heard. This can also help resolve any issues that arise during the process. Task management tools are ideal for connecting team members, keeping track of processes, and following up on tasks when needed.
6. Measure success: Set up KPIs to measure the success of your sales collateral and continuously improve the process. This helps everyone stay focused on a common goal.

If your company has been around for a while, you're sitting on a wealth of valuable content - from persuasive blog posts to engaging videos, informative infographics to impactful case studies.

Instead of creating your sales collateral from scratch, repurpose what you already have. You can make these resources even more high converting by using an SEO tool.

Content you can repurpose into great sales collateral:

• Work video into text collateral: Transcribe the audio, add some visuals, and you have a new piece of content, such as an email template or a product cheat sheet, that can be used to engage your target audience.
• Work text into video: This could be as simple as recording yourself reading the content, or you could create an animated video that uses the text as a script. Goes without saying that adding subtitles to video not only boosts the accessibility but also significantly broadens your video reach.
• Mix content types to create something better: You could use video testimonials in your product demo videos, or include infographics in your decks to break up long blocks of text and make the content more visually appealing.
• Turn data into stories: By turning your data into stories, you can make it more engaging and memorable. Take your reports and turn them into demo talking points, highlighting key insights and creating a narrative that will captivate your audience.
• Compile a collection of your top-performing blog posts into an email series: Whether you're providing tips for success, sharing industry insights, or just showcasing your expertise, your audience will appreciate having a steady stream of value delivered straight to their inbox.
• Use infographics to support your points: By using statistics and eye-catching visuals from your previous blog posts and whitepapers, you can show your audience that you've done your research and are an expert in your field. You can even include quotes to add a touch of personality and credibility to your pitch.

1. Reduce studio costs by using tools to streamline the process: Storydoc makes content creation a breeze and eliminates the need for costly studio time. You can create professional-looking product demos, interactive sales presentations, and more, all from the comfort of your own office.
2. Reduce art costs by using AI art generators: Dall-E is the perfect tool for creating custom graphics and images that are truly one-of-a-kind. With artificial intelligence, Dall-E generates stunning visuals based on your specifications in a fraction of the time it would take with traditional methods.
3. Reduce product demo images by repurposing visuals from your website: Your website holds the key to cost-effective and visually stunning product demos. Simply repurpose screenshots of your product in action and voila! You'll have a budget-friendly solution that packs a punch.
4. Don't create from zero - use templates: There are many ready-made templates available on the internet that you can use for free or for a small fee. These templates provide a great starting point and can be customized to meet your specific needs.
5. Use templates tailored to your business's specific needs: Sure, there may be a higher upfront cost, but the time and money saved in the long run more than make up for it.