I have to brag a bit…

I won Board Member of the Quarter for the AMA Triangle. Back in January, I was recruited to join as the VP of Communications, and by April I was recognized as a winner!

Now it's not like I volunteered with any expectations, except that if I was going to get involved. I was going to give it my best.

All I really did was do what I have done for myself and my clients. Implement my system to make communications collaborative, cohesive, and consistent.

I reached out to everyone on the board to talk about what they did and what they needed. I reached out to the volunteers to whom I was assigned and asked them about their skills and passions. Then I matched it all up and rolled up my sleeves.

I simply got the pulse of who the players were and what they needed. Then I started to get the messages out to the membership of this local AMA chapter. Engagement and activity on our website immediately improved to over 150% of where they were just last year. And there is always room for improvement.

It All Begins With You

You have a unique pulse on your business and the industry(s) you serve. You probably spend time on your accounting, client profiles, service and product offerings, strength and weaknesses, and the trends your business has faced in the past.

That is one of the most valuable assets in knowing what content needs to be created and when. That almost demands that you have some skin in the game on a regular basis to guide and even produce the messaging.

But there is another asset that you can bring to the game that takes your marketing messages to a different level.

Why Your Sales Team Is Important

Your salespeople have boots on the ground, ears to the audience, and fingers on the pulse of what your clients and prospects are feeling fearful of or excited about.

They provide some unique perspectives on what content will resonate with clients and prospects.

If you have a monthly cadence on your marketing, your messaging may be met with a, “Meh, that was so yesterday,” response. Striking while the iron is hot is key to being, seen, heard, and acted upon.

So what should you do with all that information and data? Get it out there as soon as possible.

What Types Of Content?

There are three basic types of content: Awareness, Educational/Informational, and Sales.

In another article, I outline it for you in more detail. But let me summarize here.

Awareness: Simple graphics or short posts that create awareness of your business, products, and services, and just say, “We know how you feel.”

Educational: An article, blog post, video, or webinar that defines a problem, offers a solution, and builds trust that you know your stuff.

Sales: Used right before or after a sale to close a deal, or add value to a purchase that cements the business relationship.

Each has its place, time, and cadence in order to be successful.

How Often?

The biggest problems I see in marketing are patience and consistency.

Patience is important because B2b business takes time to build the know, like, and trust. It can take months or years to have it become relevant to the right person at the right time. Expecting easy and quick results leads to shutting it down and moving in a different (and often feeble) direction.

Consistency means that you have to create and distribute content on a schedule. Consistency builds familiarity, authority, and trust. Again, it can take some time to get your content in front of the right person at the right time.

Awareness Content: I suggest you use these daily or at least 3 times per week. This is what social media is best at. Keep in mind that only about 150 people will see what you post, so daily is not over-posting.

I have 30+ images that I post seven days a week and rotate every month. Those continue to get views, likes, and comments often from different people in different months.

Education Content: We do this weekly for clients. One new or repurposed blog, and/or video and webinar, give you a wider reach on multiple platforms.

That same content can be shared via email, social media, and even print pieces that salespeople can hand out to clients and prospects.

What's The Goal?

Success is in the eye of the beholder. All too often with online and digital marketing, it's measured in eyeballs and engagement. While both are exciting and a boost to the ego, in my world all that matters is action and conversations.

Lead capture is always a goal, but conversations should be the action. If you can use your content marketing strategy to lead people back to your website, you have a much better chance of starting those conversations via email, phone, or in person.

That means that awareness content may or may not link back to your website, but should always have your URL embedded in them. Educational content should lead back to your website.

Once they navigate to your website, you should give the viewer a chance to contact you, or maybe download an eBook, report, or something of value to them. That way you have a better chance of capturing their name and email address at least!

Keep in mind that not everyone will be ready at the time they view your content, but those who are giving you their info do so because they want you to have it! They don't want to be spammed, or overwhelmed, just heard. This also increases the chance that they may be open to a conversation with you or your team!

Final Thoughts

I have worked for years to perfect my systems. You know it's good when it works for businesses, associations, non-profits, and even self-promotion.

The keys to success are knowing your audience, creating quality creative content, and consistently delivering value to your audience.

It's never a set-it-and-forget-it activity. I know things can always be improved by constant learning, and developing your teams, tactics, and targets.

Awards are nice, but I like to measure success not by how I am doing, but by how the people I serve are doing!

“For me, honestly, it's not about individual accomplishments, individual award. It's about what I've got to do and how I can contribute to the team.”
– Sheryl Swoopes

Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about how you can integrate your sales team with your business communications! Are you engaging your sales team's ideas in new content creation? Are you actively involved in the content creation process? And, are you engaged with an agency or a flexible team of experts? Can your business benefit from Rightsourcing?

To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.