Sales Engagement: Impact Matters For Sales Reps

Sales engagement is the third and final variable in the sales enablement formula for sales reps. So far, we’ve broken out the first variable, sales planning, into its compositional elements – visibility, analysis and prioritization – and the second variable, sales preparation, into its triage of elements – resources, collaboration and guidance.

Our last post introduced delivery as the first element in the sales engagement variable. If you’re good on delivery, you’re ready for impact.

Sales engagement: delivery, IMPACT and insight.

Delivering high-impact messages is the key to buying team consensus, which paves the path to that confident decision you’re after. Sales reps with the right resources to incite this impact are the ones who win – and win consistently.

What kind of resources are we talking about here? The sales team needs access to tools – plus strategized, concrete techniques – to convey a clear message and help walk buyers through the relevant value points. They must be able to connect the dots for their audience anytime and anywhere, even when (especially when) they’re not able to meet face to face. Sales reps must deliver a rich-media experience, loaded with actionable insight, eye-openers and differentiators, in order to make a mark in this market.

The content is the key to confidence and consensus.

• 66% of buyers agreed that the winning vendor provided higher-quality content, and 63% said that the winning vendor’s content was more conducive to building a business case for the purchase.
  The 2014 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey via DemandGen
• 75% of sales people believe that their approach differentiates them from their competition, but only 3% of customers say they do this effectively.
  New Insight on Timeless Selling Principles via Sales 2.0: Trust and Value

You don’t need a ton of research to know that buyers want engaging content – although a quick Google search surely does the trick. From streaming video and graphical visualizations to talking content and voice messages, interactive education delivered with impact is today’s not-so-secret weapon.

When preparing the sales strategy, impact matters.

Here’s how a Sales Enablement Platform helps sales reps unleash that impact factor:

Speak to them.

• Use voice annotations to add that multisensory texture and distinguishing delivery to your sales presentations. Add your own voice messages or use prerecorded clips for easy emphasis and clarity.

Steer their attention.

• Place sticky notes in documents to signal certain value points and highlight specific pain points.
• Personalize your content in the sales portal according to specific personas, and show those B2B buyers you understand their issues perfectly.

Walk, talk and guide them through it.

• Easily construct and deliver talking slideshows that walk buyers through key value points and address distinct pain points – adding some vocal texture to those verbal sticky notes.
• Implement slides, pages, movies and images for a buyer experience that guides, opens eyes and makes an undeniable impact.

If you don’t give your buyers impact they can sink their teeth into, they’re going to satisfy that craving for engagement elsewhere.

Next element to dissect:

After delivery and impact comes the next element in sales engagement: INSIGHT.

Fill out the form below to see how a Sales Enablement Platform differentiates your presentations with the multisensory impact and educational engagement that gets buyers clamoring for more.