Why Marketing Collateral Often Fails Sales Teams

Is your sales force using all those beautifully designed, expensive marketing materials your marketing department and creative agencies are producing?

Frustrated salespeople who don’t have the sales materials they need to do their jobs waste precious selling time attempting to create effective collateral.

They view marketing materials with an unhealthy dose of suspicion. Many worry that the materials are out of date, and complain that the documents provided by their marketing department miss the point and aren’t relevant. A large percentage of sales professionals say they modify literature and create their own documents from scratch.

Businesses that don’t give their sales force effective sales collateral are being hit with a triple whammy.

• The time and cost of producing sales and marketing literature that goes unused.
• Salespeople who write content and design brochures instead of closing sales represent a significant opportunity cost for any business.
• Brands may be damaged and marketing messages diluted when sales reps try to create what they need.

Why is sales collateral so difficult to produce?

Creating effective sales materials takes considerable skill and knowledge. It also requires professional sales writers and designers who understand human behavior and your market. They also need to be well-grounded in the differences between marketing and sales documents and why they are not interchangeable.

Sales and marketing are not the same; their collateral needs differ enormously.

Marketing’s goal is to identify markets and persuade a targeted group that you, your brand and your company are the right choice to solve specific problems. Marketing messages target prospects and generally work from a distance through advertising, public relations and brand marketing. Marketing’s job is to prepare the way for sales.

If marketing has done an effective job, your sales team will have two big advantages. Prospects who are aware of your brand and a flow of good-quality leads.

Salespeople work with leads. This means they work with people, not with markets. Sales techniques include one-on-one meetings, cold calling and networking. A salesperson needs materials that help them move leads from cold to warm to closed.

When you realize that your marketing literature persuades from a distance, it is easy to see why salespeople find it next to useless.

Sales needs collateral that focuses on a specific client, provides relevant nuts-and-bolts product and service information, and offers compelling reasons to buy.

At the bottom of the sales funnel, your sales force is working with a person, not the market.

Effective sales collateral has the following features:

• Focuses on your client’s needs. Examples include case studies and customer testimonials.
• Provides detailed information about your products or services, such as product pages and data sheets.
• Is designed for buyers actively considering your solution. Product demonstrations and white papers offer compelling proof.
• Makes selling easier by motivating buyers and providing ROI reports based on industry or client data.
• Includes clear calls to action, such as trials, demonstrations, or promotions.

Sales collateral works best when it supports a real conversation — not when it tries to replace one.