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6 Creative Ways to Get Reps to Consume Sales Content

Jul 19th, 2017

 

“If you build it, [they] will come,” right? Well, unfortunately sales is not Field of Dreams and content won’t automatically be utilized by reps if you create it. According to SiriusDecisions, up to 70% of sales content goes unused.

B2B sales reps are inundated with information, so how can sales enablement cut through the noise and encourage reps to consume sales content? Here are 6 creative ways to help increase your sales content views.

Publish a weekly newsletter

One of the easiest ways to get the word out about sales content is to publish a weekly newsletter highlighting the latest and greatest sales content, including core training content, just-in-time training, product updates, marketing resources and more. This newsletter should include bold headlines and key takeaways to make each piece of content clear, as well as images to break up the text and visually appeal to your reps.

The key to increasing newsletter readership is consistency. Decide on a time and day of the week to publish your newsletter and stick to it. Then reps will know when to expect the newsletter and it will become a habit for them to read it each week.

Switch up the content format

If your sales content consists solely of lengthy documents, it’s time to switch up your format. According to Forrester Research, 75% of salespeople are more likely to check out video lessons than read a document, email or web article.

With video content, you have freedom to make it your own and inject some personality. As a sales enablement professional, it’s up to you to create content that reps actually want to consume. It can be as simple as adding a voiceover to PowerPoint slides or even creating a music video. It worked for our client, Ping Identity – their original hip-hop music videos resulted in an 85% increase in total sales content views!

Create a sense of competition

Salespeople are competitive by nature. Embrace this trait by encouraging a bit of friendly competition between reps.

For example, incorporate quizzes or video coaching challenges into sales content and display the most successful reps on a leaderboard. This is also an added bonus for sales enablement leaders to ensure reps are properly digesting the information!

Give sales reps some recognition

Recognize reps that have been going above and beyond by featuring them in your sales content. If you have a rep that just closed a tough deal, have them record a video explaining the challenges they faced with that particular prospect and how they overcame them. Add that video into a training course or use it to prompt reps for a coaching exercise.

Other reps will not only be able to take notes and learn from their experience, but they’ll have extra incentive to work hard, get creative and gain the same recognition that their colleague was given.

Keep content short and simple

Take a page from Vice News’ playbook. They found that viewers (millennials in particular) weren’t interested in tuning into an hour-long nightly newscast so they decided to format their news in short-form, “snackable” segments.

Reps are often pressed for time, so if sales content is lengthy or complex, they may not bother with it. Instead, try breaking it down into a series of snackable, bite-sized chunks that are easier for reps to digest. For example, if you are rolling out a new feature, you may want to create several short videos to explain the feature’s functions, how it will benefit customers and how it differs from the competition.

Make content convenient to access

Last but definitely not least, sales content must be easily accessible for your reps in order to gain maximum reach. For instance, millennial sales reps prefer on-demand content that is mobile-accessible. If your sales force is like most and is experiencing an ever-increasing number of millennial reps, sales content should be accessible via mobile devices.

Another factor to keep in mind is CRM integration. Sales reps spend the majority of their day inside their CRM. Providing reps with sales content where they work, and in the right context, is another great way to increase content views.

Are you looking to adapt your sales coaching strategy to appeal to millennial sales reps? Download our free eBook, Next-Gen Coaching for the Next-Gen Sales Force.