I talk to thousands of sales people every year and one question is always top of mind: “How do I reduce my sales cycle?” A B2B client recently told me his company’s sales department was blown away with the impact their content marketing efforts were having on shortening the sales cycle. Specifically, he related a story where they closed a deal (in the millions) that only took 4 months to wrap up. Four months might seem like a long time, but it’s nothing compared to their average sales cycle of 18 months.
From 18 to 4 months, all because of the power of content. It’s a classic case of:
Great teaching + Helpful Information = Trust
When you take away all the fluff found in the content marketing space, that little equation is what all of this stuff comes down to, and its importance cannot be overstated.
The fact is, there is no better sales and trust-building tool in the world right now than great content, and it’s just as powerful a tool for small businesses as it is for big ones. When you understand how to use content to shorten the sales cycle, that’s when incredible things can happen. Here are different ways to use content to get great results:
