7 Things Your Company's Content Marketing Needs Right Now (Lessons from a Window Sales Guy)

For you, this is a study in highly effective content marketing strategies you or your company can start using right now. Today.

For me, this is an intensive therapy session. 

You see, if I didn’t spend the past 101 minutes writing these 1524 words, the 157 grueling minutes my husband and I spent with Window Guy would have been in vain. 

And I just can’t let 2-plus hours of my life go down the drain like that.

Now, before I divulge the content marketing gems I extracted from this trying experience, allow me to provide some context.

Here’s what went down, in 11 short sentences:

1. Husband agrees to do a favor for a friend: Sure, we’ll sign up for a window sales presentation from your company!
2. Husband schedules appointment with Window Guy.
3. Window Guy shows up, gives his presentation and pitch.
4. We decline.
5. Window Guy thanks us and packs up.
6. Window Guy comes back and resumes his pitch! (We decline, again).
7. Window Guy leaves again, forreal this time. 
8. Window Guy RETURNS and resumes his pitch!! (We decline. Again.)
9. Window Guy finally, actually leaves.

Halfway through this dreadful experience, I decided that if I was going to be stuck in this version of Hell, I was going to get something out of it.

I’d treat it as a real-life lesson in marketing.

See I know, based on the laughable $51,000 quote Window Guy gave us (and the tons of junk mail full of window discounts flooding our mailbox every day), that windows are BIG business. Which means Window Guy and his sales colleagues are trained thoroughly, intentionally, and based on what has been proven to work.

So on the outside, I smiled vacantly and nodded along. 

But inside, I studied. I identified techniques. And I sorted them into “Hmm, that was effective!” and “Remind me never to do this!”

Now, for your lesson.

7 Things To Do in Your Company's Content, As Demonstrated by Window Guy 

1.Position yourself in the context of what your prospect already knows.

I’ll be the first to admit that my husband and I knew nothing about windows prior to this lengthy chat with Window Guy. Like, nothing. 

Window Guy assessed our level of knowledge upfront by *gasp* asking! By finding out that we knew next-to-nothing about windows, he determined:

• what information he needed to educate us on
• which terms he might need to define
• how likely or unlikely we were to purchase windows that day

Throughout the presentation, Window Guy used our baseline knowledge—the windows we already have in the house—as a point of comparison. 

Prospects can easily get overwhelmed with new information. Create connections, links, and relationships between the new information and what the prospect already knows to help their brains absorb new info.

2. It’s okay to repeat stuff. Repeating stuff is okay.

I went in and out of focus—heck, maybe even in and out of consciousness—during Window Guy’s presentation. So chances are, I missed some key information here and there. I totally benefitted from occasional repetition.

But even in instances where I had already heard a tidbit of information, it didn’t bother me to hear it again. Especially because, if you recall, I knew nothing about windows.

Repetition helps reinforce concepts, especially new ones. It says to your brain: “Wow, you keep hearing this piece of information. It must be important. Store it for later reference.” 

In marketing circles, research shows a prospect needs to hear a message anywhere from 6 to 20 times before they will produce a desired response. That response could be simply remembering the message. Or it could be making a purchase.

Bottom line: don’t be afraid to repeat repeat repeat yourself.

3. Address barriers head-on before your prospect brings them up.

There was an almost-beautiful art to the way Window Guy’s presentation was set up.

From beginning to end, he addressed barriers and objections that I had in my mind but hadn’t yet voiced. Think: cost, durability, competition, guarantees, transferability… 

Now here's the beauty of it: Window Guy didn’t just go down a list of factoids to counter my unspoken concerns. He wove them into the story of his company, its mission, its values, its reputation… 

I was primed to really hear and internalize these counterpoints because I was interested in the story.

So what does that mean for you? Make sure you are always telling a story! (That could be a heading on its own). 

People can’t help but pay attention to stories. We’re naturally drawn to them. 

In your content marketing, tell a story. And make sure that story addresses your prospect’s objections. 

4. Be interactive and conversational.

Surprisingly, for a generic company presentation, Window Guy’s presentation wasn’t stuffy at all. I appreciated that.

When someone delivers a one-sided presentation, it creates an imaginary wall of separation between you, even if you can relate to what the person is saying.

But when you’re having a conversation, people tend to be more involved. A person is more likely to like you because they can interact with you.

Now in content marketing, it’s not always easy to have a true conversation. If you’re live-streaming, you might be able to interact in real-time with people who are watching and commenting. But if you publish a pre-recorded video, that same opportunity for interaction isn’t there.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t use conversation to your advantage. Here's how you can do it through your content:

1. Reference other communication channels in your content. Invite prospects to reach out to your on your social media channels, give you a call, or send you an email.
2. If you can’t have a conversation, at least be conversational. Sounding overly academic comes across as uptight and unapproachable. Prospects will naturally respect your expertise and authority, but they still want to be able to relate to you.

5. When possible, get hands-on.

Props are fun! Activities are engaging!

Even for the most reluctant participants, being able to get hands-on with objects helps them become more involved with and invested in your message.

Window Guy had lots of props—samples of his company’s windows, windows of 5 other competitors, a heat lamp...

The heat lamp was my fave. He used it to demonstrate the energy-saving properties of his company’s windows. He had us feel the heat from the lamp directly, then feel the heat with all 5 competitors' windows in front of it. And finally with his company’s windows in front of it.

Even though I was ready for the presentation to be over, I couldn't deny the effectiveness of that activity. In my head, I was thinking about how much money we could save on our energy bill. (<-- More on that in a sec.)

People love props. It engages them in what you’re talking about. It helps reinforce concepts that you’re seeing or hearing through kinesthetic learning.

It drills your points home. 

In content marketing, you may not always be able to use props, or they may not always be relevant to your topic. In that case, provide visuals in the form of photos, videos, infographics, 2-D models, etc.

If you can have your prospect do something, that’s a plus.

6. Show your prospects how you can save them money.

Most people are always thinking about money—how to get more and how to save more. Window Guy’s Company knows this.

So a huge portion of his presentation was designed to demonstrate how these $51,000 windows will pay for themselves. (Ha.)

Likewise, in your content marketing efforts, you should demonstrate to your prospects how your product or service will help them make or save more money. 

In some (few) cases, money might not be your prospect’s ultimate concern, but its likely a concern. Focusing on how your product or service helps them make more money or save more money will never steer you wrong.

7. Don’t just tell your prospects you respect or care about them. Show them.

People won’t remember what you said to them, but they’ll remember how you made them feel. It’s a common saying and it’s true.

I don’t remember every single thing Window Guy told us, but I do remember being incredibly frustrated with him by the end of our exchange.

Several times throughout his presentation, he mentioned how Window Company cares about its prospects and clients and blah, blah, blah. He feigned interest in our personal lives and home routines.

But when it came down to it, he didn’t show that respect because he:

• overstayed his welcome
• ignored our desires to end the presentation
• was persistent to a fault

BONUS: Now this therapeutic article is about lessons in content marketing, not sales. But the two work closely together. And there may be times when you're using content marketing to make a sale.

So here's the big sales tip, also gleaned from the 157 grueling minutes with Window Guy:

Don’t use sleazy sales tactics. They are a turnoff. Respect your prospects enough to avoid these.

If what you’re sharing is legitimate and worth the investment, that should speak for itself.

For weekly content marketing tips, follow Megan Nichole Content Marketing on Facebook.