Sales Enablement Part II: Solutions and Battle Cards

Okay, I told myself I'd stop writing on Sunday, but I'm excited to share this knowledge.

I'm sitting at Gold Leaf Coffee, my sister's favorite spot in Ormond Beach. I'm sipping on an Iced Earl Grey Tea and admiring expressionist art in a pleasantly cool environment.

Somehow the temperature jumped from low, windy 50s to 70 degrees in the span of three hours. It's with revelations like these that I start daydreaming about a path in meteorology.

But I digress. You're not here for observations on climate.

Sales Enablement Strategy: Crafting a Solutions Overview

Because I'm deep into information architecture and content strategy, I'll also share the best ways to organize your information.

Keep in mind that "the best ways" may not be the "best way" for your organization.

Questions to ask:

1. Is my team primarily mobile? Do they like to learn on desktop, on their phones, or a mix of both?
2. How findable is my Solutions content? Is it sitting in a private drive? Is it living in someone's brain? Is it scattered and disorganized in a shared drive? Do my Solutions files and folders have a standard naming convention? Is my Solutions content organized in folders and subfolders (that make sense)?
3. Once you've answered these questions, interview your sales reps. Ask them what information they struggle to find. Ask them what information is easy to find and why.
4. Ask them to search for something specific and observe them. What did they do? What surprised you? Are other reps doing this? Did you see any negative or positive patterns?

??Expert Tip: I recommend direct observation because often, what people say does not align with what they do. And, most times, these disparities in behavior are subconscious.

How to Write Product & Services Descriptions for Sales Teams

Sales enablement content helps your sales teams communicate value and connect with the right buyers. Here are some best practices for each type of content:

For Product/Service Descriptions:

1. KISS: Use clear, concise language. Avoid jargon unless absolutely necessary (like right now... KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid) and always explain it when used. Stupid's not a very nice word, so I'm going with sweetheart or swashbuckler.
2. Highlight Key Features & Benefits: Focus on what sets your product/service apart and how it solves problems or adds value for your target personas (more on that in the next section).
3. Use Bullet Points: They help in breaking down complex information into easily digestible bits. You can also jazz up content and draw emphasis to certain key ideas using emojis like this one.??
4. Consistency: Get your story straight. Make sure the message about your products/services is consistent across all your platforms and sales and marketing materials.

Don't forget demos (that's where I've heard wildly different narratives about products and services).

For Decks:

1. Visually Engaging: Use graphics and charts to make complex data easily understandable.
2. Bite-Sized Information: Each slide should convey one idea clearly and succinctly.
3. Storytelling: Create a journey that guides the sales rep through the problem, solution, and benefits.
4. Interactive Elements: If possible, include interactive elements like links or embedded videos.

For Audio/Video Content:

1. Clear, Concise Scripting: Write easy-to-follow scripts and avoid overly complex sentences.
2. Use Pauses and Emphasis: Properly timed pauses and emphasis on key points can make the message you're delivering more impactful.
3. Bring in Customer Testimonials: Hearing real experiences can be very persuasive. And, often (though many don't like to hear this, customers do a better job of explaining what you do, better than you do because they live and use your tool).
4. Include Subtitles/Transcripts: Not all can listen to audio or watch video, so subtitles and transcripts ensure your sales materials are accessible to everyone.

For Video Content:

1. Engaging Visuals: Use high-quality visuals that complement the spoken content.
2. Keep it Short: Aim for brevity; shorter videos tend to retain attention better.
3. Include Subtitles: Not all viewers can listen to audio, so subtitles ensure your content is accessible to everyone.

For Text Content:

1. Structured Format: Use headings, subheadings, bullet points, and paragraphs to organize information logically.
2. Searchable content: Use relevant keywords to ensure your content is easily findable. This depends on the sales enable system you're using. For instance, if you're using Notion or Google Drive, your sales reps can type keywords in the search bar and find what they need. So, make sure you're using the words they use to search.
3. Call-to-Actions: Include clear CTAs guiding the sales reps on what to do next.

Integrating Content into Sales Tools:

The more integrated learning and sales enablement content is into your sales team's tools, the more likely they will consume and adopt it. Some of the people I've worked with have integrated microlearning into their customer relationship management systems (CRMs) like Salesforce and HubSpot.

Others use a learning management system (LMS) and integrate the content into commonly used systems like Slack.

Slack also has a fantastic channelization capability that a content strategist can organize to triage questions, avoid over-pinning content, and create dedicated channels by commonly searched topics. Sales reps can choose what channels they need to be in and set the frequency of notifications.

1. Make it mobile: Salespeople are often on the go, so you'll want to make sales enablement content easily accessible from anywhere.
2. Keep it fresh: Don't let your content get stale. Update it with the latest product features, pricing, and information. If clients leave and they no longer allow you to reference their story, note that. And, if new clients join, share those messages and stories. You can do that in a dedicated Slack or sales channel, depending on how often you add new logos to your business.
3. Training: You can have the greatest content in the world in the most sophisticated systems, but if no one knows how to use them, what's the value? Train your sales team on how to effectively use and navigate enablement resources. Have a monthly meeting to address challenges and collect feedback.
4. Feedback: Make it easy for sales teams to leave comments on your content. Rate its helpfulness and open requests for new enablement resources.

What to Include in Sales Enablement Content

Use Cases & Application Scenarios - I like to do these by solution/service and role. For example, if you have a social media tool that's designed for retail and app engagement. Show how the tools can drive customer stickiness in the first 30 days and how that benefits your customers and business.

Case Studies & Success Stories - I like to organize case studies by industry, use cases, solution, and role. Some will fall into multiple categories.

Use tags to keep them organized. If you have multimedia content, you can also add a tag by format. Ex: Text, audio, or video.

FAQs - Frequently asked questions are a key strategy on websites (bonus for the sites doing proper interlinking here). FAQs help your sales reps prepare their answers so they're not caught off guard.

Battle Cards

Sales teams use battle cards to prep for competitive selling scenarios. Battle cards give them quick insights and counterpoints against competitors.

Here's a breakdown of what to include:

1. Competitor Overview:

• Company Name and Background: Brief history, size, locations, and market presence.
• Key Products and Services: A quick overview of their primary offerings.
• Unique Selling Propositions (USPs): What they claim as their competitive strengths.
• Target Market: Who they primarily sell to, including industry, company size, and geographic focus.

2. Competitive Analysis:

• Strengths and Weaknesses: An honest appraisal of where they excel and where they fall short.
• Market Positioning: How they position themselves in the market.
• Pricing Strategy: An overview of their pricing model and how it compares to yours.

3. Sales Strategy:

• Sales Approach: Insights into their sales process and tactics.
• Common Objections: Common objections raised by clients about their product/service and how to counter them.
• Customer Reviews and Testimonials: Any available customer feedback, both positive and negative.

4. Product/Service Comparison:

• Direct Comparison: Side-by-side comparison of features, benefits, pricing, support, etc.
• Case Studies/Success Stories: Where your product/service has outperformed theirs.

5. Messaging:

• Elevator Pitch Against Competitor: A brief, compelling pitch highlighting your advantages over the competitor.
• Key Talking Points: Bullet points focusing on your strengths relative to the competitor.

6. Tactical Advice:

• Win Strategies: Specific strategies and tips for winning against this competitor.
• Avoidance Strategies: What to avoid saying or doing that could disadvantage you.

7. FAQs:

• Frequently Asked Questions: Common questions prospects might ask about this competitor and your recommended responses.

??My expert tip: ?Have your seasoned sales reps do mock objection scenarios to show newer reps how to [and not to] handle objections. You can also have new sales reps join calls to observe top-performing sales reps, like how medical students observe doctors during their residencies.

And use video and audio to give sales teams more pathways to absorb information.

Important Considerations:

• Accuracy: Make sure all information is accurate and up-to-date.
• Brevity: Keep it short and sweet; the battle card should be a quick reference tool.
• Customization: Tailor the battle card to different segments or sales scenarios as needed.
• Training: Regularly train your sales team on how to use and interpret battle cards.

Well, per usual, I had more to say than I thought.

So, to avoid this section of Sales Enablement Vol 2 being too long. I've decided to put Buyer Personas in Vol 3.

Hope you enjoyed this and found it helpful. If you have questions, feel free to book some time with me.

And, now, for a sunny walk along the beach.