This week thousands of content creators are getting together in Boston to hear about how inbound marketing has developed over the past year in a big event called INBOUND 2014. Initially for customers of Hubspot, the INBOUND event now attracts thousands of marketers, sales leaders, and business builders from around the world.
I attend because even though I'm a business owner and sales focused speaker, blogger, trainer and consultant, what I really am above and beyond all else now is A PUBLISHER. You are too - whether you know it or not.
[Disclosure: We also use the Hubspot platform, and run a local Hubspot User Group, so we're excited to learn and connect this week.]
Even if you have nothing yet published - or just dabble in content creation - you are now in the publishing world in your business or the business you represent through a sales or sales leadership position.
When Did This Happen?
It slowly crept up on a lot of us - and the fact remains that what buyers are interested in are solutions to their business challenges, shortcuts, workarounds, and strategies to grow and prosper. Those ideas don't come from reading a product one-sheet about all the things your product or service does - it comes from a lot of pieces of content you and your team create to help buyers gain insight.
What Should I Be Thinking About?
Simply start - if you have not already - to observe who your buyers are, where they go, what they do, and what they are asking you about. A good activity for any sales team is to make sure you have a list of the top 20 questions your buyers ask you about on a regular basis. Then, write out the answers. That is your first piece of content if you have not done other pieces already.
You could create 20 written blog posts.
You could create 20 video blog posts.
You could create an e-book.
You could have a "Frequently Asked Questions" on your website.
Any of these simple ideas can engage your prospective buyers.
You can do this for existing customers too - what do THEY ask about? Work on 20 more questions.
See how simple it is?
Stop thinking there is no time, or it is too hard to do. It is now a part of your world, because you are a content creator and a publisher if you are a sales professional or part of a sales team.
Sure, you can say it is marketing's job. But whether you are a very small company or a very big one - the sales team needs to have a big say in what is being written about and talked about in content from your company. Start today.
Lori Richardson is recognized on Forbes as one of the "Top 30 Social Sales Influencers" worldwide. Lori speaks, writes, trains, and consults with inside sales teams in mid-sized companies. Subscribe to the award-winning blog and the "Sales Ideas In A Minute" newsletter for sales strategies, tactics, and tips in selling. Increase Opportunities. Expand Your Pipeline. Close More Deals.
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