3 Steps to Creating an Awesome Digital Content Library Your Sales Team Will Actually Use

Imagine it’s 9 a.m. on a Wednesday morning… Do you know where your content is? As a marketer, you probably spend a fair amount of time and effort on creating sales content, but once it’s released we tend to not look back. However, with up to 80% of the content you generate going unused, it begs the question: What can marketing do better so that sales will use content to drive more deals?

Here are a few important steps to help you create a digital content library so it’s awesome enough that your sales team will actually use it:

1. Define what you want your content to accomplish.

For example, clearly outline if the goal is to build awareness or generate leads, the point in the sales process each piece will be used, and how the content will be dispersed. Consider what content you already have for each step in the content marketing funnel before creating anything new. Keeping an up to date audit ensures you always have this information at your fingertips. 

2. Find out what content sales needs.

As marketers, we often get so focused on lead generation and nurture that we forget to check-in with sales in the trenches. Being on the frontlines, they receive questions and feedback on a daily basis that can spark ideas for content your potential customer base is hungry for. Make a habit of consistently getting a pulse check from sales. After all, you’re on the same side.

3. Get your digital content organized with a digital content management tool. Here’s why:

1. For Marketing – Find a digital content management tool that allows you to get content uploaded and categorized quickly, but also offers detailed metrics that will be integral as you continue to expand your digital content library.
2. For Sales – More importantly however, choose a digital content management solution that sales will actually use. On average, a sales professional spends 18 minutes searching for a document, which adds up to nearly 50% of their time which should be spent selling. The right tool will enable sales to easily organize or search for the right content in seconds and track these interactions when face to face with a prospect.

There’s a lot to consider when looking for the right digital content management tool, so use a checklist to help prioritize features for your team’s needs and make the decision easy.