10 Tips for Supporting the Sales Team in Today's Environment
Fortunately, I collected quite a bit of interesting information at the National Retail Federation conference and was able to publish some posts. Now that we have done our research, we are in the process of building our editorial calendar for the retail industry so that we speak to the topics that are trending but also bring our own unique perspective.
9. Nurture relationships
Not every prospect will be ready to buy when sales first reaches out. Marketing can maintain the relationships by publishing content on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. The distribution of newsletters and white papers to prospects and clients who have opted in to receive communications establishes your company as a trusted resource and keeps you top-of-mind when they are ready to buy.
In addition to our blog, Affinity Express Marketing sends out a monthly newsletter specific to each of the three main segments we serve. We include not only the content we've created but also include links to other blogs, publications and websites that are relevant. Designs our team created are featured and we share comments we've received on our company or work. For us, a monthly newsletter targeted to each segment we serve is the right frequency.
10. Communicate often with sales
Schedule regular meetings each week, month or whatever frequency makes sense for your organization as long as it becomes a commitment sales and marketing honor. It should be your standard operating procedure to engage sales to find out what they are hearing, see what marketing messaging or materials are working and get insight on support they will need from you in the near future.
For us, a monthly meeting works well but I'm fortunate that our sales people in all the segments are not shy about emailing, calling and Skyping to get some help whenever they need something. Far from it!
