Business blogs are still a bit of a mystery and certainly a source of anxiety and angst for many SME’s (small and medium enterprises) and SMB’s (small and medium businesses) alike. Many marketing directors and executive level decision makers cringe at the idea of having a blog. They don’t get the concept, fear the workload or have a skewed view of a business blog’s purpose. As a result, they conclude that they don’t need to do it. That’s just wrong.
Here’s one thing that every business regardless of size should get. Doing something that helps your sales team sell more.
So what’s the relationship between your blog and your sales team selling more? It’s quite straightforward. If you are not providing evidence and support for your folks in the field you are limiting their capabilities and ultimately their production. So if you start and maintain a strong business blog for ANY reason it should be to support your sales team and their efforts. Here’s a few reasons why this is critical to sales success.
- Your sales team needs back up – Sure your sales people will say they have it all under control but the fact of the matter is that in today’s online world sales folks have less control than ever. Never has it been easier to research and connect with competitors. Never has it been easier to look into the reputation of a company being bought from. Your business blog should serve as the place where prospects will find out about your company on their own time. Where they will learn more about your company philosophies and practices without the “guidance” of a completely biased sales person. Sure your blog will have bias but at least the prospect can have the freedom to object without the interruption of the company shill.
- Your sales team needs confidence – I have sold for companies that give their sales people precious few resources to sell. Companies think that sales people are supposed to sell without having anything other than their own wits and the desire to make a deal. That’s old school thinking and extremely short sighted. Any sales person who is out working for a company is looking for their next job anyway so you need to give them a reason to feel like you are there for them and they should be working hard for you. A strong corporate blog that can be pointed to by a sales team as an incredible resource for the prospect to explore goes a long way toward moving from prospect to customer.
- Your sales team needs faith – I have sold for companies that have sold me a bill of goods that was then moved out in to the marketplace with confidence that the company would deliver. When they didn’t I lost faith in the company. You can’t sell something you don’t have a measure of faith in. A strong business blog tells your sales team that you are on top of it and that you are actively seeking connection with customers and prospects. This keeps the incidence of “over promising and under delivering” to a minimum and that gives your sales team faith that you are there as advertised.
- Your sales team needs weapons – Today’s sales world is very different and if you are sending your sales people out into a gunfight with a knife, well the outcome is almost a done deal, and it won’t be your sales team’s fault. A sales team that is well armed is confident and sells better.
The bottom line is this: Your blog is not about selling. Your business blog should be, at least in part, about the sales process. That process requires more than what most companies are willing to give these days. As a result you have a choice. You can either be like everyone else letting the chips fall as they may OR you can be different. You can provide your sales team with all the tools needed for success, not the least of which is a dynamic corporate blog that helps the sales process.
What’s your choice?
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