When you work in sales, you need content and collateral to generate and convert leads. If you're not using the right kind of content or engaging with your audience regularly, you could be leaving opportunities on the table.

Adam Little, chief marketing officer at Data Dwell, says that sales teams should always be armed with content that will increase engagement, generate leads and improve sales conversations. We share his thoughts on the five types of content sales professionals need in this issue of Promotional Consultant Today.

1. Customer-centric content. Little says it's important to understand your target's pain points. This knowledge will shape the content you provide. The content mix for the buyer's journey should include everything from educational articles, eBooks, guides, case studies, product datasheets and whitepapers. All of these are used in various stages of the buying cycle and respond to various levels of involvement from your prospects. But Little says they should also provide the necessary value you need to nurture your prospects. The difference between a done deal and a lost lead is often identifying what is classed as a need and a want for your client.

2. Automated email scripts and messages. Manually following up on prospects can become an overwhelming and time-consuming task for sales teams. You can overcome this by automating some of your content marketing processes. Try using a sales enablement tool that will not only allow you to track all the steps in your client's sales journey but will also allow you to trigger automated actions as they progress through the funnel.

3. Whitepapers. Little asserts that in every industry, there is some form of industry research that you can use to enrich your content. Similarly, social content featuring data or research, involving pertinent industry or business challenges your clients face will be more engaging and lead to them reading and sharing to their wider circle of contacts. If your company sells a solution, it's incredibly important to start gathering data and insights of your own. This will help your company quantify and qualify its product value. This data can then be used for blog posts, included in marketing materials and to back up your worth to leads.

4. Case studies and testimonials. Calling on current clients to provide sound bites or testimonials that show your business in a favorable light arms your salespeople with strong proof to the claims they're sharing with potential clients. Always aim to add a real face and name to your sales material. Little says this humanizes the content and softens the edge for facts and figures, which can come across as intimidating to some. Keeping a full file of case studies and testimonials that blanket the various verticals and buying demographics you target can help you prepare for speaking with specific customer types as soon as they come in.

5. Explainer videos. With the rise of the YouTube generation, in-video advertising, auto-start social network videos, affiliation advertising and vlogger influencers, video is now an integral part of almost any marketing strategy. If your company already has a robust video marketing strategy (or simply a podcast for that matter), make sure you are up to date with the newest or most helpful episodes or videos that will assist with your efforts.

When salespeople are armed with the right kind of content, they stand ready to convert warm leads into clients. What's in your content arsenal?

Source: Adam Little is the chief marketing officer at Data Dwell, a provider of sales enablement software.