Each year marketers invest significant resources to create messaging, positioning, sales tools and training designed to increase sales effectiveness. Sometimes we refer to these materials as collateral – and not surprisingly then, this content is often relegated to a tactical blip on the radar screen of most sales people and their business contacts. Today’s show was about taking a moment to consider the cost to your organization if sales people aren’t using the tools you create, and/or when they create their own.

The CMM Group recently released a whitepaper on Avoiding Collateral Damage. It provides a straightforward analysis of the problem and a four-step approach to solving it. To go over that approach and discover ways we can create effective sales tools, I asked Matt Guido, VP of Client Programs for the CMM Group to join me on the program. He shared these steps, along with practical experiences and results, from helping companies repair their “collateral damage.”

What struck me as most pressing were some of the stunning stats Matt shared:

90% of the materials marketers make go unused by sales staff
40% of sales time is spent making or searching for usable marketing content
60% of sales execs say that the stuff they get from marketers is ineffective
70% of MARKETERS would give themselves a D or F grade in sales tool effectiveness

So my friends, here's the opportunity to do something better or different in your organization. And it's marketing 101 when you really think about it...

1. Figure out who you are talking to.
2. Identify what they care about.
3. Identify what capabilities you have that will help the customer with their issue.
4. Show proof how your solution creates value for the customer.
5. Answer the big question..."Why should the customer buy from you?"

Sounds a little like integrated communications (though Don Shultz may disagree withe me on this one.)