You’ve probably heard Marcus Sheridan’s story. He is the guy whose blog, sometimes referred to as “the Wikipedia of fiberglass swimming pools,” saved his pool company during the economic crash of 2008.
Today, Marcus is The Sales Lion and spends a lot of time behind a microphone, urging companies to do what it takes to deliver content that lives up to its potential as a sales tool.
What does it take? It takes creating a culture of content. According to Marcus, that means getting rid of the “massive silo effect” between departments – especially between sales and marketing – and getting the whole company involved in content marketing.
In this article, I summarize Marcus’s advice delivered in his Content Marketing World talk How to Tear Down Sales and Marketing Silos: The Secret to Developing a Culture of Content Across the Entire Organization.
Why now?
In the old days, companies got away with the great divide: marketers handling marketing and salespeople handling sales. Things have changed, Marcus says. Companies need to market and sell in a new way because people buy in a new way. He refers to the 2015 Forrester report that shows more than 70% of business buyers conduct more than half of their research online before making an offline purchase.
“How many salespeople in your organization understand that they no longer control 70% of the sale,” Marcus asks. Buyers have changed. You have to change with them.
How to create a culture of content
Marcus suggests several ways to create a culture of content:
- Recognize that salespeople are part of the content process.
- Integrate your content into your sales process.
- Gather employees regularly to discuss content marketing.
- Commit to being the best teacher in the world in your niche.
Recognize that salespeople are part of the content process
Content marketing fails, Marcus says, because people outside marketing don’t think they have time to participate.
It isn’t about time. We magically find the time to do what we value. When was the last time someone in your organization, maybe in your accounting department said, ‘You know what, y’all, if we get a chance to do a payroll today, let’s get that done. If not, Monday afternoon is fine.’ Culture is about going all in.
If you want to create a culture of content, the enterprise must have a common philosophy about prospects and customers. All must understand that content is critical. Marketers alone can’t create a culture of content. People in sales, for example, often have the mindset, “I sell; you market.” The same silo mentality goes for other in-house subject-matter experts.
This mentality “crushes businesses,” Marcus says.
Getting SMEs on board is easier said than done. Still, it must be done. Marcus recommends, for starters, that salespeople attend marketing meetings and conferences, and that marketing people attend sales meetings and conferences. In some of the most effective organizations Marcus has worked with, the sales and the marketing team essentially merge.
This makes sense; the sales team hears most of the questions, concerns, worries, fears, and issues of prospects and customers. As Marcus says:
I’m not saying that everybody has to write for your company blog. It is not our job to turn everyone into Victor Hugo. What I am saying is that everybody must participate. We never own a thing until we help create the thing.
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