6 Don'ts in Customer facing Sales collaterals

It may happen in a sales meeting. 

We think the customer will not go that deep. 

People from that customer team were not supposed to join, however they joined. 

E-books, blog posts, and newsletters are stale. 

Industry centric case study is there, however the customer is in a separate niche industry. 

And the list goes on …

I am sure you have experienced something similar. 

The more you prepare for customer calls, the better it is.

However, whatever preparation you do; there is a chance that you may have to say “we will get back to you soon on that topic”. 

So what is the challenge here?

Are our customer facing collaterals not valid, incorrect, outdated, irrelevant or what? 

Here are 6 Don’ts in Customer facing Sales collaterals. When I mention sales collateral I mean case studies, testimonials, e-books, meeting notes, customer notes, sales decks, news letters, use case stories, existing customer product usage metrics, videos, relevant blog posts, supporting industry data and so on … 🙋 

I am not counting here internal Sales collaterals such as playbooks, competitors battle cards, industry flash cards, etc. as they are not customer/ prospect facing during the sales journey.  

Let’s start with 6 Dont’s in Customer facing Sales collaterals. 

1 - Use fragmented messaging across collaterals. 

Please understand that you are looking at or presenting your collateral for the hundredth time. However, your prospect is seeing it for the first time. Their point of view and first impression about it can be entirely different. Most of the time, I am saying most of the time the feedback given by people is influenced by two things. One, their worldview and second the context they operate in the last 2 to 4 years. 

Use messaging which is consistent across the levels of presentation. Satellite level, 20k, 10k, and then street level view and so on … 😀  

2 - Make your Product main Actor/ Actress in the collateral (movie). 

You have built the product over a period of time. I get it, you are emotionally attached to it. However, it does not matter to the customers. Your story should not revolve around the product. Try to connect your product to the customer scenarios and give them a feel of what may happen once they buy and start using your product. 

Example - Why will I buy a watch which James Bond wore? 

• The watch is a chronograph, mat finish, built beautifully etc, etc., laser cut with extreme precision in the world?  

• I think this is not the point. In my opinion, customers buy these kinds of watches so they can wear the watch and feel like James Bond … 🏆 

They are the Hero and not the technical watch. Point noted. 

3 - Collateral explains immature or incorrect ROI to the customer. 

ROI calculators are good. However, we need to make sure that those calculators explain the return on investment in very simple layman terms. Everyone who is involved in the sales process should be able to understand and digest the ROI. Do not think that ROI is for procurement or finance teams; it is for everyone. 

ROI should demonstrate value for the next 4-5 years and give confidence to the buyer that this product will grow with us as our needs grow in future. 

4 - Make the collateral technical. 

Unless the meeting is expected to be technical, let’s not get into too many technical details. How does the engine of the car work? How does the car suspension work? 

I understand these are important questions, however these technical questions should be sent in advance, we need to invite needed team members on both sides and then have this discussion. If buyers and/ or buying teams are non-technical, technical discussions make them left out of the conversation. We should explain topics in the collateral in plain english … 💰  

5 - Use cases mentioned are not relevant for the customer. 

Every customer’s business is different; the way they operate is different because of many business variables. Collaterals should always mention primary use cases which the customer is looking for. Getting confirmation of the primary use cases they need for their business expedites the decision making. 

6 - Send outdated collateral to the customer - 

If you are a scaled product and are in the market for 5 plus years then most of your product is on the social media, you tube or somewhere. There is a high chance that customers might have seen the use cases they need to be part of your product. However, as part of the sales team you send a collateral document which does not include that key use case then the customer may not feel good. 

Every step in the sales process and journey should elevate the trust of the prospect/ customers on your product and your team. In a b2b enterprise, those customers will be with you for the next 3 to 5 years. 

These are the 6 Don’ts in customer facing sales collaterals. 

Ping me if I have missed any. 

PS - I thought to upload a picture with my cousins and broader family.