Presentation metrics elevate sales enablement

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If you thought that the content of a sales pitch needed to be perfect, you’d be right. But there’s timing to consider too. And the window for sales teams to build rapport with potential clients could be smaller than you think. As B2B sales tool provider Consensus points out, buying behaviors have changed. Industry data shows that buyers spend most of their time researching options rather than in direct contact with vendors. One way of extending that contact time is through demo automation – an approach advocated by Consensus. But this isn’t the only option. Today, there’s a whole portfolio of sales enablement tools that vendors can use to elevate their pitch, which includes presentation metrics that highlight when communications chime with potential clients.

Demolytics

Access to presentation metrics, including insights on real-time engagement with content, is a giant reason to switch up from sending out plain PDFs and PowerPoint slides. Sales enablement software will reveal who is viewing your pitch, which parts of the sales story prospects identify with most strongly, and how long they engage with the content – to highlight just a few features that tools bring. Consensus – with its focus on helping users to build interactive videos that show products in action – dubs these insights ‘demolytics’. And the sales enablement company gives its clients the opportunity to create content that branches based on viewers’ preferences.

Interactive elements are a feature of Journey’s pitch deck tools too. And feedback from users adds further evidence that moving away from standard PowerPoint-like presentation tools pays off. Adding extra elements to the pitch helps vendors to build more compelling sales stories. And, on the back end, being able to monitor content presentation metrics such as the number of views, engagement time, click-through rates, and other details, gives teams a better idea of where potential clients are in the sales process. Plus, there are workflow automation benefits too. Journey has integrations up and running with Google Drive, Segment, Zapier, and Slack, as well as Hubspot and Salesforce options coming soon.

Salesforce, and other big names, are also part of Showpad’s ecosystem – another sales enablement platform helping users to create interactions that are more impactful with prospects. Having data on how recipients are interacting with content provides the opportunity to revise and refine the messaging. Also, storing sales assets in a content hub – a feature of the Showpad platform – helps to keep track of materials. Access can be managed and search features make it easy to find the most relevant presentations and identify the latest content.

Sales and productivity gains

Forrester Consulting found that putting the right information in front of the right people boosted sales by 10%, based on interviews with Showpad clients. Also, with content much easier for sales reps to find, there’s the potential to exceed customer expectations – offering a speedier response to queries than competitors by avoiding any delay in following up on incoming requests. The Forrestor study showed that avoiding confusion in accessing, updating, and sharing sales materials could raise productivity by as much as 25%. The analysis adds to the list of reasons why sales enablement tools are turning out to be a wise investment for companies.

As well as boosting sales, interactive slide decks with presentation metrics, organized around quick-to-access content hubs, are helping company founders to raise funds. Journey, which is one of a host of platforms in use today, has – according to the company’s data – helped start ups to pitch ideas that have won tens of millions of dollars in backing from investors.

Keeping funders, buyers, and other stakeholders engaged improves conversion rates and plays to the growing trend for guided research as a driving force behind many business decisions. Tiled, a platform that helps users build interactive documents in just a few minutes, illustrates the range of options that are available. Content makers can drop in videos, image galleries, animations, embed forms, and include quizzes to keep recipients engaged. Also, the information can be viewed online or offline and adapts to different devices, which is important as clients may switch back and forth between desktop, mobile, and tablet screens, while carrying out their research.

Multi-channel messaging

Because every customer interaction matters, sales enablement tools need to be capable across a range of communication channels. Clearside brings feature-rich presentations to online meetings, and the sales enablement product uses so-called ‘content enablement dashboards’ to determine the impact that slides and presentations are having on their audience. Without feedback, it’s harder to know which direction to take next, but having presentation metrics means that sales teams can maximize their opportunities.

Contact time with potential clients has never been easy to come by. And with many prospects preferring to dedicate their time to self-guided research, the window for pitching products and business solutions can seem narrow. But, in reality, there are still many options for vendors to reach out to potential buyers. Sales enablement tools are getting the upvote from users as a valuable way of generating interactive pitches that resonate with clients and keep communication channels open.