Collateral and Content

What’s the Difference Between Collateral and Content?

Let’s not get too hung up here on the differences between collateral and content, but a working definition might guide you in the right direction. For “collateral” read “marketing materials”. Let’s start there.

Even with highly detailed market analysis and segmentation you can never be absolutely certain who will be reading your blogs, your outreach emails, your case studies, service brochures or web pages. Even after the most rigorous marketing assessments collateral is, by it’s very nature, somewhat “generic”.

Content for selling, conversely, must never be generic.

When we are selling those on the “other side of the table” should be known to us at every stage of the sales cycle:

• • • Suspects – include audience / attendees at introductory meetings and presentations, people at the end of phone lines, email threads
    • Cold Prospects – ditto
    • Hot Prospects – reviewers of your proposals and attendees at your final, shortlisting presentations
    • Existing Customers – account personal working with you on managing the business relationship and ongoing commercial development

Marketing Collateral – Breaking the Ice

Marketing collateral is your “ice breaker”. It’s used when the audience is largely invisible.

Whilst not meaning to be rude, there’s usually an element of “mud throwing” going on here.

You can’t really be sure when or where your mud might stick.

The savvy marketing department will strive to make its “mud” as “sticky” as possible.

 Quantum assists with the creation of a suite of “sticky” promotional tools to impress those who might be interested in your products and services:

A great look and feel (Design) should always be sought, together with targeted, relevant messaging.

When your promotional media impresses, you have created the right conditions for selling to begin!

 You might have noticed “corporate presentation” on the list. Be careful here! Presentation collateral sits on the very cusp of promotion (collateral) and selling (content). Read on …

Content – Selling

Promotional collateral is viewed by salespeople as the “pretty stuff” developed by Marketing that they can take to their sales meetings and use as a point of discussion with prospects at the start of a new deal (or at least a new sales cycle).

Content is – and must be – different from collateral because now we know who’s interest has been piqued by our materials. We are now in a conversation with people. We are selling.

If promotion is an intelligent mud toss – or a love letter without an addressee – then content has a name on the envelope because we now know who we are speaking with.

And at this point we need to know more about the audience, what makes them tick, what keeps them awake at night, what problem they need fixed, and the type of supplier / partner they might need.

Much of what was earlier classed as “promotional” still has immense value at this point …

… but only when presented and delivered in ways that are relevant and specific for your current audience.

To give a simple example, why would a salesperson want to talk in huge detail about a Retail sector case study when meeting with a prospect in Manufacturing?

Such a case study is likely to be irrelevant.

Which is why sales presentations and proposals – which rely heavily on content – have to be seriously tailored and crafted for the recipient audience and readers. (This is why delivering the exact same sales pitch over and over to different audiences with different interests is sales suicide).

Which brings us to the need for compelling, audience-centric Value Propositions, differentiators and win themes.

In other words. you have to answer the question – “why you?”. Because that’s always THE question, whether you audience asks you explicitly or not. (When they don’t ask you the question they are thinking of it – implicitly).

Content – Why You?

Whether you are building a sales presentation for a massive deal or a bid / proposal / tender for a “must-win” opportunity it’s essential is that your prospects understand two things:

• • • Should they even buy something (is their business problem or opportunity sufficiently important to merit their spending money)
    • Should they buy from you (or from someone else)?

The answer to these questions lies in how you:

• • • Communicate your Value
    • Differentiate your solutions from others

(In proposals and bids there are your “Win Themes”)

To get the right content for you and so to sell well, Quantum develops powerful sales messages that resonate with your audiences, prospects and customers, compelling them to take action with you.

The process we follow doesn’t depend on your final media format – be it a video, a proposal or tender, a presentation …

… we simply focus on how to get you to sell on your real value to prospects:

Collateral and Content Samples

Presentation Thumbnails