As spring rolls in on us here in Minnesota, we are digging through our closets in search of things to wear that are not on a list of arctic survival gear, and are bright enough to make us think of warmer times to come. Every so often in that search, I find some things in my closet that surprise me to the point that I ask my wife how I still own that garment.
You all have them, that shirt, skirt, dress, suit or whatever that was “the style” a few years ago, cost you a tremendous sum of money and got accolades when worn. Worn now for any event other than cleaning the garage this same garment would garner scoffs and giggles, by even the best of friends, human or canine.
Sales collateral is not that different than clothing really; even your sales collateral has a shelf life. How long have you been using older white papers, case studies, product reviews and even executive white papers? If you are handing out 2-3 year old sales collateral to prospects, you are essentially wearing a pair of Greg Brady pants to the trade show floor.
“But we paid a great deal of money for that white paper!” you say. “We should be OK for another season with what we have”! To that I say “Groovy Greg!” Good luck with that!
Understanding the needs of your buyers is really the key for utilizing analysis and collateral like DCIG creates for our clients. Your buyers are very fashion conscious when it comes to storage technology and crave the latest and up to date information each year.
You all have new press releases, new announcements, product launches and yet you have dated collateral and analysis or sometimes none at all. Your buyers need education; they need to know what you have and how it applies to them and placing a solid piece of up to date analysis to their hands will pay dividends.
If you want to grow your market share, and make your sales team successful consider the products DCIG provides for our clients. With our understanding and knowledge of the industry we provide objective and authoritative analysis that is designed for buyers groups, CIO’s, CEO’s and end users alike who are all waiting for something new and up to date.
So as you put away your winter clothes, and update a few of your summer wardrobe items, think about your companies’ collateral and analysis. Because just like your parachute pants, Member’s Only jacket, or plaid Greg Brady pants, everything has an expiration date, including your collateral.