Marketing and sales collateral encompasses many items businesses use daily to help them garner name recognition, get potential clients in the door, and close deals. Marketing and sales collateral sometimes overlap, but they do serve two different purposes – though they are all different parts of the same puzzle.
Marketing Collateral
Marketing collateral gets people in the door. These pieces are what create your sales funnel. They are how people understand your company and brand and help you gain your initial name recognition in the marketplace. These pieces are tied to your company, but sometimes they are less ‘salesy’ to help get people in the door who might not be looking to convert right now. They are also the pieces you can use in your PPC advertising – like a free eBook offer – to capture more traction because you provide value for the converting action. Marketing collateral includes:
eBooks/Whitepapers/Reports
Brochures
Thought leadership articles
Case Studies
Blogs
Webinars
Infographics
Videos, Podcasts, etc.
Marketing collateral is meant to get people warm, but that doesn’t mean it also can’t help close the deal.
Sales Collateral
Now, here is where it can get a bit confusing. Some of the pieces listed above are also sales collateral. Sales collateral pieces help get prospects across the finish line by proving your worth as a product or service provider. These include:
Case studies
Spec sheets/Detailed one-pagers
Sales pitch decks
Demos
Brochures
Testimonials
But, depending on your specific prospect, it could be a matter of sending over an eBook or a Podcast they haven’t seen before that gets them to make the final decision to sign your contract.
We have really entered a sea of technicalities, so what do you need to know when thinking about collateral?
Pick the collateral that is right for your client and your business
When you are getting started in a business, whether your team consists of just you or a handful of people, consider highly impactful pieces that serve a dual purpose. There is not really one piece of collateral you NEED to have, but some types can be particularly impactful. For example, case studies and testimonials can provide some of the strongest motivations to get people interested in your work. They both add real-world examples of the work you do, which helps people see how you can impact their lives.
It is also essential to consider your audience – where are they, and what types of content they like to consume? You want to create pieces that will reach those people who you are most eagerly trying to attract. Are they looking for all the information provided in an eBook? Or are they going to be more attracted to an infographic? These are crucial questions to ask yourself when producing collateral.
Lastly, don’t produce collateral just to produce collateral. Everything you create represents your business, so make sure you focus on quality above all else.