Connecting with Sales and Distribution through Podcasting

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The Sales and Distribution channels of any business are always in flux simply because there are constantly new things to learn and apply on the fly. What would it be like if management could speak directly to the sales team in an engaging way on an ongoing basis - to provide updated, relevant resources in real-time?

On this episode, Bernie is joined by Henry Menke, Product Marketing Director at Balluff, Inc. The Balluff team was trying to solve a very specific problem regarding the sales team’s awareness of specific educational topics relevant to the products the company provides, so they decided to try an internal podcast.

Henry explains how he and his team rolled out a private podcast channel by thinking of their sales team as they would a customer. It enables them to deliver content that helps team members stay up to date on topics ranging from product information to competitive intel. Their podcast channel has proven to be a valuable way to keep team members connected and up to date. Henry shares the specifics of how they do and the impact it has, on this episode.

 

Having Trouble Providing Vital New Intel To Your Sales Team?

There’s a crucial question every business leadership team needs to answer: How do you effectively keep your sales team up to date? There are product developments, new messaging approaches, and updates to sales presentations that everyone on the team needs to know. What’s the answer? More meetings? Conference calls?

Why not try a solution that makes it easy for your team to use the educational materials and updates you provide when it is most convenient for them? That’s exactly what the Balluff team did - by creating a private podcast.

Yes, podcasting is typically a public medium but there’s no reason your company can’t use the same technology and approach to content distribution inside a private channel. Doing so will help you increase your team’s awareness and skill in up to date, powerful ways. In this episode, you’ll hear all the details of how Henry and his team do it week to week - from podcasting gear to episode format, so be sure you listen.

 

 

Why A Private Podcast Can Communicate To Your Team Like Nothing Else

One of the things common to many B2B salespeople is that they spend a lot of time in the car, driving from appointment to appointment. An internal podcast enables you to take advantage of that “windshield time” to better equip and empower your sales team.

Imagine a team member listening to the latest sales presentation or product update as they are driving to their next appointment. They’ll be ready to provide the most relevant, up to date insights to their prospect and have increased confidence in doing so. But when you take it a step further to feature success stories from their peers and testimonials, you'll generate enthusiasm around the content as well.

 

How Past Podcast Episodes Can Be Valuable Training Tools For The Sales Team

Most podcasts produced these days become lost in the Internet flood, drowned out by loads of other content. But a private podcast doesn’t have to fall prey to that same dynamic. That’s because past episodes are easily searchable via internal company channels, which makes them a valuable resource that anyone on the team can use to address specific needs, at any time.

In this conversation, Henry Menke explains how the Balluff team has seen their salespeople use their podcast content as an on-demand resource library, how they’ve intentionally created their episode notes to enable easy search via keywords, and how they encourage interaction and consumption internally. It’s a brilliant idea that more companies should consider. You’ll hear all the details on this episode.

 

 

Featured on This Episode Henry Menke on LinkedIn Balluff on LinkedIn https://www.balluff.com

 

Outline of This Episode [1:56] What does Balluff do? B2B industrial solutions for automation equipment [3:50] Why a podcast seemed like a good idea to solve a specific sales team problem [6:06] Doing what it takes to create a private podcast (vaulted content) [9:11] Formatting the episodes to fit the needs of the sales team [10:34] A sample of the internal podcast the Balluff team creates [12:18] How archived episodes serve the sales team as an ongoing resource [15:26] Leveraging the podcast as an awareness generator [21:29] The importance of collaborating with sales management to increase listeners

 

Resources & People Mentioned The Automation Insights Blog www.PodBean.com The Digital Selling Benchmark Report - www.DigitalSellingBenchmarkReport.com The Selling With Social Podcast with Vengreso CEO, Mario Martinez, Jr

 

Connect With Bernie and Social Business Engine https://www.facebook.com/socialbusinessengine/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernieborges/ https://twitter.com/bernieborges https://twitter.com/sbengine  

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This podcast originally appeared on Social Business Engine