Thought Leadership & Sales Podcasting Services
Prepared By: Steven MacDonald, CEO & Founder of ContentStrategies.io & SocialCloser.io
ThoughtLeadership&Sales Podcasting Services Prepared By: Steven MacDonald, CEO&FounderofContentStrategies.io & SocialCloser.io
Think Different, Expand What’s Possible ● Podcast-EnhancedThoughtLeadership 3 ● All-New Lead Gen & Selling Strategies 4 ● TheImpactofInteractiveContent 6 ● Conclusion 8 ● Whenistherighttimetostartaweeklypodcast? 10 2
Podcast-Enhanced Thought Leadership Strategy STRATEGY:Tocraftexceptional thought leadership content through ongoing podcast interviews with customers and prospects within your ICP—fueling all-new conversations within the buyer’s journey, directly impacting lead generation, sales, and revenue. Wewillexecutethisstrategybyelevatingyourcompany'sbrandreputation, enhancingthesalesteam'simageastrustedadvisors,invitinghigh-priority revenuetargetsasprominentpodcastguests(clients&prospects),obtaining external validations of your company's unique POV, creating a steady stream of Account-Based Marketing (ABM) conversation catalysts for the sales team, andestablishing an internal knowledge hub that showcases the voice of your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) through carefully curated interviews. Carefully orchestrated podcast episodes and chosen topics will be used to fill ICP/vertical market content gaps on a weekly basis. It's also worth emphasizingthatasacompany'sindustryexpertisegrows,theperceived value of its products and services rises. The impact of thought leadership content is undeniable at every stage of the buyer's journey. “95%ofB2Bdecision-makersstatedthatevenbeforecontactingasupplier, feeling a sense of connection to a supplier’s brand is as important as feeling confident about what they do.” - LinkedIn This thought leadership strategy, amplified by podcasts, is strategically crafted to significantly bolster your go-to-market plans with minimal demandsonacompany’sinternalteams. 3
All-New Podcast-Enhanced Lead Gen & Selling Strategies In a B2B selling environment where maintaining thought leadership is essential for enhancing the company's brand and establishing a credible reputation as a trusted advisor, podcasts provide a continuous source of the highest quality content, delivered weekly, straight from the perspectives of customers, prospects, and industry experts—fueling meaningful Account-BasedMarketing(ABM)salesconversations. TheTop5reasonswhypodcastsdeliveradirectimpactonleadgeneration andABMsalesactivitiesare: ● First, a significant portion of luminaries, clients, and prospects not only accept podcast invitations but are genuinely appreciative, offering a majorrelationship-building opportunity—onaweeklybasis ● Second,podcastsprovidethecriticalcomponentofoutsidevalidation of the company’s unique POV being presented to the market ○ Thisisaccomplishedbyaddingperspectives,insights,and recommendationsfromthepeercommunityofyourICPs ● Third, we recommendthat75%ofpodcastguestsarerevenue targets from clients with the best expansion opportunities to priority prospects in the pipeline. Podcasts should also be used to invite high-priority prospects onto the podcasts as guests when a conversation has yet to be started—a cold lead generation strategy ○ Thiscreatesahealthydoseofcompetitionamongthesalesteam to have their prospects onto the podcast by meeting their quotas andSLAswithmarketing. ○ It also ensures the voice of your ICP is paving the road in front of yours. ○ Seethis4:59videoonrevenuegenerationtargetsaspodcast guests from a companythathasexecutedthisstrategy. 4
● Fourth, podcasts generate a wealth of valuable content for salespeople engagedinAccount-BasedMarketing(ABM),offeringanabundanceof non-promotionalmaterialthataddssignificantvaluetoconversations andbolsterstheir stature as trusted advisors on an ongoing basis. ○ Watchthis2:59videoclipfromarecentepisodeoftheC-Suite MarketingPerspectives podcast showcasing a 4x B2B CMO about howapodcaststrategyplaysacriticalroleindevelopingthought leadership content and ongoing ABM sales conversations. ● Fifth, podcasts represent a tremendous opportunity to create an internal, continual learning program across sales, marketing, and customersuccess—straightfromthevoiceofyourICP. ○ Shortsummaryvideos,quotes,blogposts,socialposts,etc.,serve as external marketing and sales materials as well as an internal education program. ■ Typically, nobody across marketing, sales, and customer success teams is the ICP, but all need to operate as proxies onbehalfoftheICP. ○ Inpodcastpreparationmeetingsandrecordingsessions,thereis anopportunitytoposequestionsthatmightbechallengingtoask during a sales call. This is because, in a sales context, the salesperson typically assumes the role of a trusted advisor and mustupholdacertainlevelofestablishedknowledgeand expertise. 5
TheImpactofInteractive Content "The mediumisthemessage."-MarshallMcLuhan AsB2Bbuyersseekagreaterself-servebuyingexperience,interactive content emergesasanindispensabletooltogarnertheirattentionanddrive meaningfulengagementandconversionsearlierinthebuyer'sjourney. CS.io recommendsusinginteractivecontentformatsliketheexample podbook(podcastsummarybook)below,especiallywithinlengthyABMsales cycles: ● Shareablewithasimplelink ● FuelsSLAsbetweenmarketingandsalesforsharingadded-value content ● Providesself-guided exploration ● Easyforbuyerstosharewithinthebuyingcommittee 6
TheMostUnder-Utilized Insight Gathering Strategy for CMOs Click here to view Thepodbookformatofferscompletebrandingandgraphiccustomization options for any company while also serving as a versatile platform for delivering highly interactive content, including case studies, demos, proposals, and more. 7
Conclusion For most B2Bcompanies,achievingthoughtleadershipthroughcontent creation is most often sought to enhance brand reputation and support demandgenerationcampaigns.However,itremainsanincredibly challenging aspect of success, as becoming industry thought leaders for your ICPs requires a profound grasp of numerous elements. This includes staying abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, shifting perspectives, and influential factors shaping the B2B buyer's journey, job, and decision-making processes. "B2Bcontentconsumptionistightly linked to purchase decisions. A lot of B2B content is weak. It’s written to please executives rather than to connect with buyers. Content goes stale. Things change faster and faster, so new content has to bedevelopedtostayfresh." - Forbes, commenting on the recent 2023 State of B2BContentConsumption&DemandReport. 8
Producingthoughtleadershipcontentisacrucialstrategicinitiative for maintaining competitive relevance in today's landscape and a means of directly engaging with the company's most critical revenue sources, including existing customers and prospective clients. 9
Whenistherighttimetostartaweeklypodcast? ● If the company has an established brand strategy and POV that have yet to be fully validated by external experts, clients, and prospects, podcasting can lead to immediate contributions and successes. ● If lead generation efforts through marketing campaigns can benefit fromhigherqualitycontenttoachievebetterROI. ● If the company's sales team needs additional assistance in continually addingvaluetoandmaintainingmomentumwithintheircurrent pipeline conversations. ● If lead generation help is desired to crack open the door to new prospect organizations where conversations have yet to be started. ● If achieving a higher degree of alignment and ownership over sales enablementstrategiescouldfurtherenhancetherelationshipbetween marketingandsales. ● If nurturing thousands of ICP relationships through regular email newsletters (for pennies on the dollar) is a priority, or testing thought leadership themes and topics through email engagement metrics such as openandclick-throughratesarecrucialforexecutingstrategies and allocating resources. 10
