Using Content to Propel Buyers through the Sales Process

Editor's Note: This is the fifth article in a five-part series on how to use digital content to promote your professional practice. Part 1 addressed why a content marketing system is important and how to begin planning one. Part 2 got you started creating content. Part 3 showed you how to syndicate your content and get it in front of even more people. And part 4 showed you how to keep your content stream compelling, contagious, recommended—and growing.

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With your content marketing engine completed, you're ready to book more billable hours for your professional practice. You'll make more sales by broadcasting the right messages to the right clients at the best times. Article 4 of this series, Get Buyers Following Your Online Footprint suggests organizing sales tactics around the phases John Jantsch offers his book The Referral Engine. Use these phases to optimize content broadcasting and propel clients through your sales process.

Sales Phase Tracking

Notice the phase names are verbs? Brilliant! Action words focus on what you want clients to do:

Know + Like +Trust | Try | Buy + Repeat | Refer

As your e-list grows, different audience segments will be in different sales phases at any given time. Everyone is always in the "Know, Like, and Trust" (KLT) phase. As some get to know you, others will have bought and could become repeaters, while some are trying your samples in preparation to buy and some become fans who might refer, and so on. It's easy enough to coordinate if you follow these steps to create a well-organized system: