Before an athlete runs onto the playing field, or an actor walks on stage, you’ll find them in their locker room (or dressing room) putting on equipment or costumes, reviewing plays or running lines with fellow actors.

Just before “showtime,” they gauge the size and mood of the crowd to get a feel for the energy, and if they’re mute (or hostile), they’ll have to overcome it

Although sales reps are also performers, most don’t have a physical locker room where they can do last-minute prep before the game, especially when they’re on the road. But as long as they have a mobile device and access to a modern sales learning platform, they can duck into a virtual “sales content locker” any time.

What Goes into a Sales Content Locker?

The information you load into your content locker will vary, depending on the needs of your organization and those of the individual reps, but it should usually contain:

1. ‘Intel’ about the prospect organization or industry

Regardless of the organizations and industries into which your reps are selling, they can always benefit from quick “refreshers” about the key decision-makers, the terminology they use, and their relationships to one another. Equip your sales reps with this kind of background, and they won’t have to “fake it ’til they make it.” They’ll no longer be tourists pretending to be natives. Instead, they’ll have the confidence – and the ability to discuss important issues intelligently  – that comes from actually knowing the “basics.”

2. Competitive analysis

Who are your competitors for this industry or customer segment? What are the strengths and weaknesses of their products, as well as yours? How do you play to your strengths? Short videos that quickly summarize this information will help your salesforce speak intelligently and credibly about your company’s chief rivals.

3. Common customer objections and rebuttals

At a minimum, poll your reps to capture the top 10 (or top 15 or 20) most common customer objections, along with the best rebuttals. Better yet, ask top sellers to create videos in which they demonstrate the best responses to those objections. Ideally, every sales training or enablement team has a playbook to objections and rebuttals complete with video demonstrations, so that new hires can articulate cogent answers to the objections right out of the gate.

3. Best sales pitches

What does an ideal product pitch look like? Don’t ask your reps to imagine this. Have your best salesperson for each product create a short video that shows them what “good” looks like. Length is critical, so they must make it no longer than a couple of minutes.. In the real world, salespeople often don’t get 20 or 30 minutes to present their cases anymore. “Best pitch” videos should reflect that reality. These videos can be especially helpful when they include footage of top sellers showing how to demonstrate the products.

4. Data from your CRM system

By linking the Content Locker to your CRM system, reps will have immediate access to notes from previous meetings with the customers. “The last time we met, we talked about the following issues…..” Anything reps need to know about the firm, as well as your previous interactions with that firm, should be available at a glance.

In addition to video content, it’s a good idea to make everything in the content locker available in other formats – PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint, etc.

Don’t assume that every rep is a visual learner. Some learn more effectively using written materials. Cover your bases by creating a content locker that contains information in a variety of different formats.

For more on how to provide actionable insights to your sales team just in time, click here.