Part 2: Include prospects in the content conversation

In my previous post, Build trust & boost sales by sharing golden nuggets, I shared lessons learned from HiveFire’s content curation user conference. I made the case that every communication we have with a prospect or client is an opportunity to build up our trust capital. What is so exciting for me is that content sharing, when done correctly, has incredible potential for boosting sales. Sharing content is a terrific way to enhance the conversation and build trust between you and your prospect. And it is no secret these days that trust is critical to the sales process.

I’ve already written about qualities of content that engender trust—in short, making it relevant, in the right amount, and without company bias. Here, I want to take it a step further and talk about how to include the prospect in the content conversation.

The best way to give your prospect a positive experience—to feel understood, engaged, and trusting—is to make the content sharing experience be personal, two-way, and collaborative. This give-and-take exchange is important because it will: 1-empower you to more astutely identify and help solve your prospect’s problem and 2- establish your credibility as an expert who can help.

Here are four content sharing tips designed to build TRUST, the “new” fashioned personal and collaborative way:

1. Make it easy for your prospect to comment on your content. HiveFire’s solution, according to CEO Pawan Deshpande, is to use Disqus. Creating two-way engagement around the content is a way to show your prospect you really do care about being a thought leader and getting to the “truth”. Furthermore, comments give you feedback on whether your content is actually adding value.
2. Similarly, use analytics to determine which content is read by your prospect. Why? So that you learn over time what topics capture their attention.
3. Encourage your prospect community to contribute content as well. This gives you even more information on what topics they deem relevant and sheds light on their needs and concerns.
4. Share content openly and make it easy to bring a prospect or client back to your site for “more”. Striking this balance will reinforce the connection between the prospect and your company—and YOU—as trustworthy thought leaders.

Is your content sharing strategy building TRUST? What are you doing to make it feel personal and collaborative?

Peggy Kriss, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist in Newton, Massachusetts and a consultant to VisibleGains. Stay tuned for more psychology informed blogs by Dr. Kriss.

Photo credit Kris Hoet