Let’s face it, the B2B sales cycle is notoriously long and complex, often involving multiple decision-makers, layers of approval, and careful deliberation.
A survey from Databox showed that most business deals take anywhere between one and three months to close. With the average close rate for business deals sitting between 19-27%. The rest result in an outright no, or worse, getting ghosted .
But let’s face it, even if you do get the business, closing deals wastes precious time and money you could spend servicing your clients. And the reality is that sometimes you can’t afford months for a deal to close.
So, how do you speed up the B2B sales cycle?
The aim is to build trust and quickly allow your ideal customer to gain an insight into who you are and what you are like to work with.
This is where content comes in!
When used strategically, content can be a game-changer, helping to shorten the sales cycle by building trust, addressing key concerns, and converting leads faster.
While many people overlook its potential as a sales tool, the truth is that content isn’t just about awareness – it’s about action.
In this blog, we’re sharing how you can actually use content cleverly to help shorten the sales cycle.
How do we shorten the B2B sales cycle?
We’ve seen so many businesses fall into the trap of creating educational content and waiting for their ideal customer to drop out of the sky and sign a contract with them.
[spoiler alert: that rarely happens, and certainly not consistently enough to build your business]
But, the problem is that buyers follow a pretty specific journey, known as the buyer’s journey, and they need to cycle through this before they actually commit to working with you.
Now, this journey is messy, so I’m going to give you a very simplified version (because I’m trying to keep this blog post unmessy if you catch my drift).
In simple terms, the buyer’s journey consists of three stages: awareness, consideration and decision.
- Awareness stage: the buyer realises they have a problem
- Consideration stage: they begin to research all the potential solutions to that problem.
- Decision stage: they’ve decided on a solution and are looking for suppliers or companies to buy from.
But if you only create educational content, how do you move customers through these stages?
While people might know who you are, they don’t know enough to commit to working with you.
The key is to create content for each of these stages. Content that satisfies questions your potential customers have, allows them to get to the decision stage faster, and convinces them that you are the right fit for them.
This is important as creating sales content allows you to generate revenue faster, lowers the cost per lead and makes your forecasting more predictable.
So, how can you cement content within the process?
1. Bust problems with objection-led content
We’ve found that the best way to deal with potential problems is just to ignore them
It sounds absolutely ridiculous when you see it written down, but if you think about it, most businesses continue to follow this misguided advice.
They know what challenges and objections prevent their ideal customer from committing, but they pretend that all the negative stuff doesn’t exist and bury their heads in the sand.
The idea is that if they don’t bring up the elephant in the room, their potential customers won’t either
But, the truth is if your customers didn’t have reservations about something, whether it’s price, value, relevance or something else, they would have bought already.
Think about it! How many times have you held back on committing to a business service because you have a niggling concern that you just can’t get past?
And, wouldn’t it be better if the business in question addressed that objection in content, to help you overcome the challenge?
Absolutely!
Not only does objection content have the potential to massively shorten the sales cycle by addressing potential challenges head-on, it also builds trust. It demonstrates your expertise and experience in the area.
It hammers home that you’ve been there, done that, seen it all, and know how to ensure your customers’ worries don’t transform into a reality.
How to write objection-led content
So, think about what is preventing your customers from committing to your service, and create content around this.
It could be:
“I’ve tried it before, and it didn’t work.”
“I don’t have enough time to commit to X.”
“Why are we more expensive than others in your industry?”
Write down a list of all the objections you’ve faced from prospects and start there. You’ll have quite a few, with more popping up every sales interaction you have with customers.
A good example of this is from Andrew and Pete who are the co-founders of the UK’s largest sales and marketing conference, they published a blog post about the common myths about attending ATOMICON.
This post is a great example of how to bust objections in an open and honest way.
We also absolutely love this example from Bridge Systems about the top mistakes people make when hiring a two-way radio. Not only does it highlight what might go wrong, but it also highlights what potential customers might be concerned about.
It also shows how Bridge Systems asks questions that prevent these mistakes from occurring, therefore demonstrating their experience in the area.
You can approach this type of content in many different ways, but the main aim is to be transparent about what can (and has) gone wrong in the past and showcase your solution.
Ultimately, rejections are a key part of any sales process, and no business will be immune to them. But overcoming them doesn’t have to be left to a salesperson (who might never get a call if the objections are big enough).
Content can allow you to tackle the big challenges head-on in an empathetic and nuanced way – putting the buyer at ease and quickly convincing them that you are the right fit for them.
Read more about how to increase your sales using objection-led content.
2. Repel the wrong fits (and attract the right ones)
Have you ever had a client that you would never work again?
The truth is, as much as you want to grow your business, you know that some clients are more hassle and stress than they are worth, which ultimately harms your business more than they help.
You know, the type that calls every hour under the sun with always urgent jobs.
Wouldn’t you love never having to deal with clients like that again?
Of course you would!
And, here’s the best part – you have 100% control over this without being mean and having to reject someone directly.
The beauty of creating content is that you can covertly and overtly tell people exactly who you want to work with and, more importantly, who you don’t want to work with.
While it might be a scary prospect, it’s not only setting your clients up for success, making sure that they are the right fit for you and your product or services, it will also work wonders for stress levels, and help you avoid a few grey hairs in the process.
Plus, by allowing clients to self-filter, you clear time for the ones who are a good fit, meaning you can put your time and effort into people with the potential to convert.
So, while it might seem counterintuitive, this content can help speed up the sales cycle.
It can help you reduce long, time-consuming sales cycles and make sure that anyone you chat with or create a proposal for has already had the opportunity to see that they meet the criteria you’ve laid out.
How to write content that repels
Think about the type of client that you don’t want to work with…
The important part to remember is that doesn’t just relate to their personality (although you can certainly mention that). But you need to think about the different types of clients that don’t have success with your products or services.
Because let’s face it, as much as you might want people to believe you are amazing for everyone, the truth is some people might just not be ready to work with you. That might not always be the case, but you need to allow people to understand how you can help them, and where in their journey you might fit in.
Some examples of reasons someone might not be the right for your business could be:
⏰They don’t have time to commit to X (if you need a certain time commitment)
They run a B2C business (if you focus on B2B)
Their business is new (if you focus on more well-established businesses)
They want to pay rock-bottom prices
Exactly what this looks, like and what factors you include will vary from business to business, and depend on who you are trying to target.
We’ve got an example here of ‘Who we’re not the right fit for’ – so that you can see what kind of things we look for in an ideal client, and how we structure this to allow people to self-qualify in a positive way.
It’s actually one of our most visited pieces of all time and, counterintuitively, has been the reason so many of our favourite clients have signed up to work with us.
Another great example of content like this is from Rich Litvin, a coach to highly successful leaders, with his article: Why You Shouldn’t Join the 4PC Club.
The beauty of this type of content is that it subtly lets those who are a good fit qualify themselves. They understand you’re not out to make a quick buck from anyone and everyone.
They’ve ticked the boxes and are ready to proceed – it’s a satisfying feeling – and a win-win for both business and client. It pushes them along the sales cycle, and when they get in touch with you they’ve probably already sold themselves on your product or service.
Read more about why you should create the wrong-fit content here
3. Be transparent with pricing content
Remember that time you purchased the thing without knowing the price?
No!
That’s because unless you’re a secret billionaire, price is probably a pretty important factor in your purchase. Not necessarily the most important, but it will certainly be a factor in the decision-making process. This is especially true for B2B, as all costs have to be considered in line with cash flow and profitability.
But, if you asked us what content businesses are the most resistant to create it would, without a doubt, be pricing content
Businesses have been sold a lie that hiding the price and using it as a bargaining tool during sales conversations is the best way to convert clients.
But, news flash, it’s 2025!
All your future clients have access to the internet and they expect (and prefer) to do their research in advance, and that includes pricing research. Plus, being open and transparent about pricing is part of the self-qualifying journey. There is absolutely zero point in getting on an hour-long sales call with someone who has a budget of £100 a month if your services are £10,000 a month.
Actually, that’s another great reason to create this type of content, as it allows you to take control of the narrative and frame the industry standard pricing.
More expensive than everyone? Tell them why, and help them understand what it is they are getting for the money (and why cheaper might not be better).
Long story short, hidden or complicated pricing is only going to slow things down – and is one of the main objections that can extend decision-making timelines.
How to create pricing content
But wait a minute – if you’re thinking, “Lyndsey, my pricing changes” – first of all, does it?
Be really honest with yourself. Is every price entirely different, or can you package them up in a way that makes sense?
Secondly, even if it changes every time, you can still create content around why it changes. What is the average price, and why does this go up or down? It helps people understand how they should budget.
An excellent example of this is from the garden building powerhouse Gillies & MacKay, who wrote about why the price of garden rooms varies so much.
They are typically more expensive than their competitors and with good reason. They could shy away from this, but they tackle it head-on in content. By doing this, they take control of the narrative, help potential customers understand why they are more expensive, and subtly highlight how their buildings are better built and more cost-effective over their lifetime.
We’ve also got an article on how much B2B short-form video costs, to demonstrate how you could do this. Again, it sets the scene for the industry as a whole and then places our own services within this sliding scale. This way, you leave the article with a picture of short-form video services as a whole and know exactly how much we charge.
And, of course, not only do we create content around it, but we also include our pricing on sales pages so that there is no doubt or confusion around the pricing for our services.
Pricing content is, without a doubt, one of the most impactful you can create and is an amazing way to build trust, qualify leads and convert them faster.
Read more: 6 reasons your pricing needs to be on your website
4. Use detailed sales content to educate customers
How many questions, on average, do your prospects ask during a sales call?
Imagine you could answer them all before you ever spoke to a prospect?
Well, you can!
Content is an amazing way to address all these questions up-front and give people time to ruminate over the answers and figure out for themselves if you’re the right fit. Plus, again, it demonstrates your experience, and that you’ve thought about all the questions that they might ask.
We’ve lost count of how many people have said that “no one reads long blogs” and that short, snappy is best. However, the evidence is to the contrary, and blog posts that are 2000 words or more are more likely to be shared.
It’s why we don’t prescribe to the idea that content should be ONLY be short and skimmable. Go into detail, and give your potential customers everything they might need to know about a topic. They can skip over the parts that don’t relate to them, but it allows them to really understand your product and service before ever getting in touch with you.
This type of in-depth content can create SEO juggernaut pillar pages – which go into incredible detail on a topic. You can then break down all these questions into more detailed individual posts or videos if you want – which will all help answer questions and keep you ranking.
This long-form content will better equip your potential customers to make well-informed and faster decisions, minimising delays and misunderstandings.
This also means that they will be happier, more fulfilled customers long-term as they know what they are signing up for and what to expect. You’re giving both of you the best chance for success in the future.
How to create detailed sales content
A simple way to do this is to think about the products and services that you offer and create an “everything you need to know about X” blog or video.
This example from Sion the Sweep, details everything that you might need to know if you are thinking of installing a wood-burning stove in Wales – running through everything from regulations, to size, placement and installation.
Another great B2B example is from Andrew and Pete who have detailed everything you need to know about their fringe events at Atomicon. This is great for people who have never been, describing the event in detail, putting their minds at ease and hammering home the huge potential value they could get from attending.
Read our example here: Everything you need to know about our short-form video service
But, you’re not just limited big pillar pieces on products and services. Think about objections and challenges that your customers might face when working with you and explore this.
For example:
- What happens when you sign up for [product/service]
- Why Our Price Might Increase Over Time
Here we’ve done a detailed guide on how our agency manages your content production. It gives an in-depth insight into every step of the strategy and production process and details exactly what we do, and what is expected of you.
If anyone was thinking of working with us, this would be a surefire way of getting a peak under the bonnet before purchasing.
The other huge advantage of this kind of content is that it indicates that your prospect is actively considering you as their solution.
This isn’t the type of content you consume if you are vaguely thinking of signing up with a business. It’s a decision-making piece of content. This tells you that they are nearing the end of their purchasing journey and are ripe for the conversion – you just need to help them along.
5. Proactively engage with high-intent content customers
The beauty of content is that you can use it to signal customers who are just about ready to buy and communicate with them in a more personalised way.
Objection handling, pricing guides, and educational resources signify that prospects are actively considering your solution and are closer to making a purchasing decision. They just need a little more guidance to cinch the deal.
But how do you identify who is reading this content?
In-depth pricing guides, case studies and FAQs can create what’s known as “gated content”. Which is a fancy way of saying they only get it if they give you their email details in return.
Once you have pinpointed these high-intent prospects, and gathered their information, don’t let the momentum slip. Extend personalised invitations to schedule a call, book a demo, or attend a webinar tailored to their specific interests.
These proactive gestures not only accelerate the buyer’s journey but also demonstrate that your business is responsive and invested in its success.
And remember, if they don’t convert straight away, you can still nurture them via email marketing, as you know they are interested – but that way you don’t have to focus lots of time on converting them.
Read more: How to create a lead generating website
How to use this type of content in the sales process
This type of content can be endlessly repurposed, not just digitally (via social and email) but during face-to-face or telephone sales calls to inform your customers and reduce the sales cycle.
How?
You can send your leads the relevant content before a sales call, and give them a little homework.
Not only does this help your leads self-qualify and save time, but it also builds trust by showing that you’ve thought of all their questions and have the experience to deal with any objections. And it sets expectations for the calls, they will know that you’re serious about the people you spend your time on and they will rise to the occasion.
These sales calls then, in turn, inform your sales content, as any questions that come up that you haven’t thought of can be used to create additional content that subsequently shortens the sales cycle even further.
It all feeds into one another to create an educational sales funnel that builds trust on repeat.
Makes content that sells
While creating content has primarily focussed on value, we know from experience that the right content can convert and sell to customers quickly – shortening the sales cycle and helping you focus on actually working with customers.
Fancy finding out more about all this content, and other ways to use content to drive sales and grow your business? Of course, you do, and you can learn step-by-step why and how to do it with our book Content Fortress, which breaks down all of this content and more in an actionable and practical way.