Lessons in selling branded content from masters of the trade

Getting through to brands, or getting a call back from them, is no cakewalk for a branded content salesperson. And it’s not the fault of brands either as they get multiple calls in a day from branded content sellers and entertaining all of them gets difficult. But then there are a few masters of the trade who are always welcomed by brands for the opinions and solutions they bring to the table.

Today, there are many platforms and publishers offering innumerable customised branded content solutions and unlike before, most have specialised teams to sell content. The tough competition puts immense stress and pressure on a branded content salesperson. So, what are the key qualities and traits that can make their journey in this field a tad easier?

BuzzInContent caught up with experts who shared a few tips on how branded content salespeople can make an impression on their clients and crack deals.

Selling branded content is a different ball game compared to selling regular ad inventories. It takes a longer time to convert a deal because a marketer has to sell a content property before it is even made.

Priyadarshi Banerjee

Priyadarshi Banerjee, Assistant Vice-President and Head, Marketing and Digital Solutions, Worldwide Media, said, “Unlike selling regular inventory and pure-play media, where one has a plan in place and a certain methodology to make sales, all of that goes for a toss in branded content. One has to unlearn the conventional sales skills completely and understand what would deliver the brand’s goal.”

Ankit Agarwal

According to Ankit Agarwal, Founder, Do Your Thng, a key trait of a branded content salesperson is to see both sides of the coin. They can navigate the in-house creative team as well as that of the client.

“While any other salesperson would thrive with just marketing qualities, branded content salespeople require a creative and strategic bent of mind. They can brainstorm with clients at the drop of a hat,” he said.

It doesn’t stop here. After the client approves the campaign, the salesperson must be proficient at translating the concept or idea for the creative team. “That means to excel at selling custom content and so understanding the format is crucial. You have to grasp the power of storytelling and be extremely comfortable with the long wait period,” Agarwal said.

Banerjee of Worldwide Media said, “I like to use the term creative problem-solvers instead of branded content salespeople. At WWM, we sit with the client, understand their objective, devise the methodology and then arrive at how creatively we can solve the problem.”

Vishwanath Shetty

Vishwanath Shetty, VP, Sales and Brand Solutions, Pocket Aces, feels there shouldn’t be separate roles for a branded content solutions person and a regular salesperson so that organisations can have salespeople who are also good storytellers.

“I have worked in a few big companies and I have seen there are different people for sales and brand solutions. The branded content solutions person, who is not a creative person, will talk to the brand and narrate the story to the client. The creative person is someone else. Why can’t a sales guy do the brand solution person’s role?” he said.

The art of storytelling and creativity should be backed by data. Branded content works for the audience if it is relevant and engages them, which can be fetched only through the understanding of consumer behaviour.

Jigar Sheth

Therefore, according to Jigar Sheth, Head of Sales and Brand Solutions, OML, the branded content solution salespeople should keep themselves abreast with the science of data analysis.

Sheth said when he hires people in the sales team, he tells them to think like a creator. “A great creator knows the science behind why a particular piece of content has worked well. We at OML ensure that each content creator we pick is data-driven. We look at the brand’s requirements, its TG and then we look at the backend of the creators to see who has the maximum overlap. To reach the right audience, you need to dive deep into the data of the creator.”

“Any salesperson can sell branded content to a brand. But any good salesperson will sell the ‘right’ piece of branded content to a brand. One can’t rely on the gut-feeling for everything, and that’s why one needs to look at his data to back up what he is giving to the brand. In essence, one needs to make the marketer happy so that they come back when he wants to make more branded content,” Sheth said.

The gestation period for a content solution to turn around is relatively high in comparison to an ad. There is a lot of back and forth between the client and the publisher. Therefore patience is paramount for a salesperson, who should never show desperation.

While patience is an integral quality of a salesperson, empathy towards the client is another important trait a branded content solution provider must possess.

Madhura Ranade

Madhura Ranade, Head, Branded Content and Partnerships, Isobar India, said, “The client must feel confident in your ability to feel what their customers feel. Only then can they trust you to understand their brand and listen to your solutions.”

Shetty said one has to be a good listener. “A lot of salespeople keep talking about his/her offerings. Understand and listen to the clients, and only then you will be able to provide solutions to them. We are into solutions business and not into discounting business,” he said.

Rishabh Shekhar

Explaining with an example, Rishabh Shekhar, Co-Founder and COO, Pepper Content, said, “For example, a brand is facing the problem of time constraint in producing content and wants someone to take care of that. But instead, a salesperson goes and pitches that his company can offer good quality content instead of offering a solution to the brand’s immediate problem of time constraint. The brand won’t end up buying the idea. The salesperson needs to understand the nerve of the client they are pitching to.”

Agarwal of Do Your Thng added, “When sales meets branded content, you also require someone who can devote an immense amount of attention and input before and during execution. And because these campaigns can often go through several client reviews, the salesperson must be accessible and trusted.”

Explaining how a salesperson can leave a mark on the marketer’s mind, Agarwal illustrated it with an example. He said, “Say we create a custom content campaign for a brand. After a review, the client wants a small tweak. But the creator knows that the tiny change completely alters the impact of the content and not for the better. A good salesperson would make an effort to understand the creator’s reasoning and then take the time to explain it to the client. After the campaign is successful, the brand learns to respect the salesperson, and from there on, his or her opinions begin to matter.”

Another factor that comes into play is the salesperson’s presentation skills. Being confident in speaking, clear in thoughts and proper dialect are the key ingredients that make it easier for the clients to understand what he/she has to offer.

Although, Ranade of Isobar emphasised that presentation skills don’t just mean doling out fancy power points but actually showing how a brand’s communication fits a piece of content perfectly and helping a client visualise the outcome.

The salespersons should not just be a good storyteller and creative, they must be well-researched about the brand’s category. Shekhar of Pepper Content, said, “The person pitching to the brand must have expertise about the subject matter. This is one of the biggest things that a salesperson can use in pitches. The salesperson is the face of the publisher for the brand. It gives confidence to the brand that they won’t have to check the quality of content because the salesperson knows that domain well.”

Banerjee believes that we are in an era of generalists where a branded content salesperson is expected to be the master of all trade, be it data understanding, creativity, storytelling and other such skills. He concluded, “We are currently living in a world where the jack of all trades has also become the master of all. In that scenario, it is important for the existing teams to reskill themselves.”