Picture this: Your team is creating tons of content, but your sales team keeps asking for more, and your leads aren't converting any better.
Sound familiar?
The issue isn't that you need more content — it's that you might be creating the wrong type of content for your goals.
There's a fundamental difference between content marketing (what buyers want) and sales enablement (what sales reps need). And if you're not clear on which one you're creating, you're probably not doing either one well.
The great content confusion
Most marketing teams create a piece of content and think, "This will be great for our blog AND our sales team can use it in meetings."
But content that works for buyers and content that works for sales reps serve completely different purposes:
Buyer-focused content educates, inspires, and builds trust. It meets people where they are in their buying journey, often when they don't even know they have a problem yet.
Sales enablement content equips reps to have more effective conversations. It's designed to overcome objections, demonstrate value, and move prospects toward a decision. This is often an overlooked content strategy, and has a lot of opportunity to leverage as a nurture tool within the sales and marketing journey.
The problem? When you try to do both, you often end up doing neither well.
What buyers really want
Buyers don't want to be sold to — they want to be helped. They're looking for content that:- Helps them understand their problems better
- Shows them what "good" looks like in their industry
- Gives them frameworks for making decisions
- Builds confidence in their approach
Think high-impact educational blog posts, industry reports with original data, case studies that focus on outcomes (not your business), and tools or templates they can actually use.
Buyer content should be valuable even if they never buy from you. If someone can read your content, apply the insights, and improve their situation without ever becoming a customer, you've created something truly valuable. Harsh, but true.
What sales reps actually need
Sales reps are in a different position entirely. They're having one-on-one conversations with people who've already raised their hand and shown interest. They need content that:- Addresses specific objections they hear repeatedly
- Demonstrates ROI and value in concrete terms
- Compares your solution to competitors
- Provides social proof for specific use cases
- Moves prospects from consideration to decision
This might be objection-handling scripts, competitive battle cards, ROI calculators, or highly specific case studies that mirror a prospect's exact situation.
“Well, actually…” I hear you say
Before you start putting everything into neat little boxes, let me be clear: some content can and should serve both audiences. But the keyword here is intentionally.
The sweet spot is content that educates buyers while also giving sales reps talking points. Think comprehensive guides that prospects can consume on their own, but that also arm sales reps with expertise to reference in conversations. Or webinars that provide genuine value to attendees while positioning your team as the experts prospects want to work with.
The difference? You're not trying to sneak in sales pitches to buyer content or dumbing down sales materials. You're creating genuinely valuable content that naturally positions your expertise — content that makes prospects think, "These people really know what they're talking about."
Next step: Easy audit
Want to know if you're creating the right content? Try this simple audit:Step 1: List your last 10 pieces of content
Step 2: For each piece, ask:
- Would this be valuable to someone who never becomes a customer?
- Would a sales rep actually use this in a conversation with a prospect?
- Does this address a specific stage of the buyer's journey?
Step 3: Count how many pieces clearly fall into "buyer content" vs. "sales enablement"
If everything falls into one category, you've found your problem. If nothing falls clearly into either category, you've found a bigger problem.
Like everything, it's about balance
Stop trying to make every piece of content do double duty. Be intentional about who you're creating for and what you want that content to accomplish.
Your buyers will thank you with their attention. Your sales team will thank you with their adoption. And your revenue reports will thank you with better conversion rates.
In the reading mood? Here's another good article for you: Sales and Marketing Collaboration Tips (From a Marketing Agency's Salesperson)