Where’s that pitch deck?” 

“Have you seen the case study for this?”

“Is this the approved version?” 

You hear it constantly. Your sales reps can’t find what they need to do their jobs.

“But,” you say, “We’ve got a content management system.” 

Do you, though? 

If your people aren’t using it, is it really an effective content management system?

The answer, the hard truth, is probably not. 

It’s a reality that many companies have to face. Sales reps often spend more time searching for content than actually using the content they do find. It’s a waste of time, resources, and revenue. 

It’s time to get rid of the cluttered, fragmented content system that is slowing down your deals. Instead, you can establish a sales content management system that your reps can search, find, and use.

What Sales Leaders Get Wrong About Content Management Systems

Before we get into what’s right. Let’s take a look at what’s wrong. After all, you’ve got the sales assets. Why aren’t people using them correctly? 

You’re still creating static files like PDFs and PowerPoints that your team has a hard time finding + using. 

The problem: Someone will save this file somewhere locally, and no one will ever see it again. It becomes dated quickly, and your reps dig forever only to need an updated version. 

You’re still sharing content at QBRs and SKOs that your reps forget about the next day. 

The problem: Everyone loves it. They’re fired up at the event. It’s a big seller. Then everyone forgets about it the second the event is over. And when they go to find it again for a reminder? It’s nowhere to be found. 

You’re hoping reps use this material, but you really have no idea if they are.

The problem: You have no usage data around your material, so you can’t track what your reps are looking at. You have no idea if it’s helping, or even if your reps like the content.

Fair enough, right? You’re old school. This is the way it’s always been done. But the bottom line is that tradition is outdated and, more importantly, not helpful.

You’ve got sales content in: 

• Google Drive folders: Does anyone actually have an easy time searching through these? It gets even harder when there are multiple versions of a file. 
• Enablement tools like Highspot or Guru: These content libraries can be great, but it become a glorified Google Drive after a while. Just another place to dig through. 
• Email threads: You’ll spend digging through hundreds of messages with different versions of files just to find that perfect pitch deck.
• Slack messages: Have you ever tried scrolling forever to find that one talking point from last week’s demo? Not fun. 
• PDFs on reps’ desktops: You know those great docs we distributed at QBR? Well you saved them to your desktop and now you need to look for them. Best wishes.
• Your company website – Yes. You’ve got tons of great resources like case studies and product docs. You just need to dig through dozens, if not hundreds, of pages to find them.

It’s everywhere, and no one knows what’s approved, updated, or accurate. Plus, who owns this or that file? Who do you even ask? 

Then, the sales rep interrupts colleagues or sales engineers to get answers, and your sales cycle grinds to a halt. 

But, you’re wondering, where did it all go so wrong? 

Honestly, it’s not your fault. For decades, companies have been simply filing away everything they think might be useful. You think you have a content system, until someone actually needs to find something there. 

Then it’s hours of searching and frustrations over not finding what they’re looking for. 

The pre-AI world was one marred by tribal knowledge, siloed departments, and static content living in 10 different places. 

What does an AI-first sales content system look like?

What a Sales Content Management System Should Be

Okay, so we know what it’s not, right? It’s not cluttered with files and folders full of PDFs. 

What you need is a critical resource that: 

• Acts as a single source of truth for all of your sales materials
• Is easy to search and returns accurate answers quickly
• Empowers your sales reps to sell without doubting themselves
• Keeps everyone on the same page, literally

In short, your content library should include everything you’ve got for your sales reps. This includes pitch decks, one-pagers, case studies, ROI calculators, and even email templates. A well-organized system becomes a powerful resource that speeds up your sales deals at every stage. 

To sum up, here’s a list of dos and don’ts for your system:

Do

• Create a searchable library of content of things your sales teams need, like decks, one-pagers, demos, battlecards, and so on.
• Connect that library to a sales enablement AI to deliver answers instantly, so that a rep can ask  “how do we beat Competitor X on pricing?” and get a useful answer in a few seconds, not hunt through PDFs for half an hour.
• Emphasize competitive content and product differentiation to close those tough deals when a client is considering options.
• Make demos a core part of your content strategy. Use them in sales emails or drop them in battlecards. They should be part of your content game from start to finish.
• Regularly ask reps what they need so you can give them everything they need to do their job the best.
• Encourage teammates to upvote/downvote your sales assets. That way, you get a quick read on what’s useful and what’s not.
• Review your library quarterly, monthly, or at some regular cadence to make sure everything is up to date.

Don’t

• Keep GTM content scattered in 10 different drives/places. Every time someone needs something, it’ll take half an hour of scavenging for it.
• Use legacy content management tools that don’t provide fast answers.
• Shy away from competitive content or feature comparisons, so your reps just wing it WHEN (not if) the questions pop up.
• Hide demos of your product behind registration forms. If the demo’s good, let it speak for itself. The more hoops someone has to jump through, the less likely they are to see what makes your thing worth their time.

The bottom line: a well-organized, AI-powered content library is a critical asset for go-to-market teams. By streamlining access to relevant, high-impact content and encouraging continuous feedback, you enable reps to sell more confidently and effectively. The right approach turns your library into a strategic advantage rather than a storage space.

How to Keep Your Sales Content Library Clean and Useful

Clearly, it’s time for an update. It’s time to create and maintain a store of enablement content that your sales reps will use. You need a sales content management system that acts as a strong resource that speeds up your sales 

Here’s your 3-Step Process to do just that:

Step 1: Determine what sales content you need

So we’ve established that sales reps won’t dig for answers endlessly. They’ll either give up or turn to someone who might have answers. To get them to use your sales content system, you’ve got to ensure you have the sales content you need. 

Here are some examples of sales enablement assets your content library should include: 

Battle cards: These are amazing for learning, and they’re ideal visual aids. They’re short, sweet, and get to the point. They basically break down for your reps why customers should choose you over a competitor.

A great “why us” page: You’d be surprised how many companies still don’t have a “why us” page on their website. This page is a go-to for your sales reps to help with RFP responses, sales decks, and investor pages. Make sure your “why us” page spells out your company mission, vision, values, and your value proposition and positioning statements.

Case studies: Yes. You want your sales reps to be able to pull up past successes, complete with testimonials. They can share this information with potential clients to win them over to your side.

Security and privacy content: Your InfoSec team is not the only team that should have access to your security and privacy content. It’s also sales content. Make sure your sales reps have access to blogs, response plans, web pages, and anything else that will help them show clients how much you value security and client privacy. 

Demo Videos: Battle cards are one thing. Demo videos are next level. Your sales reps should be able to pull up and send any potential client demo videos. These will give clients a short, sweet, visual with engaging images that tells a compelling story. You can create demo videos for virtually every aspect of your business, and you should.

Client Objection Guides: Last but not least, your sales reps should have immediate access to cards and guides that help them respond to objections. Keep them short, sweet, and to the point. They should be like battle cards: easy to access and easy to read. Or your sales reps won’t use them. 

Step 2: Centralize your sales content

Now that you’ve got all your sales knowledge, you need to centralize it in a single repository. 

Pick one tool or a single folder that everyone has access to and will use. Stop letting your files live in 10 different places. 

Okay, that’s impossible. 

Your files are going to live in 10 different places. 

So, what you’ll do to centralize all this data in various places is to unify it all by connecting it and centralizing ACCESS. 

You can do this with an automation and sales enablement tool like 1up. 

1up will access all of your sales content files and act as a single source of truth for your sales reps. Our system will generate answers from disparate sources you designate. And they will always be quick and accurate. 

Of course we have a demo video to show you exactly what we mean: 

Set content owners

Make sure every piece of content has someone who owns it. You can designate a few different people from your team to be in charge of different subject matter. For example, Revops could own processes and playbooks, product marketing could own competitive content like demo videos or feature lists, and presales could own technical content.

If you don’t have an owner, the content will get ignored, fall out of date, and ultimately get used incorrectly. 

Step 3: Regularly revisit your knowledge base

In this fast-paced industry, marketing material gets outdated FAST. If you want to keep your sales reps on top of their s$%t, you’ve got to make sure your sales assets are literally up to the moment. 

• Run quarterly reviews of content and check what’s being used vs. what’s not. 

The right sales enablement tool will show you usage data, so you can see how the content is utilized. You’ll also see what’s stale or outdated and what needs to be refreshed based on what’s working for the team. 

Finally, it will offer space for feedback or ratings and thoughts from your sales reps each time they use material. Encourage them to leave this feedback. 

• Add dates and usage tags

Also ensure every piece of content has a date on it, so when the owner reviews it, they’ll know whether it needs to be updated. 

And track usage of all of your content, so you’ll know how relevant something is and whether the content is being shared frequently or not at all. 

• Archive outdated docs and review on a schedule

Finally, file your older content that is no longer relevant under an archived file. 

You don’t have to delete it. Just move the old stuff out of the way. You can even add a “replaced by” note, so anyone who comes across it knows where to look for the most updated version.

Keep Your Sales Content Fresh with a System That Works

In the end, the best sales content management system isn’t the one with the most content. It’s the one your sales reps will use. One that will actually get them what they want, when they want, quickly. 

You need a library that your sales reps use daily. 

It must be easy to find, have clear owners and life cycles, and allow for natural searches. 

It should centralize, unify, and automate your sales content library, so you can get your sales reps on track. 

If your system doesn’t check these boxes, it’s time to fix it: 

• Automated content updates
• Real-time recommendations based on the stage of the deal, the persona, and the specific question
• Reusable answers from past decks, one-pagers, and RFPs
• An AI-powered search that will eliminate the need for digging, Slack searches, and confusion 

Start small, pick a system, and assign owners. 

1up checks all these boxes and takes the manual overhead off your plate. 

Book a demo to see what how 1up helps industry leaders like WalkMe, Gladly, and Deliveroo automate knowledge in seconds.

FAQs on Sales Content Management