Industry KPIs · sales-enablement
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What content should marketing create to help sales close specific deal types, and how do we avoid shipping content sales never reads?
BRIEF
Sales ignores generic case studies; they need deal-stage collateral (early education, budget justification, executive summaries, legal/procurement docs). Build it with Sales; audit what they actually use monthly.
DETAIL
Content by Deal Stage (Force Management MEDDPICC model)
- M/E/D (Metrics, Economic, Decision): Sales needs 3-minute ROI calculator, 1-page TCO comparison, and executive summary (half-page, CRO-focused). Market research from OpenView: Reps share budget docs in 35% of deals; teams with smart ROI tools increase win rate 12%.
- DPI/CC (Pain, Implication, Champion, Competition): Ship battle cards (vs. 3 main competitors, 2 pages max), champion job-title guides (how to pitch to Finance vs. Procurement vs. CTO), customer stories tagged by industry + use-case combo.
- Close (Deal Closure): Provide contract summary (1-page plain English), legal FAQ, and procurement checklist (what Finance/Legal typically ask). Sales uses these in 40% of final-stage deals.
Audit: What Sales Actually Uses
Monthly, ask each rep: "List every asset you shared with prospects this month." Categorize by stage:
| Stage | Asset Type | % Reps Using | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early | Comparison matrix | 8% | Kill it |
| Early | Executive 1-pager | 64% | Iterate monthly |
| Mid | Battle card vs. Competitor A | 73% | Expand to all 3 |
| Late | TCO calculator | 52% | Simplify, relaunch |
| Late | Legal FAQ | 89% | Already winning |
Co-Creation Sprint (2 hours)
- Sales picks 3 most painful deal blockers (budget, technical validation, procurement).
- Marketing writes rough first draft of asset to address each.
- Sales edits live; "This part is wrong. Prospects say X, not Y."
- Publish and embed in CRM (Salesforce) so reps don't hunt.
- After 20 uses, measure impact on velocity or win rate.
Avoid The Dump
Marketing teams often ship quarterly decks, whitepapers, webinars that Sales never opens. Instead: only publish assets Sales actually requested. If an asset has <5 uses in 60 days, retire it. Redirect effort.
flowchart TD
A["Deal Stage"] --> B{"Which Stage?"}
B -->|Early/Discovery| C["1. Metrics ROI Calc<br/>2. Executive Summary<br/>3. Problem Artcl"]
B -->|Qualification| D["1. Battle Cards<br/>2. Champion Guide<br/>3. Customer Story"]
B -->|Justification| E["1. TCO Breakdown<br/>2. Budget Template<br/>3. Executive Brief"]
B -->|Close| F["1. Contract Summary<br/>2. Legal FAQ<br/>3. Procurement Checklist"]
C --> G{"Rep Uses<br/>This Month?"}
D --> G
E --> G
F --> G
G -->|Yes| H["Track Impact<br/>Keep Iterating"]
G -->|No| I["Interview Rep<br/>Improve or Retire"]
H --> J["Measure W/L Impact"]
I --> J
style C fill:#e1f5ff
style D fill:#fff3e0
style E fill:#f3e5f5
style F fill:#e8f5e9
TAGS: sales-enablement,content-strategy,meddpicc,force-management,openview,battle-cards,deal-stage,adoption
Source Stack
- Andreessen Horowitz "16 Startup Metrics": https://a16z.com/16-startup-metrics/
- OpenView Expansion SaaS Benchmarks: https://openviewpartners.com/expansion-saas-benchmarks/
- Bessemer "10 Laws of Cloud": https://www.bvp.com/atlas/10-laws-of-cloud
- First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/
- Lenny\'s Newsletter benchmark archive: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/
- HubSpot State of Sales Report: https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing
Verified Financial Benchmarks (2024-2025)
| Metric | Verified figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rule of 40 median (Series B+) | 34-42 | Bessemer |
| ARR per employee (Series B) | $130K-$190K | OpenView |
| ARR per employee (Series D+) | $230K-$320K | Bessemer |
| Top-quartile mid-market ARR growth | 45-65% YoY | Bessemer |
| Median runway at Series A | 22-28 months | Carta |
| Median founder dilution Series A | 18-22% | Carta |
| Median founder dilution through C | 52-62% total | Carta |
| PE-backed SaaS multiple at exit | 8-14x ARR | PitchBook |
| Median strategic acquisition (2024) | 6-9x ARR | 451 Research |
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