In 2009, he launched The Sales Lion and has since grown it to help other see the value in content marketing, he said.

“All your clients want to know is how do things work? It's your obligation to teach them,” Sheridan said.

Where some may encounter mistakes is basing their marketing decisions on what their competitors are doing.

“Stop worrying about competition and just be the best teacher, ” Sheridan suggested. “ If you're thinking like your member, you will have something to say. Don't be afraid that your competitors will steal your secrets.”

During his talk, he displayed a picture of a Big Mac to drive home the point even further.

“The problem is most businesses think they they're like the Big Mac with their special sauce when it's actually only Thousand Island dressing.”

Sheridan told attendees that research showed that the total number of pages a potential client would be willing to read on a company's website is two or three.

“That is sad because we are devaluing our info,” he noted.

If a prospect reads 30 pages before they get to a sales appointment, they would buy 80% of the time, Sheridan said.

“Content is the greatest sales and trust-building tool in the world. Period.”