If you’re wrangling dozens—or hundreds—of products and your sales team can never seem to find the latest info, you’re not alone. Product catalogs are a pain when they live in random PDFs, emails, or dusty folders. This guide is for sales managers, marketing folks, and anyone who wants to keep their sales team on the same page (literally) using Seidat.
Let’s skip the fluff and get you set up with a product catalog that doesn’t suck to update.
Why Use Seidat for Product Catalogs?
Before you dive in, here’s the honest pitch: Seidat is a slide-based presentation tool made for sales and marketing. It lets you build, share, and update presentations without the usual “who has the latest file?” drama.
Where Seidat shines:
- Everything’s cloud-based, so your team always sees the latest version.
- You can reuse slides across different presentations—no more copy-paste chaos.
- Updating a slide updates it everywhere it’s used.
- Easy sharing—just send a link.
What it won’t do: - It’s not a full-blown PIM (Product Information Management) system. - If you need deep integrations with ERP, or complex pricing logic, look elsewhere. - No fancy e-commerce or quoting tools built in.
But if what you want is a clear, up-to-date catalog your sales team can actually use in real conversations, Seidat is more than enough. Here’s how to get started.
Step 1: Plan Your Catalog Structure (Don’t Skip This)
Before you click anything, grab a pen or a whiteboard (or open Notion, whatever). Think about how your sales team actually talks about your products. Don’t just copy your ERP’s category tree unless it actually makes sense.
Questions to ask: - Do you organize products by type, use case, or customer segment? - How much detail does a salesperson need—specs, pricing, photos, case studies? - Will you need localized catalogs for different markets or languages?
Pro tips: - Keep it simple—if your catalog is a maze, no one will use it. - Draft a rough outline: main categories, subcategories, what goes on each “page.” - Remember you can always tweak this later.
Step 2: Set Up Your Workspace and Team
- Sign in to Seidat: If you don’t already have an account, sign up.
- Create a workspace: This keeps your catalog separate from other company presentations.
- Add your team: Invite sales, marketing, and anyone else who’ll edit or view the catalog.
- Give editing rights only to folks who need them. Too many cooks, etc.
Honest take: Seidat’s user management is straightforward, but don’t overthink roles. Keep editing access tight; everyone else can just view.
Step 3: Build the Catalog Skeleton with Slides
- Create a new presentation: Call it something obvious, like “2024 Product Catalog.”
- Add main sections as slides: One for each product category or main area.
- Use “Subslides” for depth: Add subslides for each product, feature, or whatever makes sense for your catalog.
How to avoid a mess: - Use color-coded backgrounds or section headers to help people navigate. - Don’t cram too much info on one slide; aim for clarity, not density.
Pro tip: Think in terms of how you’d walk a customer through the catalog. If it feels awkward to you, your reps will hate it.
Step 4: Populate Product Info (The Right Way)
Here’s where most catalogs fall apart: outdated info, missing images, and so on. Here’s how to avoid it.
- Use “Smart Slides” for reusable content: In Seidat, you can create a slide for a product (or a feature) and reuse it in multiple places.
- When you update the slide, it updates everywhere it’s used.
- Add product images, specs, and USPs: Don’t just paste in a spreadsheet—use visuals, bullet points, and keep it scannable.
- Link to more details: If you have detailed docs or videos, link out rather than dumping everything onto one slide.
- Double-check for accuracy: Have product owners sign off before you publish.
What to skip: - Don’t try to cram full user manuals or legalese here. The catalog is for sales conversations, not compliance audits.
Step 5: Make Updating Easy (So You’ll Actually Do It)
The best part of Seidat is updating once and having it sync everywhere. But you need to set things up right.
- Centralize shared info: Use “Master Slides” or “Smart Slides” for content that appears in multiple places (like warranty info, company intro, or a popular product).
- Set a review schedule: Once a quarter (or whatever makes sense), walk through the catalog with product managers and update slides as needed.
- Train your team: Show sales reps how to access the latest catalog from any device. No more “I didn’t get the update” excuses.
Honest take: If you make updates a regular part of your workflow, Seidat will save you time. If you let it slide for six months, you’ll be back to email chaos.
Step 6: Share and Use the Catalog
- Share via link: Seidat lets you send a shareable link. No attachments, no version confusion.
- Embed on your intranet or CRM: If your team lives in another tool, embed the catalog there.
- Offline access: If your reps need to present in areas with lousy Wi-Fi, export to PDF or use Seidat’s offline mode (just be aware you’ll lose live updates).
What works: - Instant sharing means no more “which version is this?” headaches. - Embedding keeps the catalog where your reps already work.
What to ignore: - Don’t bother printing unless your clients are truly old-school. You’ll just have to reprint when you update.
Step 7: Track Usage and Get Feedback
Don’t assume your catalog is working just because you built it.
- Check Seidat’s analytics: See which slides get used, what gets skipped, and who’s viewing what.
- Ask your team: What’s missing? What’s confusing? What do they need less of?
- Iterate: Kill slides no one uses. Add quick links to the stuff reps keep asking for.
Pro tip: The best catalogs are living documents. Don’t be precious—edit ruthlessly.
A Few Things That Trip People Up
- Too much detail: If every product slide is a wall of text, reps will tune out. Stick to what helps sell.
- Ownership confusion: Assign someone to “own” the catalog and updates. If it’s everyone’s job, it’s no one’s job.
- Ignoring feedback: Your reps know what actually comes up in calls—use their input.
Keep It Simple and Keep Improving
Managing a product catalog doesn’t have to be a never-ending headache. If you set up Seidat with a clean structure, stick to regular updates, and focus on what your sales team actually uses, you’ll stay miles ahead of the usual mess.
Start simple, get feedback, and tweak as you go. Your sales team (and your sanity) will thank you.