Sales Brochures - 9 Steps to Success

Even in this day of websites, many customers want to look ata brochure or other form of hard copy. It's importanttherefore that your brochure tells the customer all theyneed to know.

*It can be handed to the customer or used for directmailing

*It gives the customer much more detail

*Confirms what you've discussed

*Gives your business credibility and status

*Can help break the ice before you meet the customer

The elements of a successful brochure:

#1 It must have a call to action - You must ask the customerto do something after reading your brochure (particularlyifyou use it for mailing) - place an order - request moreinformation - arrange an appointment.

Make them an offer they can't refuse - an early-birddiscount - a special price - a never to be repeated offer. It needs to have a Free-phone number or a tear off coupon oran enclosed order form.

Remember - this is a sales document, its purpose is to getyou more orders not just to fill peoples head withinformation.

#2 Think about the customer - Your brochure must talk interms of the customer's interests - not yours. (Don't letyour ego run away with you) It must explain how it solvesthe customer's problems and has benefits for him or her.

#3 Testimonials and endorsements - Include all thestatements that other people have said about your product orservice. They must be real statements giving the personsname and their organisation.People wont believe statements such as - "This service issecond to none" - Sales Director

#4 Specialise - If you're targeting a particular market,your brochure needs to reassure the customer that youunderstand and have expertise in that market. You then needto give examples of how you've solved specific problems inthat market.

#5 Make them want to read more - The front of your brochuremust have a headline that grabs the customer and encouragesthem to read more. It needs to include a strong benefit or away to solve a problem.For example - I might produce a headline for one of mybrochures that says - "Customer Service Training for theRetail Industry" It would be far better if I went to theheart of the problem and used the headline - "How to stopcustomers walking out of your store and buying from one ofyour competitors."

Think about the problems that your customers face and howyour product or service resolves them - then write yourheadline.The most powerful words you can use in a headline are - "HowTo". It immediately grabs the reader's attention if it'srelevant to them. Other great words to use are - "Free" -"You" - "Secrets of" - "Discover" - "New" - "Announcing."

The headline needs to be:

*Believable*Appealing to the emotions*Not more than sixteen words*In upper and lower case letters, not all caps*In quotation marks*Easy to understand

#6 Make it easy to read - People want to gather informationquickly and aren't willing to plough through lots of text -use bullet points. You want a clean uncluttered look.Also - watch out for jargon, buzz words and technical terms.Remember the selling acronym - KISS - keep it simplestupid.

#7 Doesn't need to be expensive - It obviously makes senseto use good quality paper and it's best to stick to white orcream semi-gloss or glossy stock. Your brochure needs tofeel good in the customer's hands - classy - quality image.It can contain as many pages as you like but why notconsider a "one-page" which obviously has two sides.

You could have several "one-pages" produced, each relevantto the market you're targeting. You could also produceindividual one for each product or service that you provide.I have searched, frustratingly, through many a brochuretrying to find specific information on a product or service.

#8 Laminate - buy a laminator (they're not expensive) andlaminate one-sheets or pages from your brochure. They makethe information look and feel much better and encourage thecustomer to hang onto them for longer.

#9 Friendly - Your brochure should give the potentialcustomer the feeling that you're business is friendly andinteresting to deal with. Depending on what business you'rein, you might want the customer to know that you're also"fun" to deal with.

Don't make your brochure too businesslike even althoughyou're selling a technical product; remember you'recommunicating to a human being who is primarily driven bytheir emotions.

It makes sense to build a relationship with a graphicdesigner who you like and who understands what you're tryingto achieve. However, if you want to have more control,there's software you can buy and internet sites where youcan create your own stationary.

Discover how you can generate more business without havingto cold call!Alan Fairweather is the author of "How to get More Saleswithout Selling" This book is packed with practical thingsthat you can do to - get customers to come to you . Click here nowhttp://www.howtogetmoresales.com