Have you ever thought that a booklet can be one of the most compelling of all your selling materials?
It is a simple piece of paper but the initial impact that your leaflet creates is important. If it’s shabby and unpresentable your candidate is left with the same feeling. This will slow your business growth.
Having a brochure professionally designed and published is a key to success in a packed marketplace. Taking the time to make sure that your leaflet presents all the key information in a way that is easily figured is something that only a professional can do.
If you are just starting out in business you may be tempted to do your leaflet yourself. When I first started in business I did everything myself – not a smart choice. That is why it took me 12 years before I was even comparatively prosperous. Heed my warning – go professional from day one on your merchandising materials. They are an investment and not an expense. Professionally created materials will deliver you customers and the cash flow to follow – the reason why you are in business.
A leaflet has to use eye-catching design. It has to be brief in terms of the content and last but not the least, it must be successful in enticing people to make that call of action.
Here are three key design principles to follow when creating a leaflet. Use them and you will see your results flow.
1. The cover:
The cover is your sales representative. Booklets are quite passive tools and you are not often able to ‘walk’ people through your booklet. So you need to arouse people to read further. The cover is the starting point so must be tantalising and sharing the KEY values of WHY someone should read further. It should answer the WIFM question – What’s in it for me.
A good design company will show you at least three to four cover designs for your booklet. Analyse these designs to see which excites you the most. Ask your friends their impression. Does the cover answer the question WIFM? If it doesn’t stimulate and answer the WIFM question, then skip to another design that works or get it redesigned. Taking the time here to get it right will pay premiums later.
2. The Content:
Once they are past the cover then the message has to become the sales rep. So once again, the pressure is on to be good. Do not opt for cheap ineffectual content writers or ask the designer to write the content or worst still do it yourself. Instead make sure that a professional copywriter is doing the work. If your design company does not have a copywriter then engage one yourself.
Determine that all the fundamental questions that a future client will have about your merchandise are answered in a way that gets them to call you for more information. Do not go into ‘overkill mode’ and flood them with too much information at this point in time. Remember the brochure’s job is to excite and get people to call you.
3. The call for action:
If your potential customer has read the leaflet then you have done a great job. All you need to do now is give them a compelling reason to contact you NOW.
Having things like a free call 0800 or 1800 number clearly shown (in big letters) can make a big difference. Having an email address is a clear bonus. Make sure these two are distinctly placed in large clear type.
Even give your customers a special voucher on the brochure or reference code can help. But above all, make sure that you add a clear call to action. One way to do this is to readdress the KEY value of your service to your prospect in a way that will get them to take action. Remember value is everything. Individuals only purchase something that is of value to THEM.
4. The piece that got forgotten:
I did this on purpose and only said there were 3 points. Well the last point is the one that can get overlooked. It is the ‘dummy’ one. Have you checked that you have these on your leaflet:
Phone number | Fax number | Email address | Web address | Country of operation | City / area of operation | Company name | And have you proof read for typo and grammar errors?