Client Perception is Everything: Avoid Bad Sales Collateral
Making a good impression is the top secret weapon of choice for salespeople. Sales collateral is a major part of a salesperson’s “good impression” toolkit. Sales collateral include business card, brochure, promotion gift, sell sheet, and anything designed for a salesperson to increase his/her client base.
Have you ever looked at a business card, flyer, website or postcard and immediately said I would never do business with this company or you simply dismissed the company and said next? That is your client perception working.
Some companies use collateral that hurt sales. According to Alexander Hiam, author of Marketing For Dummies, in choosing your sales collateral, avoid the following:
Plastic: cheap plastic folders, clear plastic page protectors, or big, ugly plastic sample cases all say tacky and cheap to prospects. Use high-quality papers and favor cloth or leather cases and bindings, if at all possible.
Amateur designs and layouts: Sure, anyone can design sales and marketing materials in this era of high-quality laser printers, but most people shouldn’t. Amateurs often create poor-looking, confusing layouts. Their work just doesn’t have that special look that characterizes fine design —and the better prospects notice.
Errors: An amazing number of factual and spelling errors exist in sales collateral. Salespeople perpetually have to make corrections or explain errors in front of prospects, which is like saying, “Please use our business. Of course, we can’t even type a spec sheet accurately, but we can muddle through your order somehow.” Right.
Omissions: Most salespeople go on calls without all the collateral materials and information they need to do a great job. They don’t have a good brochure. Their business cards don’t have the current address or the company’s fax number and website. The price list is out of date. Their order form is a cheap pad bought at the local stationery store.
As you send your salespeople out in the field, arm them with good collateral. Help them to be sucessful so that your company can inturn be succesful as well.
Choosing The Right Color For Your Brand
This article was inspired by President Obama’s first State of the Union address. I noticed he wore a red tie with white stripes and Vice President Biden wore a blue tie with red and white stripes. I laughed at myself as I knew the colors were chosen by someone who knew the meaning / symbolism of color. What did our leaders’ tie scream at me? Red, White and Blue—“America”!
Colors are non-verbal communication. They have symbolism and color meanings. Therefore, as you create your brand identity it is helpful to keep in mind how the eye and the mind perceive certain colors and the color meanings we associate with each color. Here is a list of common colors used in business identities and their meaning*:
RED
Warmth, Love, Anger, Danger, Boldness, Excitement, Speed, Strength, Determination, Desire, Courage
ORANGE
Cheerfulness, Low Cost, Affordability, Enthusiasm, Stimulation, Creativity
YELLOW
Attention-Grabbing, Comfort, Liveliness, Cowardliness, Hunger, Optimism, Overwhelm, Summer, Comfort, Liveliness, Intellect, Happiness, Energy
GREEN
Durability, Reliability, Environmental, Luxurious, Optimism, Well-Being, Nature, Calm, Relaxation, Spring, Safety, Honesty, Optimism, Harmony, Freshness
BLUE
Peace, Professionalism, Loyalty, Reliability, Honor, Melancholia, Boredom, Coldness, Winter, Depth, Stability, Professionalism, Honor, Trust
PURPLE
Power, Royalty, Nobility, Elegance, Sophistication, Artificial, Luxury, Mystery, Royalty, Elegance, Magic
GRAY
Conservatism, Traditionalism, Intelligence, Serious, Dull, Uninteresting
BROWN
Relaxing, Confident, Casual, Reassuring, Nature, Earthy, Solid, Reliable, Genuine, Autumn, Endurance
BLACK
Elegance, Sophistication, Formality, Power, Strength, Illegality, Depression, Morbidity, Night
WHITE
Cleanliness, Purity, Newness, Virginity, Peace, Innocence, Simplicity, Sterility, Snow
Before you launch your brand identity, consider your goals and what reaction you hope to receive from your target audience. Also keep in mind that culture dictates color meaning hence subtle variations in the international business world.
Look at your brand identity…Did you choose a color that represents you, your culture, and your beliefs?
* Color meaning taken from www.changingminds.org
“Guerilla Marketing” In The Bronx
Guerrilla Marketing is defined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his book Guerrilla Marketing. The objective of guerrilla marketing is to create a unique, engaging and thought-provoking concept to generate buzz, and consequently turn viral. The term has since entered the popular vocabulary and marketing books.
Guerrilla marketing involves unusual approaches such as encounters in public places, street giveaways of products, PR stunts, any unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources. Evidenced by my recent blog post on one of the things Blossom Flower is doing to increase profits.
Travis Bowens owner of a tax franchise, Instant Tax Service, located at 646D Neried Avenue (Bronx, NY) wowed the neighborhood with his grand opening stunt. Travis worked with AARROWADS.COM to create a buzz in the town. For 8 or 10 blocks from Travis’ office we could see men wearing bright red shirts and twirling signs with the name and logo of Instant Tax Service.
Take a look at the posted video featuring Erwin Pacheco (1-888-5-AARROW) and tell me what you’ve done in your neighborhood to earn the name “Guerrilla Marketer” or share what others are doing to maximize profits.
What Should I Put On The Back of My Business Card?
Summary: How do you determine what to place on the back of your business card? Some say, use it all. Others say keep it blank. Bottom line is that it’s your decision—just know all the facts.
A subscriber asked me for suggestions on what she should put on the back of her business card. She had attended a marketing class and was told to put something of importance on the back. Something like a top ten list or a calendar, or something similar.
Maria Answers
I have to say, that any time I’ve saved someone’s card, for the back of the card, I really didn’t care what the front said. And as a business owner, I would want someone to save my card because of what the front said.
However, there are many other reasons to leave the back blank.
Business owners you meet who are serious about building relationships (which should be all business owners) know that networking is not just about meeting some stranger and selling to them. It’s much more. It’s about connecting, collaborating and seeing how you can be a resource for others. What these business owners do, is write notes on the back of business cards they receive. They might write things like where they met you, the date, something they liked about you, something they heard you say, what they wanted to talk to you about, etc. Then they put that information in their databases and/or contact those they met to start the process of building a new relationship.
The back of the card is important for another reason, too. Let’s say you’re at a meeting and during the conversation the other person mentions that they’re looking for “x” with “x” being a resource or contact that can help them in some way. Well, what you should do is take YOUR card, and on the nice white back write “call me about ___whatever resource they are looking for___”. Yes, make them call you for the resource. If they don’t call you, then be glad you know up front how they operate. However, when they do call you, you’ll have another chance to speak to them, get to know them, maybe put them on your ezine list, or turn them into a client, best referrer or best buddy. But you’ll never know… if you don’t have a place to write things on the back of your card!
Contributor: Maria Marsala
© 2010 Chief Business Collaborator Maria Marsala has been publishing MORE BUSINESS ezine since 1999. If you’re ready to make more money, kick-start your marketing and live a high quality life, get your FREE tips now at www.ElevatingYourBusiness.com.
Building Your Marketing Collateral In 2010
New Year—New decade—Optimism is in the air. I predict 2010 will be your most productive year ever if you take action today!
Begin by taking stock of your current marketing collateral and determine what worked for you in 2009. Marketing collateral — or printed pieces that support your marketing efforts include but are not limited to:
- Brochures
- Business Cards
- Catalogs
- Newsletters
- Note Cards
- Pocket Folders
- Postcards
- Reports/Whitepapers
- Sales Sheets
2010 Action Plan
- Review current marketing collateral.
- Remove outdated or non-producing pieces.
- Post reports, whitepapers on your website and provide an easy way for prospects to view them.
- Keep extra brochures, mailers and business cards with you.
- Write thank-you notes, follow-up letters, reminder cards and more on your note cards.
- Be sure to give out brochures and business cards to people and businesses that not only want them, but can use or recommend your services.
Keep your marketing collateral current as different styles, colors, even words change from the “in” to the “out” list and a smart business stays on top of these changes and responds to them.
Here’s looking towards 2010 and beyond…put your action plan in place today!
