The Hidden Powerhouse of The Media World—Sales Collateral
How Printed Materials Nail Down Sales Decisions
By Gregory Johnson
The Scene: The office of a purchasing agent (PA) of a firm selling business-to-business services.
The Characters: The PA and a sales rep for a software company with a new time saving product.
The Situation: The salesman has made his pitch, the PA has asked his questions and now it is time to close the sale. The PA seems to like the product, but demurs. He says he needs to confer with his colleagues about it.
The Pitfall: This is a product with a host of features that require explanation. But the sales rep won't be there to help present his product. So, the PA needs to be equipped to do the job.
The Solution: The sales rep brings out a kit—a file-size folder with pockets on the inside. In one pocket are product specification sheets that the PA can hand out to his people. In the other pocket is a demo disk that will allow the prospect to try the software on a limited time basis.
The Pay Out: The folder kit enabled the PA to intelligently present the product to his people. When his people tried the demo, there were technical questions and the sales rep was called back in to work with them. Liaisons were established and the sale was made.
The point of this story is that the sale could not have been made without the support of the collateral materials—the kit that kept the sales effort alive after the sales rep left.
Leave-behind materials are the bedrock of the sales process. It is disturbing that they are too often given brush-off treatment. We see sales leave-behinds that are nothing more than photocopied sheets of text. The issue is, "Is this the kind of support a good sales rep deserves? A second question is, "Is it good business to save a little money and lose sales?"
The answer to both questions is obvious. Your collateral materials must work for you in your absence. Do them well and you’ll reap the benefits.
Guidelines For Good Sales Collateral
- Integrate it into your marketing program. Use the same theme and art treatment.
- It is as important as advertising, direct marketing, public relations and other communications. So demand the top creative team.
- Before printing, run the pieces by your sales reps. Get their input. They know what counts.
- Collect the collateral materials of competitors. Compare them with yours. It's not enough to be "as good.” Demand to be better.
- Don't put the economy squeeze on here. Pay what it takes to get an outstanding product.
- Be sure that you have an in-house advocate for collateral materials, one with clout.
- Do follow up on its use. Is it being distributed to customers or sitting in a closet in your office? If the latter, find out why.
