It’s time to deliver a pitch to a potential new client. You have researched and prepared and you have your presentation deck queued up.
You glance down at the table where everyone is seated and that’s when you see it. Collateral in front of every board member that is colorful and branded. The only problem is, it isn’t yours—it’s your competition’s. They pitched earlier that morning.
Fast forward to one week later. You are meeting as a team as you didn’t win the business. Your mind drifts back to that collateral that caught your eye. You share, “I think we left empty-handed because we went in empty-handed.”
Are You Giving Your Team the Greatest Chance for Success?
You have a lot of faith in your sales reps. They know how best to shine your business in the brightest light. But there’s something about a tangible piece that pulls people in. It’s something that words—no matter how compelling—could never compete with.
Branded material conveys professionalism, effort, and consistency. By supplying collateral before your presentation even begins, prospects are able to make a connection with your company before your sales team even begins their pitch. Whether it’s a branded brochure, sell sheet, or some other marketing piece, your sales reps already have a leg up as they move through their talking points.
Why Wouldn’t You Seize the Opportunity?
Truth be told, clients might simply skim and scan branded collateral but the point is more about the fact that your team offers an aesthetically pleasing and informative piece, to begin with. It shows that you go the extra mile.
Marketing materials can shape how people view your company. Whether you are a small business or a larger company, you can achieve this with a professionally designed piece.to generate interest. No matter how you want to appear, branded material is a vehicle that drives perception.
Branded Templates Are Valuable
Many folks shy away from marketing collateral because they think it’s too permanent or cost prohibitive. Businesses serve many industries and deliver varying presentations depending on the client and project. They think that one holistic marketing piece could never cover all bases and that investing in 50 different pieces would never work, either.
That’s why templates are so beneficial. Working with a pre-designed branded template, a sales team can create custom sell sheets or other collateral readily. Templates can be designed in user-friendly software such as Microsoft Word. Using a template ensures that every piece will look consistent and professional no matter which department is creating the piece or who it’s intended for.
If you don’t have a dedicated sales team, it’s all the more reason to utilize marketing tools including having marketing collateral in your toolbox. You can partner with a creative agency to design branded templates that are specific to your business objectives and/or those of your clients.
Whether your goal is to win more work or upsell additional work to an existing customer, having attractive collateral can do a lot of the heavy lifting of convincing sales work for you.
Stand Out From Your Competition
Let’s say your company installs residential fences. You have plenty of material to promote the different products. But what’s to stop a customer from choosing another company that installs the same commodity?
Incorporating your unique differentiation into your marketing collateral is key. Any company can list out product descriptions and specifications but no one has your story, history, or brand identity. Including some of those elements in your marketing efforts makes you relatable and stand out from your competition.
An example comes from one of our clients, Image Systems. The company installs printers, copiers, and other machinery. The core value of Image Systems is its customer support and managed print services. The company had more than enough product material to use in promotions, however, when it came to their services and what made them valuable, there was no mention of those very important details.
Aviate worked with Image Systems to design and write a custom brochure that shared their distinct positioning. Now, customers know exactly what Image Systems has to offer and can base their decisions on the company’s value and product suite.
The Possibilities Are Endless
Generating the appropriate branded collateral will depend on your goals, clients, sales strategies, et al. Print is far from dead. It allows you to reach your clients in ways that digital marketing can’t. If you’re really looking to deliver the “wow” factor, branded material offers an entire world of creative possibilities.
A creative agency can present different options and suggest which material(s) will best serve your needs.
Some options include:
• Business cards
• Presentation folders
• Catalogs
• Brochures
• Sell sheets
• Presentation/pitch materials (PowerPoint, Prezi, etc.)
Make An Impression That Leaves Them Wanting More
In business, you normally only get one opportunity to make a first impression. Provide your sales and marketing teams with branded collateral that supports that your company should be the hands-down choice for any project they pitch.
Doling out well-designed branded materials should leave prospects curious and wanting to learn more which is exactly why you should have them as part of your sales arsenal.
