The benefits of creating a company sales brochure cannot be underestimated in today’s fiercely competitive markets. Being more cost-effective than you think, a company sales brochure supplements your sales team, strengthens brand awareness, and is a great way of enticing prospective customers to do business with you especially when downloaded from your website by a prospect before they even talking to your sales team. A sales brochure speaks volumes about your business in a visual, structured way that young sales reps often lack by giving an overview of your products and services, key selling points, unique selling proposition, differentiation from competitors, and other important details.

Why doesn’t every company then have a sales brochure? Many are concerned about the cost, which can range $3,000-$6,000 for an 11”x17” bi-fold when designed by a reputable B2B marketing consulting firm, with another $500 in printing for a few hundred copies. While this is not a trivial marketing expenditure for most companies in this economy, those that make the investment reap the following company brochure benefits:

• Provides a tangible leave-behind for sales reps and is a valuable takeaway at trade shows and events

• Serves after the sales call in the decision-making process

• Isn't forgotten in email in-boxes, deleted or routed to spam folders sight unseen

• Creates another marketing channel to funnel customers to your business

• Reinforces company messaging and branding

• Establishes your differentiation vs. competition

• Helps train and guides your sales reps, especially those who lack experience

Implemented as part of a multi-faceted marketing plan, sales brochures can add a valuable component to other "link and launch" collateral. And for B2B companies who use a sales force and networking events to generate business, brochures are still an essential tool.  

If you're considering a brochure for your business, here are a few guidelines to consider:

• Focus the message by limiting its scope to the top 3-4 key areas of your business (your website can cover more)

• Use images to visually reinforce brochure text

• Use watermarks or background images as further visual reinforcement vs. white or other one-color backgrounds

• Use unframed images so both text and images flow together

• Prominently feature contact information and calls-to-action throughout the brochure (e.g. list your website URL on every page)

• If you write your own copy, make sure you have a good editor

• Use inserts for specific, supplemental information (e.g. vertical marketing sheets, product data sheets, vendor info) 

We recommend going with a four-page design, printed on 100-110lb gloss. Digital printing is usually more cost-effective than offset printing, particularly in smaller quantities. Most of our clients print 250-500 brochures at a time to keep expenses down and because things change quickly. This necessitates updates of the brochure every 9-12 months. Using different form factors, like a triangle or rounded corners, can help your brochure stand out further, but make sure you get a quote from a printer before using a custom size or the printing cost may be a most unpleasant surprise. 

If you mail these brochures, we recommend thinking through the envelope design in parallel to the brochure. Otherwise, an impressive brochure may never see the light of day, because the plain white or yellow envelope fails to generate enough interest to open it. 

Sean Parnell is the author of this article on Company Brochure Benefits. Find more information on B2B Maketing Consulting here.