Do you know what your prospects do with your sales literature?  Do they 1) read every last word, 2) skim and file it away, or 3) glance at it and file it away?

If you answered #1, you have very special prospects!  However, most people don’t actually read sales literature.  A quick glance, a general impression, and then it gets filed away — sometimes in the circular file.

There are a variety of things you can do to improve readability and make sure your literature gets the attention it deserves.  Today I wanted to share one key idea:

Don’t dump all your literature in a prospect’s lap at once. S/he won’t read it anyway and it completely loses impact when it’s sitting in a filing cabinet.  Instead, feed your prospect with the right information at the right time.

Deliver Sales Literature and Tools at Defined Points in Your Sales Process

Good sales literature supports a defined sales process.  Early on, a prospect may have little interest in your solution, so your materials shouldn’t delve into product details – you need to identify pain, build interest and create value.  So don’t a prospect a folder full of spec sheets, details, alternatives, prices, etc.  It’s irrelevant and distracting.  Plus you could end up sending out multiple copies of each piece, driving up your printing costs.

Each piece of your literature should have a specific purpose at a specific time in your sales process.  A general brochure filled with detail won’t be nearly as effective as individual, highly targeted pieces.

When you split up your literature and deliver small nuggets at different times, you can also improve readability and comprehension.  The information is more relevant and there’s less text to skim.

So if you want to improve your sales literature and use it to engage your prospects, focus on the following goals:

• Deliver your information at the right time – don’t put everything in one piece if possible.
• Keep each piece very brief.
• Make sure each piece has a definitive purpose.

For some examples of sales tools and literature, test drive our marketing strategy and planning app.  We have an entire section devotes to sales tools and literature.