A sales tool is a tool that is used in sales. Materials used in presentations are one type of sales tool, and business cards and company brochures are another.
Here is a list of all the sales tools available
Company brochures
Product explanation materials
Presentation materials
Product catalogs
Business cards
Product samples
Product manuals
Self-introduction materials
Novelties
Success stories
Comparison materials
Research reports
Customer testimonials
Thank you letters, etc.
This is an old story, but when I was a sales manager, I once renewed our sales tools. As a result, the order rate increased by 1.2 times. Sales tools are the alter ego of the salesperson. This alone should give you a sense of the importance of sales tools https://slimtime.co.jp/ , but why do we need sales tools when we have salespeople? I'll summarize two reasons.
When you have a salesperson, they strengthen your presentation skills.
When you don't have a salesperson, they do the sales for you.
It is important to sort out which is the purpose of the sales tool you are going to use now.
This goes without saying, doesn't it? There are many things you can do with sales tools, such as increasing your persuasiveness, creating ice-breakers, and making the conversation more exciting.
These days, many companies are putting a lot of thought into their business cards. By adding your own photo or writing your profile, you can easily make it a topic of conversation.
Also, in presentation materials, supplementary materials make it easier to visualize the parts of the presentation that are difficult to visualize only verbally.
However, when using sales tools for this purpose, please remember that they are only supplementary materials for the salesperson. If the customer is only looking at the sales tool while the salesperson is right in front of him/her, it is a failure in the use of sales tools.
There is one more reason why sales tools are effective. That is, they work even in the absence of a salesperson.
What I mean by that is, for example, when you have a meeting without a decision maker. You have the person in charge talk to your boss. You, the salesperson, cannot be there. That's when sales tools come into play. If you don't have your sales tools in place, it is doubtful that you will be able to proceed to the next step.
It would be nice if the person in charge could speak on your behalf, but it is too much to ask for that much, no matter how polite you are in your proposals. That's why it's important to make a good sales tool and give it to them.
When making sales tools, if you have a good set of rules, it will be easier to make them.
In the case of making most sales tools, there's usually too much time spent worrying about it.
Before sales tools can be easy to understand, interesting, etc., it is important that they are easy to read first. Because "easy to understand" and "interesting" are the impressions that people have after reading the material. If they don't read it first, it is meaningless.
In other words, when the customer looks at the document again, he or she must be able to immediately remember that "I understood ____" or "I heard ____".
In other words, when the customer looks at the document again, he or she must be able to immediately remember that he or she understood or said something. In the case of my tool, the story was back and forth and not consistent.
Sales tools should be consistent so that there is no inconsistency in the story.
Here are the three main tools that you need to use when you are making a sales proposal about your company, your product, and your proposal.
Company Brochure
The purpose of presenting a company brochure is to ensure trust and credibility.
In short, it is important to convey information and make people feel that you are not a shady company and that you are a decent company. However, a company brochure is not a document to explain everything in detail during a business meeting. In other words, it is important for the person in charge or a superior to check it alone and not make them feel uneasy.
As information worthy of trust, it is important to include elements and information that will make you feel "okay," such as the company's size (sales and number of employees), date of establishment, office address, and capital.
However, giving only factual information will not move the other party's heart. Clearly stating your thoughts and messages about your business and industry will be the key to starting a conversation and creating empathy. Think about the elements that are necessary for your company based on the following items.
Concept (greeting)
Business outline (introduction of services and products)
Strengths, appeal points, etc.
Company profile, history, etc.
Proposal materials
Proposal materials are for the purpose of making a proposal.
What kind of change will the other party get?
What kind of trouble will the other party have to go through?
What risks does the other party face?
Why is it the best option among the other options?
How much will it cost them?
Is the proposer worthy of your trust?
These are the kinds of information you want to convey in your proposal materials.
And the point is that the "other party" is the main actor.
Be careful not to make the product or service the main subject of the document.
Product explanation materials
In some cases, these materials are included in the proposal materials, but when product materials are prepared separately, the purpose is to "guarantee and secure trust" in the product.
Product functions
Ingredients, properties, and characteristics
Merits
It is important to give the other party a sense of security, such as "this product is safe" or "there is nothing suspicious about this product.
Self-introduction materials
Self-introduction materials are another good way to start a conversation.
Especially in online business meetings, it is difficult for chit-chat and conversations to occur, so it is recommended to create a material that appeals to you and gives you a chance to get to know yourself, as this will contribute to a lively conversation.
Sales tools are tools to help you be more accurate and efficient in obtaining orders.
They are tools only.
Don't let creating and using them become the purpose, but think about and use tools that will lead to solid sales results!
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