Are you on commission? If you are, did you know that there are two types of commission salespeople? There are those who only rely on the support and materials given to them by the company they work for to give them what they need to close sales. That support is generally minimal, because the company is paying on commission. They want to reward for results, not pay for effort. The other type of commission salesperson – the one who thinks outside the box and adds that extra touch to a project, like a custom presentation folder for instance – understands that.

A salesperson who treats his commission job like a business of his own will always be more successful than a salesperson that turns to the company he works for when he needs something. If you’re in sales, you should have a budget for materials that will help you sell. The company you are selling on behalf of might not want to budget presentation folder printing, but you should. That added extra touch can be the difference between a yes and a no after your presentation is over. How many times have you done a follow-up and the prospect asked you to resend written material?

Those resends are not because your prospect is disorganized. One of two things happened. They were unimpressed by either your sales pitch or your presentation package. If it was your sales pitch, they probably wouldn’t ask for new material, though some folks do that just because they can’t say no. Eliminate both of those reasons and you come up with a simple solution. Your written package is terrible. It’s time to redesign it and this time you’ll want to order some presentation folders to put it in.

If you’ve been in sales for a while, you know that most prospects put the walls up the moment you walk through the door. Even if they’re receptive to what you’re offering, they are still trying to talk themselves out of it based on price or indecisiveness over which provider to choose. As a salesperson, you need to make that choice easy for them. Keep presentation folder printing as a regular budget item and make sure all your presentations are sharp and clear. That should raise your close rate a bit.

Here’s the scenario. You hire the best salespeople in your industry. You put a team of people on the task of creating a presentation package that includes numbers, statistics, competitive analysis, and bright visual graphics designed to capture the reader’s attention and draw the eye to what you want your prospective clients or customers to see. You do all of this work and then you put all that material into – a plain, unmarked folder? That makes no sense at all. Your winning presentation isn’t complete without a custom presentation folder to put it in.

Before the development of offset printing and high gloss paper, clients and customers listened carefully to the words of the salesperson presenting the package, asking questions when they weren’t clear on something. Today, those questions are answered by the presentation package. The sales pitch, if it happens at all, is generally looked at as a necessary inconvenience. The average buyer will collect dozens of different presentations from different vendors or service providers and make their choice based on the printed package, not the salesperson’s verbal presentation.

The concept applies inside the office as well as outside. Presentations to the board of directors, sales meetings with subordinates, and staff meetings where new products and services are discussed can all benefit from presentation folders that clearly state the purpose and summary of the contents. You can order folders with the company name and logo and the words “Staff Meeting” or “Board Presentation” on them or you can get more detailed if you feel the subject matter justifies it. “Expansion Initiative” is a topic you might want to print separate custom folders for.

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but yet so many people do. What does the cover of your presentation look like? If you come to CanDo Printing and order custom presentation folders we can make sure that everyone who views that presentation, whether they open the folder or not, knows exactly what it contains. Your odds of getting customers, clients, staff, or your boss to pay attention to what you have to say get better with the right presentation folder. Call us and we’ll create that folder for you.

That tri-fold brochure looks great today, but how long do you think it will last? The reason that you are constantly ordering those is that their longevity and lasting promotional value are not high. Some recipients may keep it in a drawer or attach it to the refrigerator with a magnet, but most of the time a tri-fold brochure ends up in the trash pile in the back seat of a car, just waiting to be thrown away on the next car wash run. That doesn’t happen with printed folders.

A printed folder with company information inside it is a more solid object. For some reason, people have a more difficult time tossing something made of more sturdy material than they do a simple piece of paper, which a brochure is, no matter how you fold it. The recipient of a folder, when they get to the car, will put the folder up under the visor or in a briefcase for perusal later on. If you examine your own behaviors in that type of situation, perhaps you’ll understand why we do that. Maybe it’s an appreciation for the extra effort that goes into putting the contents of the folder together. Whatever the reason, a printed folder offers longer lasting promotional value.

If the folder you receive is a custom presentation folder, the chances of you holding on to it for evaluation later on are even greater. Companies that put effort into the details of everything they do, including the branding and identity on their printed material, tend to more successful than companies that don’t. Giving your customers a folder containing everything they need to make an informed decision about whether to purchase your products or services is an act of good faith. The average consumer, more informed today than ever before, appreciates that kind of gesture.

What do your presentations look like today? Do they stand out from what other companies are offering? Have you looked at your competitor’s presentation folders? They may be doing something different now that is working for them. Perhaps they decided to create custom presentation folders. Can you afford to not follow suit? Thankfully, we have a number of different designs to choose from. Bring us theirs and we’ll help you create one that’s better and more likely to close new accounts for you.

The traditional two panel pocket folder isn’t the only option when it comes to pocket folder printing. Here at CanDo Printing we offer a number of different options, including side pocket folders, three panel folders, legal folders, and landscape folders. Simply printing a folder will set you apart from your competitors. Choosing a style that is unique will add to that new identity you’re trying to create for yourself. The additional options we provide give you more range when you are looking to customize your presentation and make it stand out to prospective clients and customers.

It’s a competitive world out there, regardless of which industry you happen to be doing business in. The next time you attempt to expand your business, you will find that there are more players in the field than there have ever been before. Most of this is due to advanced technology that helps us reach out to more prospects. Another reason for the more crowded field is the availability of international partners and inexpensive outsourcing. A few years ago you didn’t have to worry about any of that. Today, you’re competing against it and you need an edge.

A custom presentation folder with comprehensive, detailed information about your company can be a salesperson’s best friend. The euphoria over new global markets and inexpensive overseas labor is beginning to fade as business owners start to realize doing business at home and paying a little more for quality is a better option. That emerging philosophy is your ticket to signing new accounts, but only if you can distinguish yourself from your competition. That’s where custom folders, branding, logos, and company identity come into play. Who are you and why are you different from the rest?

Different colors, designs, and obviously printing on the outside of the folder can show the world that you have your own identity and have a lot to offer to those who would do business with you. What do you sell? Are your services or products clearly defined in your presentation package? Can a prospect take one look at the cover of the pocket folder that contains that information and know immediately who you are and what you have to offer? If not, you’re losing sales. Let us print new folders for you and that problem will be solved, without firing any of your salespeople.

The way that you present yourself to the world dictates how the world will perceive you. If you’re passing out company information on unmarked stationary and expecting customers to come back for more, you’re in for a rude awakening. Companies that don’t display branding and logos are not taken seriously. They’re viewed as “Mickey Mouse” or amateurish and often have to deal with difficult customers looking for cut-rate prices and special favors. Those types of conversations don’t happen when you use branding techniques like professional folder printing and logo business cards.

Does it make that much of a difference? Put yourself in the place of your customers. If you walk into a business and ask for company information, what format will you receive it in? When the salesperson at the counter has to stop and write it down on a slip of register tape, you’re probably going to throw that tape away shortly after you leave the store. If you’re handed a professional presentation in a printed folder, the chances are much better that you’ll keep it and do business with that company at some point.

Take it one step further. Instead of handing information to potential customers seeking you out, you’re going to other companies trying to solicit business. Is your presentation professional and comprehensive? A top quality custom presentation folder will give your sales package that extra boost it needs to separate you from your competitors. If you’re in a service business or an industry that is crowded with multiple vendors all looking for a piece of one small pie, you need an edge. As slick as your salespeople are, they don’t have a prayer at closing a deal without the right presentation materials.

Do you have a company identity? How do your customers and clients distinguish you from everyone else in your industry? If you can’t answer that question in less than thirty seconds you have some work to do. Creating custom printed folders and filling them with company information about your products and services is a good first step. Create a new logo and have it printed on the folder and you’ll start to see more people taking you seriously and sending their business your way. It works.