How to Create Catchier Sales Sheets

Generate new sales from existing clients by developing innovative sales and marketing pieces. July 06, 2010
By Thomas Trimingham, Contributing Writer

Use your art approval forms as an opportunity to gain additional business by presenting a testimonial from a satisfied customer. Customize each one to include client feedback conducive to your current customer’s needs or niche.

A challenge for every screen printer is keeping clients excited about their products and services. If you can keep customers thrilled with your designs, it is much easier to retain their business and the odds are good that they will refer others to your shop as well.

An area that is sometimes overlooked — but one that can assist in the customer retention process — is your support materials. One document that is used daily is the sales sheet, which also is called the art approval form or proof sheet. Sometimes this document is used to close a sale, but more likely it is used to show clients a design idea so they can approve the concept prior to it being printed. Using this approval document is a big advantage over doing a press proof because it is common that clients will have changes before the artwork is finalized.

All printers use some sort of document to finalize an approval process, whether it be a digital document that can be e-mailed or a printed version for in-person meetings. It makes sense then to develop full use of the “real estate” on these forms. Any communication with a customer — even if it is routine — is an opportunity to present something additional that your shop offers. There are areas on these documents for a variety of elements that can help establish credibility, finalize orders faster and even boost sales if they are presented well. A simple goal is to use this form to communicate clearly and still serve as an extra piece of marketing that represents your company well.

Make the Most of Forms
The primary objection some shop owners have when they hear about this idea is that they might appear too pushy or “salesy” when a customer is presented with an approval form that includes some sales information in addition to the required elements. But a quick review of some of the country’s leading service industries makes it clear that “upsizing” orders or “cross-selling” services are very common, if not essential, practices to capture as much per order as possible. When customers are provided with additional solutions they previously were not aware of, it is actually an important extension of your service rather than an overbearing sales technique.

The first method to using the approval form as a bonus selling tool is to use customer testimonials to drive the point home. This is effective because it is read almost like a referral rather than an up-sell. In many ways it is just a bridge that can help boost an order and overall profit. A simple way to execute this on the form is to include the testimonial at the bottom or along the top of the form so it is prominent, yet doesn’t interfere with the form’s practicality.

These testimonials can be customized according to what was ordered or the niche market from which the client comes. They can add significant value to the order approval form by opening a dialog that can provide more interest. Some of the most profitable business a screen printer has are repeat orders or additional volume on a single order that uses the same artwork. So it stands to reason that pushing this type of sale is worth a little extra effort to capture more from every order.

The content of the testimonials needs to be carefully selected so that it can be approved before it is added to the forms. The key to getting good testimonials for specific sales boosts is to offer verbal bonuses and discounts first, then ask for feedback from satisfied customers who took advantage of them. For example, if a client bought two dozen T-shirts, you could suggest that she buy a dozen additional hooded sweats for a volume discount that would lower the per-piece cost of the T-shirts. If she takes you up on it and is happy with the final sale, the odds are high she would provide a great testimonial for future sales sheet purposes. These can always be kept anonymous or vague so as not to release the client’s specific name and company to another customer.

Finalizing With Finesse
The art approval form will certainly provide a faster way to finalize orders. This works even better if the design is placed on the proper style shirt and is the same size and position as the final print. Adding information about additional services below the approval item is only one extra step. This works the best when clients have to scan through the added sales options before they can finalize the order, or they may just skip everything.

There is a fine line between servicing clients well by showing them additional value and annoying them with a dozen extra offers. Presenting extra services is expected, but many companies make it too easy for clients to forget or ignore this altogether by burying the information or providing too many additional alternatives. Find a balance somewhere in the middle where the added options are noticeable, but not overwhelming.

The truth about most marketing and sales efforts is a small percentage of clients may complain about a new process, but this hardly compares with a big increase in sales from the other majority (especially if it is profitable volume or repeat order sales).

Add Bonus Graphics
One final way to really pull out the stops on this style of “inside marketing” is to take the graphic you created for the art approval form and also place it on several other styles of garments on the final approval form. This can be done with smaller pictures below the main graphic. Sometimes the art can be displayed on additional colored garments or on different products. And as long as it can all be done in the same print run, it can be very profitable if successfully sold this way.

The downside to this method, of course, is the time investment of creating additional graphic layouts. Considering this, it is usually best to reserve this style of marketing for specific clients who are really good customers and who would be the most receptive to the up-sell.

Depending on the software used to create the graphic layouts, there are several options to shortening the process. For instance, CorelDraw has the capability to create Macros that will allow for automatic generation of layouts onto different garments. Once the standard template is made as a backdrop, it takes surprisingly little time to edit and drop in artwork. There are always exceptions that will crop up, but it is rare that a client will complain about being shown some additional options, and any new sales that are added onto an existing order are truly beneficial for the printer.

Taking the extra time with some of your standard forms can yield some very effective ways of communicating in a “soft sell” way that will open the door for up-selling and extra orders from a variety of work. Don’t fall into the thought that this is being pushy or over-the-top with marketing. Providing more options on necessary forms can be worthwhile and a positive service to the customer. To make the most of your approval forms, all it takes is a proactive approach and some client feedback to earn more money from the same number of sales.

Thomas Trimingham has more than 18 years of experience as an award-winning artist, separator and consultant. For more information or to comment on this article, e-mail Thomas at ttrimingham@yahoo.com.



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