For promo industry professionals, it’s easy to forget that there are people out there who don’t know what promotional products are or how they can work for a business. Selling to clients who already know the power of promo is simple, but what about everyone else?

To someone who’s not familiar with the industry, promotional products might seem silly or unnecessary. Of course, promo professionals know that’s not true, but pitching to a potential client who’s skeptical can be tricky. While you and I know that every business can benefit from incorporating promotional products into their marketing plan, convincing your prospects can take a little work.

Luckily, there are plenty of easily accessible resources to help you pitch to potential new business. Here’s a quick rundown of several of the tools available to you that can help convert a promo skeptic into a true believer:

Presentations

Digital sales presentations are a great way to show your prospects what’s hot and new in promo that they can view from the comfort of their home or office, on their own time. With the Presentation Publisher in SAGE, you can create completely custom, shareable presentations that let you easily receive feedback from your customer. They can even navigate to your website and order their favorite products directly from the presentation!

The SAGE Presentation Publisher

To give your presentation the extra oomph it needs to convert your prospect into a sale, don’t just add your products and call it a day. Use the SAGE Virtual Design Studio to add their logo to the sample photos so they can envision how the products will work with their brand image. Enter additional text in the description area of each product detailing why you think it’s a good fit and how it could help them grow their brand. And don’t forget to add their information from your SAGE CRM to the presentation to personalize it!

Case Studies

If you’re looking for a straightforward way to illustrate how promotional products get used by brands, then look no further than case studies. Case studies are blogs, articles, or even videos that outline what products a brand used, how they used them, and how they benefitted the business. They’re often pretty short and to-the-point, making the effectiveness of promo products shine.

Video case study from SnugZ USA (SAGE #53744)

If you have a SAGE Website Professional Plus subscription, you have access to our entire library of carefully curated case studies to post on your site or send to customers who need a little swaying. You can also find plenty of these helpful blogs on supplier websites. A few of our favorites for solid case studies are Hit Promotional Products, SnugZ USA, and Gemline.

#PromotionalProductsWork

Video from PPAI’s #PromotionalProductsWork

Want to promote the efficacy of promotional products on your social media or website? PPAI’s #PromotionalProductsWork campaign has tons of free resources for you to download and spread the word. With professionally researched statistics and information illustrating how promotional products can work for companies, this initiative is an excellent resource for both green and seasoned promo professionals. Check it out and learn more at https://www.promotionalproductswork.org/.

Catalogs

You might think catalogs are old school, but they are still a popular and effective way to pitch your business to new prospects. With a printed catalog, your clients will have something more tactile to flip through and browse at their leisure, and with your information on the catalog, they’ll know exactly who to call when something catches their eye.

Check out all the cool pieces you can make in the SAGE Print Studio!

With the Print Studio in SAGE Online, creating catalogs for your prospects is easy. You can choose from several pre-built catalogs that already have products added for different themes like golf, tech products, apparel, and more, or you can create a completely custom catalog from scratch for a more personal touch. Physical catalogs not really your thing? No worries. All the catalogs in the Print Studio, whether pre-built or custom, are also available as digital flipbooks that you can send in an email or message.

Convincing brands and organizations new to the wide world of promo that these products can help them grow their business doesn’t have to be a hard sell. With the above tools and expert support from your SAGE team, you’ll be ready to tackle even the most hesitant of prospects.

To learn about other ways to capture new business and grow your own, check out our blogs on email marketing and social media for small businesses.

Used with permission from SAGE